HOSTEL COLONIAL BUENOS AIRES - LA MAGIA, ENTRE LO REAL Y LO VIRTUAL

Hace tiempo, casi la mitad de los 4 años que llevo escribiendo este blog de Buenos Aires, que encuentro cada vez más puntos de contacto entre la actividad de Hostel Colonial en el mundo virtual y su contrapartida en el mundo real.

No tengo dudas que la actividad online, por momentos, es apabullante, superando incluso a cadenas hoteleras multinacionales y de alta gama de servicios, muchas de las cuales, aún hoy, no han comprendido de qué va la cosa en esto de desarrollar una estrategia de posicionamiento, comunicación y venta en la Web 2.0.

Blogs, redes, un entramado social cada vez más complejo e intenso, un camino trazado hacia la tercera generación web, cuyo resultado puede resumirse, utilizando cierta mística, en la palabra "Magia", superando incluso al objetivo base de cualquier emprendimiento y que podría quedar concentrado en la palabra "Negocio".

Hostel Colonial avanza sustentado en 2 columnas, la excelente receptividad a cada uno de los productos virtuales desarrollados, cada uno con su público objetivo y los miles de contactos, lectores y amigos obtenidos a través de Internet, hoy se traduce en que cada vez por períodos más prolongados, no haya disponibilidad de plazas en el hostel.

Me alegra y me hace recordar a uno de los Europe Famous Hostels, en Holanda, un lugar en el que todos los backapackers hacíamos una larga fila para obtener una cama, era EL LUGAR en el que había que estar.

Es otro tiempo, pasaron más de 15 años de esa época y aquí en Buenos Aires, Argentina, con un sistema desmadrado en cuanto a cantidad de establecimientos, pero aún muy informal desde el aspecto empresarial, vuelvo a sentir esa sensación que experimenté en Europa, pero claro, ahora sucede en Hostel Colonial.

Magia, sí, esa es la palabra, pero también mucho, pero mucho trabajo, sino sería sólo una ilusión.

A GREAT CHOICE FOR EUROPEAN TRAVELERS

Hostel Colonial, once again the hostel in Buenos Aires selected by readers of the guide "Le Routard", thanks travelers!

GOING TO THE PARTY IN BUENOS AIRES

Experience the world in the bustling and exciting city of Buenos Aires and one of the best ways is to party, If your searching for people to go out with, just contact us at the hostel front desk and we will arrange big groups to party with.

Listed below are three of the most popular and lively nightspots in Buenos Aires!

Today - CROBAR
Crobar, Marcelino Freyre St., Palermo Buenos Aires.

Every Saturday, Doors open at 1am.Playing the best selection of Hip Hop and house music. Crobar is one of the most popular discos in Buenos Aires.

It is situated in the trendy neighbourhood of Palermo. Besides the Palermo forests park and in front of the hipodromo. If staying at the Hostel Colonial you will get free admission.

In terms of saving money and being able to still enjoy everything that Buenos Aires has to offer, We currently have a promotion where if you book a whole weeks accomodation you get 1 night free for only $210!!

BOEDO, ONE OF THE 48 BUENOS AIRES DISTRICTS

Boedo is on the cusp of being cool, (a Buenos Aires neighborhood, 15¨taxi trip from Hostel Colonial). A crop of new cafes and stores celebrating the arts have recently emerged as fixtures along the avenue for which the district is named. However, while the press has begun to take note, the tourist population still remains largely ignorant of these new ventures inside and around this area defined by Independencia and San Juan Avenues, around the 4000 mark.

Your first stop on this neighbor could be "Esquina Homero Manzi", named for beloved tango author and cinema director Homero Manzi who mentioned the location, San Juan and Boedo Avenues, in his song, ‘Sur’. The song paints a nostalgic picture of the past and is older than Boedo, the neighbourhood, which was not formally defined until its borders were drawn in 1972:

Old San Juan and Boedo, and all of the sky,

Pompeii and what was before the flood.

The mane of your girlfriend in your memory

and how your name flowered in the farewell.

The corner that belonged to the blacksmith, the mud and the land,

your home, your path and the settlement,

and a perfume of herbs and alfalfa

that again fills my heart.

The city has done its part to enhance Boedo’s appeal so that it may again be remembered in the hearts of many as it was in the heart of Manzi by erecting statues down the avenue which bears the barrio’s name, and creating a tourism and cultural map and website that illuminates just how much those who have yet to visit are missing.

