Guest reviews Emperador Hotel

by Jan S milwaukee, wisconsin

A luxurious-looking hotel that charges for everything

Stayed at the Emperador courtesy of my cruise package. Conveniently located in a nice part of the city....and also on a 10-lane street. Looks lovely, impressive lobby and lobby bar, two twin+ comfy beds, very clean, nice decor, decent check-in process, marble in the bathrooms. No washcloths (just regular towels and hand towels). Slight odor of cigarette smoke in the halls. Be prepared to be charged for everything you see in your room, as well as for breakfast (onsite and convenient). Weary international travelers arriving early on an overnight flight and before their 3pm-checkin beware: this hotel charges $100USD for early check-in; our investment got us a room on the 2nd floor facing the street (just a tad bit noisy). Thankfully, they didn't require us to change rooms (we arrived one day early on a personal booking).

by Aseena V

Not happy, left dissatisfied

We had been booked in by a tour operator prior to departure on a cruise. Arrived after lunch, and departed at 5 next morning so barely spent a night there. Wouldn't have commented on this place since we hadn't eaten in, nor spent much time. But I found I had been charged on my credit card for items that were not in the mini bar - water on the night stand and coffee near the coffee maker. Normally these are complimentary . When I wrote in they refused to reverse the charges. And these were pretty hefty charges. Not a pleasant experience :{

by Brandylady Aberdeen, United Kingdom

Pleasant stay

We stayed here for one night ,post cruise from Antarctica . Plenty ports around when bus stopped but very few actually taking in cases! Had a twin room which was on the second floor at the front ( so slight traffic noise ) clean, spacious and comfortable . Bathroom had shower and separate bath and bidet . Some toiletries provided . Room has a safe Free Wi-fi, however , be careful what you use in the room ....there is a coffee maker but coffee is chargeable ( kept in mini bar- obviously chargeable ). Also bottle of water in bathroom - also chargeable ( but you can get from the garage just along street at a fraction of the price!) Breakfast is adequate but have seen better selections of fruits and cereals., and lacking on cheeses .Restaurant has short opening hours and was closed evenings and Bar menu is limited so ate at a nearby restaurant ( several round about) but did have a drink in the bar - expensive at about £10 a nip! Credit card required on check in . Two transactions appeared on my statement ,but they did disappear . ( presuming this was a security deposit plus something else , but would have liked to have been told about that at check in.)

by LeaveTheMenu Boston, Massachusetts

Lovely Hotel but nickle-and-diming, and wasting your time

The good: The hotel is lovely -- the massive open lobby, the rooms too. The room safe holds a 15.6" laptop. The bad: 1) It was a struggle to connect to wifi. Had to enter my friend's room number and my name (you can imagine how long it took to get there!). 2) The free wifi is crappy, highly frustrating, fading in and out, and essentially worthless except for email. You have to pay up for "premium". I didn't, on principle. The website claims it includes wifi, not that you have to pay extra for it. 3) The room coffeemaker is available, but coffee is stored in the minibar and costs you $4. I expect it to be included. (Again on principle, I went without.) 4) At checkout there is a city hotel tax. Why not include it in the upfront price and save me yet another credit card transaction? It slows down checkout. (Mine took five minutes when it could have consisted of handing over the key, 10 seconds.) 5) There is the nowadays customary security deposit at check-in, again complicating my credit card. Now I have to track whether the amount was refunded or removed. 6) (Breakfast is not included.) To conclude, this is a most comfortable and beautiful hotel, but exacting time and money completely unnecessarily.

by Howard B Oceanside, California

Still wonderful after all these years!

WOW!! We had stayed at he Emperador 16 years ago on our last stay in B.A. It was wonderful then and it's perhaps even more fantastic now, except for one small item which I will get to. This is a beautiful 5-star hotel centrally located near tons of sights, shopping streets, restaurants, bars, etc!! Good, safe area. Rooms are huge, around 450+ square feet, great beds, marble bathrooms with the best showers and good appointment niceties. One little dissaponitment: When we went last time I am pretty sure breakfast buffet was huge and A+ in quality and included in our rate. This time it was $ 40USD. Please note that the Arengentine peso has crashed to nothing (I am truly sorry for the locals) and most places, including top notch restaurants and attractions cost next to nothing compared to any US major city. This was as expensive as brunch would be in the USA for what we got, i.e. a much smaller brunch variety, almost nonexistent service compared to excellent service last time, etc. We did ask the concierge about the breakfast issue and she told us it wasn't included in the (reasonable) room rate we paid, so it was too late. Other than that they have a stunning heated indoor pool with plush seating, a wonderful bar/restaurant and everybody on the staff (including the bearer of the bad brunch rate news) could not have done anything more to serve and delight us at the highest level! For about US$ 200/night, this would cost at least $ 550/night in New York for this great stay!! We plan to return to BA in the New Year (we LOVE it there!) and will stay with you again and look forward to the same experience. Muchas muchas gracias!!!