Plaza Hotel

“Where else in this town?”

On a free weekend I traveled by car from Cordoba to La Rioja. The trip was fantastic - great views, great roads (mostly), very little traffic and sunshine! La Rioja is actually not that bad as often described in guide books. There is a river passing through the town, close by is an impressive mount… lisää

On a free weekend I traveled by car from Cordoba to La Rioja. The trip was fantastic - great views, great roads (mostly), very little traffic and sunshine! La Rioja is actually not that bad as often described in guide books. There is a river passing through the town, close by is an impressive mountain range and the people are friendly. But prepare for the heat. The Plaza Hotel had a room on a walk-in basis and I was quite satisfied. The room was simple, but clean. Shower was working and the reception staff was very friendly and helpful. Breakfast was poor. The ancient elevator is an attraction by itself. Of course this is a simple hotel, but without great expectation you get what you pay for. Ahh - very important - the A/C was working. An alternative is the new boutique hotel Pucará not far from the plaza, but is was full.

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“NEEDS UPDATING”

Besides the excellent location, the Hotel Plaza is a place stuck in the early 1970s. It is in great need of refurbishment and updating, especially the bedding and towels which are thin and rough. The staff is very friendly and accommodating; they allowed a later check out (12 rather than 11) as my … lisää

Besides the excellent location, the Hotel Plaza is a place stuck in the early 1970s. It is in great need of refurbishment and updating, especially the bedding and towels which are thin and rough. The staff is very friendly and accommodating; they allowed a later check out (12 rather than 11) as my husband had been unwell through the night. We were told there was a 'free to consult doctor' provided by the hotel- unfortunately we got this information as we were checking out; it would have been good if the person on duty had mentioned it when I had requested a later check out. It's good enough for a night stop over. It seems to be the best available in the center of town. In desperate need of better bedding and towels.

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“Could try harder.”

Good points: 1) They had a room available for us as walk-in visitors - very welcome after a bus ride from Salta that should have taken just over ten hours, but actually lasted more than nineteen! 2) Reception staff were usually courteous and helpful. 3) Great central position on the main square. 4)… lisää

Good points: 1) They had a room available for us as walk-in visitors - very welcome after a bus ride from Salta that should have taken just over ten hours, but actually lasted more than nineteen! 2) Reception staff were usually courteous and helpful. 3) Great central position on the main square. 4) Pleasant breakfasts. 5) Rooftop swimming pool (a bit shabby but a great location). Negative points: 1) No hot water for the shower day one and day two. We reported this on the morning of day two and were told that it would be investigated. No change on day three so we settled for cold showers once again. In fact the water did run warm (not hot) after all the taps had been left running for just over ten minutes, but it was too late to shower by then. 2) On our 9pm return after a full day's excursion on day two we found that the room had not been serviced (bed unmade, wet towels still in the bath). At first it was suggested that this was our fault for having taken our room key with us i.e. the house-keeper couldn't get into the room. It was implied that it was now too late to do anything about it. However we pointed out that the room had been serviced normally the previous day, when we had also kept our room key with us. There was no apology, but the room had been cleaned and the bed made by the time we returned again later. 3) Minor defects don't stand out unless there are other causes of dissatisfaction, but once a hotel has fallen below expectations the little things irritate too e.g. the ripped sheet on the bed, the section of peeling wall-paper in our room, the threadbare and grubby flags above the hotel entrance. 4) We also noted in retrospect that we had been charged almost as much as the nearby five star hotel. In my experience a good four star hotel can do very well in comparison to an unexceptional five star hotel alongside. All that it takes is attention to the detail and to great customer care. The Plaza's five star neighbour is clearly not a consumer favourite, judging by the reviews, but it seems that management at The Plaza are not really trying to compete. It wouldn't take much investment to smarten up the building and staff training doesn't have to be expensive. It just needs a bit more effort.

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