Estancia la Bandada

This is the place to go, to unwind after a long flight and before you do the big trip around Argentina. It’s also the place to come to after you’ve done it all and want to rest in a beautiful environment before you fly home. Everyone is so welcoming, the food is delicious, there’s a pool, horse-riding - anything you’d like to relax.

Beyond expectation. Room was lovely. Food excellent. Staff was so very helpful, always going the extra mile. We enjoyed cooking class, riding horses, garden tour, pool, bird watching. Very restful. Asado was delicious and abundant. We particularly appreciated Grace's efforts to enable our birdwatching experience, taking us on a field trip to a neighboring estancia. In addition to bird spotting, we learned much about polo and horse breeding. Debora greeted us and gave a helpful tour. Later she showed us how to prepare empanadas. With her help, we three students soon had the knack of sealing the edges beautifully. Carlos was an excellent host. We appreciated his efforts and happy conversation while seeing that we had an early breakfast before departing. Juan lead our horseback riding adventure. He is clearly a skilled horseman and has a good sense of humor. We had an easy ride through beautiful landscape. The intimacy of the place was noticeable. We were able to get to know other guests, though one could certainly have privacy. We enjoyed meeting families from Buenos Aires and Ireland while we were there over Mother's Day weekend. If you are a bird watcher, there are many varieties of birds to see and hear. The chorus of doves in the woods was remarkable.

This is actually a hard review to write. I completely agree with other posters that the property is beautiful and Grace is a gracious host. Food is solid. The Estancia is just over an hour from BA with a moderately aggressive driver which is great. The Estancia and surrounding property have been in Grace's family for several generations and it's definitely charming. We really enjoyed the grounds and sitting under the myriad 100+ year old trees relaxing, playing a game or two, etc. Unfortunately, I have to focus on some negatives and feedback to the property. Frankly, I don't know exactly my room rate as the stay was part of a month long custom itinerary that was quoted as an all in price. Checking rates today it looks like our room was in the range of $1000 which definitely impacts the review. I don't see reviews that mention that there is no air conditioning. My wife and I have a slight disagreement on whether that's an issue as she sees at least some nostalgia benefit. I think at $1K/night I should have a space where I'm not sweating. The biggest issue, however, was that it was impossible to sleep. I don't see a way to post a recording, but the room(s) are 50-100' from the kennel and the dogs barked loudly and absolutely incessantly throughout the night. I could choose between the windows open and the night breeze which admittedly was nice and cooled the room or closing the windows and shutters, slightly moderating the din but losing the cooling breeze. The above leads me to some feedback for the team. We weren't given a way to contact the staff after hours. So, when I finally went looking for where the dogs were there was no one to talk to. A more minor suggestion is that it would be nice if there were drinks/snacks available throughout the day given it's a very captive property.

La Bandada surpassed all our expectations. The place is stunning and most importantly the staff is incredible. They’ve payed attention to all details and were always one step ahead of us taking care of our needs. Another great asset this place has is the food, all of it is made in house from their organic garden and tastes fantastic. My family is vegetarian and that wasn’t a problem at all. We’re definitely coming back!!

I spent a beautiful day at the Estancia La Bandada. My husband and I had a day planned there from Buenos Aires. He didn't feel well the day of, so I went solo and had a great time. Upon arriving, I was given a welcome drink and we had a lesson where we made empanadas. I was shown the garden where they grow the fresh food you will eat. Next was a fantastic leisurely lunch that was delicious. Then we were given free time where I went for a walk around the property and sat by the pool. In the afternoon was an hour long horse back ride. I was a bit nervous about horse back riding, so they gave me the calmest horse and I had no issues. We wrapped up the day with afternoon tea. My experience was very calming and it was great to spend the day in the countryside.

We’ve traveled to many places around the world, and I’ve never had an experience like the one we had at Estancia La Bandada. My wife and I came for a few days as part of our honeymoon and the experience is truly unmatched. Grace and her team are the consummate professionals, never rushed, quietly confident and competent. The place itself is quiet, understated and cozy, and it truly feels like you’re at home while you’re there...if home was a beautiful Argentinian ranch estate with a live-in Michelin star chef. Seriously, the food here is incredible - we found ourselves mentally counting down until the next meal each and every time. It's not just delicious, it's also fresh - much of it grown in their garden. The eggs you have with your breakfast are laid by their own chickens onsite. You feel like royalty here, a little taste of heaven. Read a book by the pool while a border collie snoozes at your feet, take a horse ride, just take a nap between meals - you can’t go wrong here, if relaxing and unplugging is your jam, this place is truly world class. But really, what sets this place apart is the staff. Grace runs the place with class and calm, and everybody on the staff exudes this same energy. They get all the little things right - want a cozy crackling fire set up in your room’s fireplace? An impromptu empanada rolling class? They’ve got you, and more. Trying to make our flight home, we hired a car service and the driver's car broke down on the way. In the midst of our nervousness in making our flight, the estancia’s own employee Guadeloupe grabbed her personal car keys and took us to the airport herself. Who does this? I don’t know of another hotel or resort that makes you feel like family in this way - even on your way out. Keep in mind, I’m leaving out some of the little touches and details they provide for you, because writing them here would be like spoiling the ending of a great book for the next visitor. You’ll have to stay and see for yourself. 10/10, we will be back.