September 1st, 2006 | The lowdown by Liz Fouksman

Tango City Hostel Inn.

The Tango City Hostel Inn got lucky. It happens to be located in one of the most advantageous points to base oneself in Buenos Aires, in a converted old building typical of its neighborhood, perched on the northern-most edge of San Telmo. The surrounding streets are cobbled, the historic buildings smaller and quainter then those of the northern barrios, built before the rich of Buenos Aires became impassioned with the idea of turning BA into a copy of Haussmann?s modernized Paris.

San Telmo itself is the most authentically distinctive barrio of BA. It was stamping ground for the wealthy until the yellow fever epidemics of the 1870s caused them to flee north, leaving San Telmo standing empty and ready to receive the streams of European immigrants that came crowding in. The mansions were quickly converted into tenements and, since no one bothered to renovate the now working-class neighborhood, survived while their northern counterparts were razed to make room for the wide boulevards and grand late nineteenth century apartment houses that permeate Retiro and Recoleta. San Telmo has remained, despite an ever-increasing number of hostels and tourists, a working class neighborhood. Its ornate wrought-iron balconied are often covered by a layer of grime, its sidewalks are full of missing tiles and many of the mansions are now abandoned or punctuated with holes and boarded-up widows. But perhaps that is part of the charm. The thick layer of dust that covers the buildings, the loose cobble stones, the mothers hurrying their children to school in the mornings with worried looks on their faces, the dog shit on the sidewalk: all proclaim that along with beauty and age San Telmo comes with that distinctive chaos and vitality that belong only in a Latin American city.

The Tango City Hostel Inn is squarely in San Telmo, it lies only four blocks west of the bar- and restaurant-filled Calle Defensa, the best known and most luxuriant street of the barrio. However, it is also a ten minute walk from Plaza de Mayo and the beginnings of the micro-center, and five minutes from the nearest subté station, which make it perfect for those that want to remain walking distance from the center but exchange the stink of exhaust and a chorus of taxi honks for crumbing curlicues and wood paneled corner cafes. Inside the hostel is a curious but not unpleasant contrast with the outside. The interior is painted a deep blood red, with a lobby loaded with old crystal chandeliers and dim multi-colored Japanese lanterns, strewn with beanbags, carved wooden chairs and benches and Asian and African masks. There is a perpetual barrage of American and British pop-rock in the... well, it is much too loud to call the background, over which the warm reception staff crack jokes.

But does an excellent location and a warm welcome make the hostel worth the money? A bed in one of the cramped (unless one grabs a spot in the two-bed loft) six people dorm rooms costs nine US dollars, which might seem dirt cheap to someone coming from the West, but in reality is on the pricy side for a BA hostel. El Hostal de San Telmo, just four blocks away, offers beds for five US dollars a night, and in Buenos Aires that price difference can buy a decent restaurant meal.

The answer lies in the duration of one?s stay. If you are on a strict budget and spending just a few days in Buenos Aires, a better option might be to room in the aforementioned Hostal de San Telmo, or in one of the many slightly cheaper and more central hostels in the less atmospheric city center. But if you plan to stay a week or more, then all the extras offered by Tango City begin to pile up. On Tuesday afternoon there is a free Spanish lesson, later the same night is a beginning Tango lesson, on Fridays there?s the complimentary fifteen-minute chair massage, and after a six night stay the transfer from the airport is refunded in full and the seventh night is free. Add the two computers in the lobby that boast free internet (but for which there is nearly always a lengthy wait), and all the freebies make the Hostel Inn a good bargain for the long run.
Though the chair massage is something of a limpid let down, the lessons are certainly worth your time ? the Spanish class often becomes a semi-private one due to lack of attendance, and the Tango lesson was one of the best introductions (in English) to the dance that I have ever attended. But the real value in the lessons is in the opportunity to meet, mingle and step on the toes of fellow travelers, opportunities that can end in new dinner companions or perhaps some true friends. Indeed, after location that is the Tango City Hostel Inn?s true advantage.

It offers an open and congenial atmosphere to meet others, helped not only by its classes, but also by the big kitchen/dining room in its basement (open for use to all) that gets turned into a bar on weekend nights. Or perhaps it?s simply the staff?s willingness to turn down the lights, turn up the music and break out a few beers if a group of kids feel the urge to start dancing in the lobby late on a Friday night. Whatever the secret is, the combination of mingling opportunities and a location that is both convenient for city-exploring and also in the midst of San Telmo?s picturesque decline make Tango City worth your penny for a week or more in BA.