Summer is about to start in the southern hemisphere and Patagonia is the ideal destination to reconnect yourself with nature , practice outdoors sports and experience memorable adventures.

Here my suggestions:

Book at least  2 nights in Buenos Aires City,   as your first  stop in Argentina. Enjoy it´s night life, a tango show and  walk around the most attractive districts: Recoleta, Palermo and San Telmo.

Do shopping  in Buenos Aires!!: excellent products at unbelievable prices!

Connecting flights to Patagonia departs from Buenos Aires “Aeroparque” ( the domestic flights airport), and all flights take around two / three hours to your Patagonian  destinations.

The Best of the best in Patagonia:
San Martin de los Andes Village:  a fly fishing paradise – excellent Jack Nicklaus Golf Course – Ideal for outdoors.  Ideal:3 / 5  nights stay.

Bariloche City: the biggest city of Patagonia, with an amazing nature in the surroundings: stay between 3 or 4 nights here

Calafate and The Glaciers: in the southernmost region of Patagonia. Unforgettable trekking at  the Perito Moreno Glacier. Excellent Hotels.Stay 2 or 3 nights

Other  places worth including in your tour : Villa La Angostura ( between San Martin de los Andes and Bariloche) – Peninsula de Valdes ( a paradise of southern right whales ), and Ushuaia ( look at the bottom of the map to find it!)

Perfect Connections:

1 – San Martin de los Andes – Villa La Angostura – Bariloche

2 – Ushuaia – Calafate – Bariloche

3 – Peninsula de Valdes – Calafate – Bariloche

Suggested food: roasted lamb – trout – smoked wild meat ( deer and wild pig ) – and chocolate cakes. Always Argentine wines: The Patagonian Pinot Noirs and Merlots are super..and the top varietal : the Malbec of Mendoza ( always ask for a Gran Reserve wine )

Friendly people,  no stress, good food,  dry and sunny weather all summer..endless days..no highways or traffic congestion,  no contamination. What else could be expected?

Claudio Oliveira

Ten Rivers & Ten Lakes

Estoy en una de esas escapadas de trabajo que surjen como impostergables y necesarias, recorriendo algunos de los establecimientos de nuestra Cadena, en el espectacular  circuito de Patagonia Norte: Bariloche, San Martín de los Andes y Villa La Angostura.

Primera parada : Hotel La Cascada Bariloche. Arribo:  1 de la madrugada, con apenas unas horas para dormir y luego, recorrer el hotel y armarme algunas impresiones importantes para el desarrollo de nuestras propuestas comerciales. Y me encontré con lo que esperaba….gratamente. Un hotel con señorío y mucha historia, que ha ido recuperando su estilo y que cada vez más lo veremos en forma para estar entre lo más selecto de Bariloche.

Las cosas más importantes:….tiene alma, una arquitectura de ésas que cada vez se encuentran menos y una localización espectacular: km 6 del Circuito Chico, a minutos del Catedral ,  del Centro y de los principales puntos de interés turístico.

Desde cualquier habitación, las vistas son increíbles…ayer el Nahuel Huapi estaba embravecido y era un placer observar desde el silencio de la súper espaciosa suite Gris, la bravura del viento y de las aguas .

Y esta posibilidad de tener en un hotel boutique los servicios de un gran hotel:  Excelente Gastronomía, Spa, multiples livings, piscina cubierta.. y hasta una escuela de buceo a los pies de sus costas!

Para tener en cuenta

Claudio Oliveira

www.tenriverstenlakes.com

This article points out what it seems to be  the most significant changes and trends in the boutique hotel´s market structure:
1 – We will see in the near future strong structural changes in the high end hotel business: new hotel formats, new investors´ profile, a more intense competition to attract the attention of customers and deeper changes in marketing channels.

2 – This  Second Generation of Boutique Hotels is characterized by:

- Larger properties (over 20 rooms)

- The incorporation of more infrastructure and services, typical of the conventional 5 stars hotels , such as meeting rooms, corporate services ,spas, and gourmet cuisine among others.

3 – With this new format, the newcomers in the industry will invest with the clear  intent of  attracting  even more customers of conventional 5-stars hotels, by offering similar services but in a context of greater
personalization, privacy and more value added (art, design and aesthetics)

4 – In this context, the big hotel chains are reacting  to retain their customers through the development of new hotel lines  with a “boutique look and feel”.

5 – In summary, two new forces are perceived in the market: a force that pushes up the boutique concept by incorporating in the projects some infrastructure of conventional luxury hotels and a “pushing down” force, coming from the big players, developing new boutique hotel lines

And in the middle of the battle, we find the first generation boutique hoteliers who will have to do their best to avoid customers leaks into these new second generation hotels.
6 – With this new generation hotel, we will see:

- A new architecture , a generation of  professionals who will have to understand the  key elements that are truly appreciated by the customers of a boutique hotel .Those which create competitive advantages for the property

-    The need of new communicational  efforts to achieve  brand positioning and reach of the final customer

-   a complete reconfiguration of the commercial channels as a consequence of the new traveler behavior to choose and book a hotel

7 – We will increasingly witness the consolidation of the concept of
Hospitality based on welfare, lifestyle and experiences

8  – And finally, the challenges  for the coming years will be

-         Adding  infrastructure and services without loosing the charm and the true essence of the boutique hotels

-         Maintaining and increasing  profitability, even in a context  of more competition

-         Keeping the hotel “visible” in the commercial channels such as Internet, online booking systems and for the travel agents and tour operators

Claudio Oliveira

CEO

Ten Rivers & Ten Lakes