Iraola Hotel Boutique

The staff provides excellent service, helping with restaurant reservations and needs. Convenient location near attractions. Immaculate colonial-style pool and well-equipped rooms. Excellent breakfast with fresh, delicious items.

We stayed for 3-nights in a superior double room at the Iraola Hotel Boutique in Cafayate ($171 US). The colonial-style hotel is beautiful, all white arches, red tiles and dark-wood windows and doors in a series of 1-2 floor buildings that flow from the front reception-breakfast area into a small, tranquil fountain-centred courtyard, then into a large courtyard with the pool, a grassy area and the bar/lunch restaurant. The pool was perfectly maintained, with comfortable loungers on two sides, each supplied with a fresh towel. Our room was large and spacious, whitewashed walls with a course, rustic tile floor, high wood-beamed ceilings, and suffused with light from the shuttered door and tall, shuttered windows. The king bed was very comfortable (with a 2nd twin bed alongside that was useful for clothes storage). There was also a small table with 2-chairs, a double wardrobe with a safe, and a wall-mounted TV; no mini-refrigerator though. And a nice touch, all of the electrical outlets accepted North American and European plugs as well as the Argentine ones. The bathroom was large, with double sinks, a large vanity and a large walk-in shower with a rainwater shower head. Breakfast was excellent, a selection of fruit, a variety of fresh juices and baked items, and eggs cooked to order. The staff were great – friendly, helpful and, although none spoke English, it was not a problem. Secure parking was available in a lot beside the hotel. And the hotel's location was perfect, in a quiet residential area only three short blocks to the central plaza with its restaurants and bars. Cafayate, as Argentina's second wine area, is a relatively expensive place to stay. Although the Iraola's room rate was high, the value they delivered was superb. We had a great, relaxing stay, enjoying the dry heat of the desert sun while sipping the tasty local wines. It is difficult to imagine staying anywhere better.