December 23rd
We took a taxi to the airport from our hotel and this was in our opinion a rip off. We prepaid for the taxi which didn’t make sense to us but the taxi stand rep said it would be better for us. I can tell you we would have paid significantly less had we flagged a taxi from the street just outside the hotel. As long as you take a radio taxi you are fine. Since taxis are not too expensive even overpaying is not a huge deal, more of an annoyance that the hotel would take advantage of you.
The domestic airport – Jorge Newberry is a new airport and pretty comfortable. The only challenge we encountered is that our flight gate was not listed until right before boarding. We actually entered the security area without knowing where we were going to board. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem except there were two sections of the airport for entering the gates so in theory you need to know the gate. We figured it out by process of elimination from which general area we would be departing.
We were flying by Aerolineas Argentinas which we had discovered several days earlier had gone into receivership. We had checked at our hotel to see if we would need to book another flight and they were completely unconcerned with the financial situation as the airline is the sole airline of Argentina and had been taken over by the government. While they did indicate that service would not be very good, the airline would still be running. The gate was actually not posted until after the time at which we were to be boarding but in the end we did board and made it to our destination in Mendoza.
Arriving in Mendoza
The airport in Mendoza is pretty tiny. There are very few services so don’t plan to spend any time there. We had arranged in advance for a car to our inn however you can also get a taxi outside the airport.
Our drive from the airport to the inn which is located in Chacras de Coria was not a pretty drive. We felt like we were driving into the middle of no where. We were a little surprised at the area as we arrived closer to the town Chacras de Coria as we had read that it was a charming village.
Lares de Charcras
We arrived at our inn which was fine but again we felt like it was in the middle of no where and it was gated so we had the sense that the area was not too safe.
We checked in and our room was basic but comfortable. The inn itself was charming but overall also pretty basic. The staff though were wonderful they made every to make the stay comfortable and enjoyable. I was truly surprised at how the staff would go out of their way to solve problems/questions and find solutions. When we left the inn the last day, one staff member called her brother at a hotel he works at in Mendoza and arranged for us to leave our luggage there while we walked around the city – wow!
Exploring Chacras de Coria
After getting settled in our room we decided to take a walk in the village to see what it was like. Even though the inn is gated (as are most of the properties in the area, we did not feel unsafe walking to and in the town
The village itself is pretty small and visibly under transition. In some cases it is in very poor repair, sidewalks and builds while other buildings have been renovated and are modern. It looks like a village which is starting to rebuild itself. There is a plaza in the centre of town which is pretty and numerous restaurants.
We walked through the whole village with a stop for ice cream – dolce de leche of course!
Given that it was small there were only a few areas of the inn where one could spend time, the pool, terrace, media room and the lounge chairs. Our disappointment was that there was a large family staying at the inn and basically they overtook the whole place. The would leave their towels on the lounge chairs, glasses and other personal things on the terrace and also occupy the pool and media room. It felt uncomfortable for us.
My suggestion is that if you are going to be staying at a small inn, check in advance that there isn’t a large group taking over the majority of the rooms.
Read Other Posts In This Series:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
Part VII
Part VIII
Part IX
Part X
Part XI
Part XII
Part XIV
Part XV
Part XVI
Part XVII
Tags: mendoza, South America Itinerary, South America travel
