The July Hideaway Report follows Andrew Harper’s travels to Argentina, where he evaluates properties in Calchaquí Valley, south of Salta; San Antonio de Areco, outside Buenos Aires; and Patagonia’s Lake District. Mr. Harper also discovers an energetic and trendy new luxury hotel in Chicago, as well as a dazzling new property on Miami Beach.
The contemporary Grace Cafayate is set in the dramatic Calchaquí Valley three hours south of Salta. Opened in 2013, this property comprises 20 two-suite villas arrayed around a main building with an additional 12 hotel-style accommodations, on a 1,360-acre real estate development. Vacation houses occupy some of the site, but native woodlands, a golf course, polo grounds and vineyards cover the rest.
Owned by two Buenos Aires architects, Legado Mítico is a boutique hotel with 11 individually decorated rooms in the heart of Salta’s historic center. Visually appealing accommodations, each named after a different historical or literary figure, have high ceilings, hardwood floors and traditional furniture mixed with contemporary accents. Legado Mítico is not a luxury hotel, but a stylish, idiosyncratic and comfortable base for touring the area.
La Bamba de Areco is a tranquil 370-acre estate 90 minutes from Buenos Aires, with 11 rooms divided among the original 1830 manor and other buildings constructed in a similar style. Owner and polo enthusiast Jean-François Decaux initially intended to restore the estancia as a private home, but fortunately he changed his mind, opening it as a hotel. His wife, Pascale, an interior designer, did a magnificent job with the décor, giving La Bamba a chic sense of place.
The architecturally spectacular 241-room Chicago Athletic Association Hotel is in a prominent location overlooking Millennium Park and Lake Michigan. On the ground floor, the Turkish baths now house what must be the world’s most ornate Shake Shack. A grand staircase leads from the marble-clad entry hall up to the palatial lobby lounge, a triumphant German-American interpretation of high Venetian décor. Young-at-heart guests will likely be quite pleased with the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel.
The contemporary oceanfront Faena Hotel is set along a stretch of Miami Beach in the new Faena district. Distinctive public areas include the “Cathedral” lobby supported by massive gold-leafed and seashell-encrusted columns and lined with large-scale murals by Argentine painter Juan Gatti; a living room with a grand piano; and garden courtyard with an impressive sculpture of a nine-foot gilded skeleton of a woolly mammoth. All 169 accommodations feature Carrara marble baths, art deco accents, plush window seats or furnished balconies, handcrafted working desks and butler service.
Andrew Harper members have access to full travel-planning services through Andrew Harper Travel.
1 (800) 375-4685
Open M-F 8:30AM-5:30PM CT
