Estancia Villa Maria

This is a mixed review because the grounds are beautiful and there is so much potential for this place. They just need to pour a little money into it. The food was delicious, service at the restaurant is excellent. The main areas are pretty and well kept but the rooms/bathrooms have been a little abandoned. Not at a 4 star rating. It’s like it got stuck in time. Our bathtub had rust, and the old tub was peeling. This is in most of the rooms. I believe. It just feels unkept (tiles, flooring, doors). One thing is keeping it rustic with antiques and another is not renovating where needed. The wallpaper was peeling in one of the rooms. They do maintain it clean though. Management is fully aware, and they have brought it up to the owners. The grounds are so pretty and there were many things for our kids to do (ping-pong, foosball, horse carriage rides, horseback riding, pool, soccer field, tennis courts, board games, chess boards, etc.) Family friendly for sure! The menu and food are amazing, all meals included and the tea time is delicious! We got to enjoy the best gin and tonic by fireplace at night time. Staff truly makes you feel at home. It was a lovely 2 day stay. They have a laundry service which came in handy as well. Beds and sheets are comfy and fresh. We will be coming back. I hope they get enough feedback on needing renovations in rooms/bathrooms because this place is a gem. Just needs a little love. Great place to stay your last night or two in Buenos Aires before traveling out of Ezeiza airport since it’s a 25 -30 min drive there.

I could tell this must be a great place and I want to like it. I really do. But unfortunately, we did not enjoy our stay. They were having such a bad mosquito infestation that we were almost eaten alive. In fact, the mosquito problem was so bad that: 1. After soaking ourselves with mosquito repellent, the mosquitoes smartly avoid any bare skin and bite through the clothes. No joking, we got bitten so many times through our shirts, pants, and socks that we had to quickly abandon our horseback riding to go back inside. 2. When swimming in the pool, we had to quickly strip and jump into the water, and while in the water, backstroke is pretty much the only style you can do because the mosquitoes will bite your face and ears when you come out of the water to breathe. 3. While there are not as many mosquitoes indoors, there are no mosquito nets in the bedroom. We could tell there was still a lot of mosquitoes landed on the ceiling waiting for the night. I didn't know how we managed to get through the night. We had to cancel all other outdoor activities that we planned out just to stay inside, for example, golf, soccer, volleyball, etc. How to avoid the mosquitoes and how to alleviate the itch is pretty much a constant topic during our stay. We were told by the hotel staff that the mosquito problem is unusually bad this year but I could only write about my own experience. I hope others can avoid this and get to enjoy the estancia more. 🙁

For the sake of quick reading, I’ve bulletpointed the main reasons for my poor review: - Poor greeting - no help with cases to our rooms and the main entrance was shut on arrival - Shabby to the point of dangerous. We’re from the UK, we know what faded grandeur is and this is not it! Missing curtains, chipped porcelain, light switches and sockets coming away from wall and loo flush button kept falling out. Both baths we’re just very grubby. -Staff seems confused about service and what good looks like. - Front Desk operated between 9am and 6pm. No one is on site overnight, which is health and safety issue. What if a gust is unwell? Or there is a fire in a room? - We were told we could ride horses the next day on arrival (we saw a group riding them and were told the hours available) No horses were there in the morning and when we asked, we were told it was not possible and could only travel round the grounds in the cart. The cart was dusty and uncomfortable. This was by far the biggest disappointment as the main reason we chose to stay here was to rise a horse! - No tour of the grounds on arrival or building so we were never sure where we were allowed to go - The estancia markets itself on their website as being near airport but the staff made it appears as though it was impossible to get a taxi to collect us out of hours to take us to the airport for a flight. They did not offer confidence and it took them hours to sort out with no guarantee - Food - not great quality and no choice of what to eat. - Pool was dirty and towels were threadbear All of my comments are based on what this establishment charges per night. This place needs investment in maintenance and staff training to warrant what they charge. The only positive was that the bed was comfortable. It’s not often I am baffled but I don’t understand how this place has so many good reviews. Perhaps we were just unlucky but I wish we’d chosen to stay elsewhere. We were happy to leave.

Spent the day with our and my sister’s family. Very nice grounds to walk around. The kids and I enjoyed horseback riding (it was not busy so we went twice on the same day). We played ping pong sand foosball. The food was pretty good, we had to ask for meat as some people were celebrating Lent. The tea time was good too. We had a great time!

We stayed as a family in the “family room”. The name somewhat undersells what you get given it comprises 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms - it’s more like an apartment. The whole place is undersold and understated though, which is its charm. It is a beautiful property with lots of quirky rooms and spaces where you can choose to while away the days and nights over tea, cocktails or Malbec. The grounds are superb - park like (to match the stately home vibe of the house) with loads to do - swimming, volleyball, table tennis and of course horse riding to name a few. The food was great and the staff were simply lovely - so helpful and kind. We noted prior reviews which mentioned corporate/ other events impacting - there was such an event when we were there and it did not impact at all on the level of service or experience. In short, it’s like going back in time to days of bygone elegance and more like being guests at an old friend’s estate than staying at a hotel. We would return in a flash.

Estancia Villa María is promoted as an oasis of tranquility just 50 kms away of Buenos Aires. That was what I was looking for after a very long week at work - silence, relaxation and hospitality. Things were going well until a stampede of a group of 20+ yelling people arrived on my second day. This group respected no health protocols (zero face masks, zero social distancing) and monopolized all common areas (pool, horses, tennis courts, etc). I complained to the staff and they did absolutely nothing. Another problem was the lack of air conditioning and BA’s torrid summer - unacceptable for an estancia of this level and the very uncomfortable bed. Pluses are that staff was nice and that the facilities are gorgeous. But, for this price, you can find a myriad of better alternatives near Buenos Aires. I will not come back.