“Bonjour, ” said the bellman, as we arrived at this hotel on one of the city’s loveliest streets. We hadn’t teleported ourselves to Paris in the short drive from Recoleta, but instead, to the iconic French-hospitality brand Accor’s grandoise flagship in the city, the Sofitel. The property exudes elegance and sports a thick French accent with a decor concept best described as muted, monochrome chic. Black and white pictures of Paris adorn its walls, room attendants totter around in Frenchmaid outfits and its suites are a luxurious shade of beige. The Sofitel epitomises much of the Porteño ideal – European, sophisticated and confident, although perhaps at times a little too much so. We found the lobby staff to be aloof; it wasn’t guaranteed that we’d be helped with our luggage, or have the door opened for us as we left or arrived. This said, one team member went above and beyond at breakfast. With no green juice on menu for us diet-conscious travellers, he Google’d a recipe and made some specially for us. On our second morning, he had remembered and the juice was ready and waiting, without us even asking.