A quick look at the map ‘boedo+10’ reveals I seemed to have stumbled into another Buenos Aires theatre district. “Boedo XXI Theatre” (853 Boedo Ave) is particularly popular and there are hordes of people entering. There’s something here for everyone, with plays created specifically for kids, adolescents, and adults as well as choreography and yoga classes on the premises.

While the many recent additions to Boedo seem to suggest a vested interest in creativity, the area has always been a haven for authors of literary works and tango lyrics, poets, and sculptors. Various street corners bear plaques with these artists’ names to remind visitors of this special aspect of the area’s history.

There seems to be something about the crux of San Ignacio and Boedo Ave. that gets one’s creative juices flowing. In the 1920s prominent Socialist party members met and voiced their opinions on a podium near the intersection.

Currently though, most visitors remember the site for two other reasons: the famous sculptor Francisco Reyes who has been honored in that the corner now bears his name, and the divine “Café Margot” (857 Boedo Ave..

Literary types seem to burrow in here under the soft glow of the lights and draw inspiration from the elegance of waiters in fine attire contrasted against the aged brick walls.

There are quite a few “parrillas” (barbecues), including “Cosechero” (2000 Beauchef Street), which adds live folk music to your dining experience. There is too of course, Tango and dinner, lest it be forgotten that Boedo was the birthplace of the dance. To celebrate this piece of history, head over to the dinner show at “Esquina Osvaldo Pugliese” (909 Boedo Ave.), or “Bien Bohemio” (745 Sánchez de Loria Street), if you’ve wandered a bit north.

Finally, for after-dinner activities check out “Cossab Bar” (4199 Carlos Calvo Ave.), which has possible the largest selection of beers in the capital, many of them home brewed or artisan. After having drank so much Malbec wine it seems to be leaking out of your pores, I promise it will be a welcome change!

Boedo, in Buenos Aires, near the hostel,  is a place to discover. Another recommendation of this Buenos Aires blog.

WORDS BY MARTA FROM POLAND, BUENOS AIRES WORDS

I want to write a book about this city and someone specific, I´m Marta, I exactly arrived here 13 days ago, I`m Polish and I´ve decided to come to Buenos Aires because Evita, she is the reason of my trip, why I was blown 12 thousand kilometers, a well i found Hostel Colonial, which is situated almost in the heart of this city in 509 Tucuman Street, near "Casa Rosada", "Obelisco", is a great place to stay and start my adventure in Buenos Aires.

I have my bed and my breakfast very cheap, also they have an Internet so I´m the whole day focus and laughting on what goes on around me. very nice boys in reception (especially the blond one is so nice :-) . This city is colorfull for me, with his streets, peoples and sounds. Specially I like sunday`s mornings in San Telmo, full of Tango and smelling of mate and of course the argentineans people- so european and nice, so cheerful, my book will be just about all of those things.

Polish translation

Chciałam napisac ksiązke o tym mieście i o kim specjalnym. Jestem Marta, jestem Polka i przyjechalam do Buenos Aires poniewaz Evita jest powodem, dla ktorego pokonalam prawie 12 tys. kilometrow. Przyjechalam 13 dni temu izatrzymałam się w Hostel Colonial, ktory znajduje się na ulicy Tucuman 509, niedaleko Casa Rosada i Obelisku, niemal w samym centrum miasta. Hostel Colonial jest najlepszym miejscem na start w tym miescie.

Zanaprawde niska cenę dostalam łózko i śniadanie. Mają tu Internet inaprawde uroczych chłopcow w recepcji (szczegolnie jeden jest baaardzomiły:P)Dla mnie Buenos Aires jest miastem pelym kolorow, ze swoimi ulicami,ludźmi i muzyką. Uwielbiam niedzielne poranki w San Telmo pelne tangai zapachu mate. i oczywiscie ludzie- milych i zawsze uscmiechniętych.A moja ksiązka bedzie własnie o tym wszystkim:)

HOSTEL COLONIAL BUENOS AIRES - THE NATIONAL DESSERT, SO PORTEÑO, SO ARGENTINO

Sooo... Porteño!!! It´s not other possible option so argentine than to mention, "Cheese and Sweet", also well known as "Watchmen dessert", this comes from early XX Century and it became one of the most common gastronomic traditions that allow other ways and variations. About couples, there are couples that won’t be separate from one another such as Batman and Robin and well the same happens with cheese and sweet potato (batata) in Argentina and it come together named as “Postre Vigilante” (already translated) it goes as watchmen dessert, known like “Martin Fierro” too or fresh and sweet potato.

