In the heart of Buenos Aires travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises, spa and resorts

Housed in 1912 French classical villa, the Algodon mansion is a small hotel in the heart of one of Buenos Aires most attractive districts, La Recoleta. Owned by New York-based entrepreneur Scott Mathis, this urban property underwent a three-year renovation. His fastidious restoration makes the Algodon Mansion the first five-star boutique hotel in Buenos Aires and is added on the 2011 Hot List as one of the best new hotels and resorts of the year, as selected by the editors of Condé Nast Traveler.

The Algodon mansion has just ten suites. All are different and each equipped with enough high tech electronics to entertain Steve Jobs. The interior is strikingly modern throughout mixed architectural detail with stylish modern comforts. The property has four sizes of rooms, ranging from 515 square feet to 1,200 square feet. The guestrooms are artfully decorated with ebony-and-leather furniture, silk curtains, and suede wall fabrics, and the bathrooms are fitted with jet showers and bathtubs.The top suites include butler service and lack for nothing in the way of luxury include a baby grand piano, a fireplace, a wine-themed wet bar, adjoining den, and roll-down projection screens.

There is a French-inspired restaurant with its oxblood acrylic walls and scarlet leather banquettes. But the most remarkable of the Mansion’s common spaces has to be the rooftop, a rarity in Buenos Aires — this one offers a pool, a spa, and by night the Sky Bar. Algodon Mansion has a rustic mountain feel, covers more than 2,000 sprawling acres, and emphasizes an outdoorsy element that adds golf, tennis, and polo.