This Recoleta Hotel Offers Both Room—and Driver

Since opening in a fin-de-siècle mansion in October, Hub Porteño has been adding an extra dose of "ooh la la!" to ritzy Recoleta, the most Parisian of Buenos Aires's neighborhoods. Guest rooms at this hot new boutique hotel pair exquisite, custom-designed furniture from Argentine artisans, bright abstract art, and restored art. Teardrop chandeliers dangle over whirlpool tubs and crystal-inlaid mirrors frame walk-in rain showers in the en-suite bathrooms. While outside, a century-old rubber tree shades a terrace and garden. As for a reception desk, there is none. (The management considers the concept too formal for a hotel with only 11 suites.) Instead, guests are greeted with a glass of wine and ushered from the marble entryway into a living room awash in Argentine leathers, carved crystal, and 400-year-old hardwoods.

Yet, it's the services that are most notable here: With an "Experience" stay, each suite is allocated a bilingual guide and 24-hour access to a private vehicle for use on tailor-made all-inclusive itineraries, or wherever whims may lead. Culture, fashion, and fine dining are particular specialities. A first for the city, this weaving of bespoke attentiveness with the beauty of the Belle Époque has raised the luxury hospitality bar in Buenos Aires.