In all variations and ways consist in the simple way to put on top the other slice of cheese and sweet. We shall say (a very local cheese) called Mar del Plata or Pategras, it´s great! Very Porteño! The preference for the cheese is another habit in Argentina. It comes from the beginning of century and this is because, and over all, their Italian routes and immigration influence, the popular legend counts that started in 1920, in a canteen of Old Palermo (now Palermo Soho), neighborhood that for at that time was a zone of “compadritos” and “malevos” (bad people), the canteen was near a Police Station and as it was very frequented by the police the dessert acquired the name with which was known for then to the safety agent: "Watchmen".


The dessert was quickly popularized and spread among the workers, but ended being as one in every level society including the very renowned and distinguish intellectuals. An illustrious fan, in his book “A Contraluz”, (cross-light), Borges this singing tells one of the culinary preferences of one of the most recognized Argentinean writer, when the creator of the “Aleph” was going to eat always request the same order: Beef-steak with salad, and as a dessert, cheese and sweet.

Variations and different ways are allow and also depend the region in Argentina, for example in the Northwest it’s served goat cheese with cayote sweet or tune, as in the South the sheep cheese or cow of the type “Atuel”, accompanies on top with saúco sweet, or raspberries sweet or some red fruits. In the Northwest there the fresh cheese is preferred and accompanied with sweet of shoot in hullsfinally in the littoral is common sweet of bitter oranges, all these variations are allowed for sure, but already they are not called Watchmen, but simply “Cheese and Sweet ", and today we will eat here, in Hostel Colonial Buenos Aires.

THE BUENOS AIRES TOURIST BUS – INFORMATION OF YOUR INTEREST IN THIS BUENOS AIRES BLOG

The route of Buenos Aires Bus has 12 stops, located close to all of the city´s major attractions. Buses run every 30 minutes so you can get off the bus at any stop-as many times as you wish through out the day – visiting the interesting places before continuing your journey with the same ticket.
An audio commentary of the route is available in 10 languages and each passenger will receive a set of headphones to listen the speach in the language of their choice.
You will also receive a brochure of the city of Buenos Aires writen in 3 languages which contains useful information about the most attractive tourist points along the route, as well as discount vouchers which can be used at the various attractions.

• Stop 0: FLORIDA Diagonal Norte and Florida (6 blocks walking from Hostel Colonial)
• Stop 1: PLAZA DE MAYO Rivadavia between Reconquista and San Martín (5 blocks walking from Hostel Colonial)
• Stop 2: CONGRESO NACIONAL Rivadavia between Paraná and Montevideo
• Stop 3: MONTSERRAT Avenida Belgrano between Balcarce and Pasaje 5 de Julio
• Stop 4: SAN TELMO Avenida Paseo Colón between Avenida Independencia and Pasaje Giuffra
• Stop 5: LA BOCA Avenida Pedro de Mendozabetween Palos and Caminito
• Stop 6: RESERVA ECOLOGICA Avenida Tristán Achával Rodríguez, Reserva Ecológica
• Stop 7:PUERTO MADERO Macacha Güemes in front of Hotel Hilton
• Stop 8: PLAZA SAN MARTIN Av. Del Libertador between Av. Ramos Mejía and San Martín (6 blocks walking from Hostel Colonial - North
• Stop 9:PALERMO / ROSEDAL Av. Del Libertador and Av. Sarmiento
• Stop 10:PLAZA ITALIA Av. Sarmiento, acera derecha hacia Av. Del Libertador. Al lado del Teatro Sarmiento
• Stop 11: RECOLETA Av. Del Libertador in front of Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes Stop 12: PLAZA LAVALLE Viamonte between Talcahuano and Libertad

LUXURY VS. HISTORY - THE DICHOTOMY IN TWO TOURIST DISTRICTS, SAN TELMO AND PUERTO MADERO - PART #1

A clear example of this dichotomy can be seen in two of the quintessential tourist district of Buenos Aires: Puerto Madero and San Telmo. San Telmo, which is one of the oldest in the city and takes its name from the church of San Pedro Gonzalez, preserved, as if it were an old postcard, many of the features of the city from XVlll and XlX century.

Contrary to what one may think, the preservation was not due to a public policy, but the total neglect suffered by the neighborhood for many years and which caused havocs in the cultural and architectural heritage.

The progress didn't come to this district until the 1990's when the nostalgy started to become fashionable and a few historical buildings restored by the hand of time and man, began to be exploited as bars and restaurants and others were recycled in a postmodern image. The streets maintained their cobblestone streets, old lanterns were settled and began to detect urban archeology architectural gems of great heritage value. Around the Plaza Dorrego and its traditional antiques fair, every weekend brings thousands of visitors, he developed hotels, hostels, gift shops, tanguerias, clubs, museums and galleries. So this is how San Telmo looks like today: as a neighborhood that appeals to families during the day and bohemian youth at night. Is also one of the favorites districts for tourists, both for walking and to stay or live, along with Palermo and Downtown, the Hostel Colonial district, because his physiognomy characteristically from Buenos Aires and local color can be seen in every corner.

Puerto Madero, however, is its antítesis. Nowadays, Puerto Madero (4 blocks walking from Hostel Colonial) is one of the most exclusive and modern neighborhoods of Buenos Aires and attracts visitors from all over the world who come to tour the docks and try the local gastronomy, adapted to international tastes.Both neighborhoods complement and justify each other. Arguably, San Telmo is undoubtedly the most local of the international destinations of Buenos Aires, while Puerto Madero has become the most international of their neighborhoods.

THE BEST SEASON TO TRAVEL FROM BUENOS AIRES TO IGUAZU FALLS

First step always coincide with arriving into the country arriving at Ezeiza International Airport (Ministro Pistarini is the real name) to Buenos Aires, where the traveler spread himself to the rest of Argentina deciding which spot to visit one option to not lost will be. Iguazu Falls and the best time for trip to Iguazu is from this month, October, when temperatures are modest, the falls are fuller and the spring colors sights is at it brightest.was declared World Heritage in 1984 by UNESCO. The Iguazu Falls consist in 275 separate waterfalls, but in the rainy season there are as many as 350 that pledge more than 200 feet's onto the rocks below, they cascade in the Iguazú river heating the three borders of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.

Taller than Niágara wider than Victoria in South Africa. Well the trip just take 16 hours from Buenos Aires and is relatively inexpensive you could take bus lines called Expreso Singer, Via Bariloche, Expreso Tigre Iguazú and others at Retiro Bus Station just 6 blocks from Hostel Colonial. Round trip cost around U$D 80, one day is enough to visit the falls or 2, even more 3 days for exploring jungles areas indeed.The water falls and its flora and fauna are protected together by the argentines Iguazu National Park and the Brazilian side Foz do Iguaçu. The area surrounded with butterflies, birds of precious emerald, safire colors and a Tucan if you are lucky, rainbows are set off will leave you speechless, exotic mammals like tapirs are in wild scenery they don't care about travelers so you can get as much pictures as you want.

The most impressive geology spot to remark is the "Garganta del Diablo" or (Devil Throat) that is better seen at the Brazilian side.The main idea consist first into find a place where you could sat when you come from abroad youth hostel will maybe will be the best option for your information. Hostel Colonial web page has some links of well mentioned hostels in Iguazú that we will recommend you, collecting our own feedbacks, some impressions of services made by like minded travelers sometimes members of well known forums (Lonely Planet). All about Argentina and the last I've been reading Fodor´s Guides, very useful one. and finally the guide Le Routard and the most important because our bunch of French guests.

BUENOS AIRE YA TIENE SU LUGAR EN GOOGLE

Buenos Aires, como en las ciudades más importantes del mundo, ya tiene su mapa de los distintos barrios porteños en Google. El mapa de la ciudad está bien detallado, con una guía para llegar a cada barrio, caminando o en auto y ofrece la posibilidad de encontrar locales comerciales como restaurantes, establecer distancias y tiempos de llegada, además de compartir y personalizar el mapa, soportado en una interfaz similar a la de la página principal de Google, de muy sencilla navegación..

Para emprendimientos como Hostel Colonial es de gran importancia, ya que funcionará como una guía comercial gratuita, en donde poder subir fotos y videos.
Finalizada la etapa Beta en la que se testeó y adaptó el producto al mercado local, por ejemplo, el orden de prioridades, aquí se busca primero la calle y luego la numeración, a la inversa que en otros países.
Hoy y mañana de 11 a 17 hs. se acompañará el lanzamiento con un evento en el Planetario.

La página de Google Maps Buenos Aires aquí