Accommodations

In spacious new quarters that could use a little more maintenance, the HI affiliate in San Juan [1] is the Zonda Hostel (Caseros 486 Sur, tel. 0264/420-1009, www.zondahostel.com.ar [2], US$8–10 pp dorm, US$19 s, US$24 d), which now has private rooms as well as semi-basement dorms (which, in San Juan, have the advantage of being cooler than the rest of the house). All the baths are shared, however, and the small backyard needs tidying up.

Once a geriatric home, in a quiet neighborhood northeast of Plaza 25 de Mayo, the sprawling Triásico Hostel (Pedro Echagüe 520 Este, tel. 0264/421-9528, www.triasicohostel.com.ar [3], US$8–13 pp dorm, US$24–27 s or d) has dorms with either shared or private baths as well as private rooms with and without air-conditioning. It also arranges excursions, but the Wi-Fi has limited reach.

Half a block north of the tourist office, Hostel Argentia (Sarmiento 57 Norte, tel. 0264/421-4206, www.hostelargentia.com [4], US$9–11 pp dorm, US$12–18 s, US$21–26 d, with breakfast) has the usual dorm rooms in the spacious main house but also private garden rooms (even a suite that sleeps four) that are quiet unless an evening asado is in progress. A large swimming pool separates the main house from the back.

Though it stands in dreary surroundings five blocks north of the bus terminal, Petit Hotel Dibú (Avenida San Martín and Patricias Sanjuaninas, tel. 0264/420-1034, hoteldibu [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] ar, US$26 s, US$31 d, with breakfast) has clean, sizeable rooms.

Another good basic choice is friendly Hotel Bristol (Entre Ríos 368 Sur, tel. 0264/421-4629, bristolhotel [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] ar, US$24 s, US$33 d, with breakfast), which has 45 decent rooms with repellent wallpaper.

Well-kept Hotel Nuevo San Francisco (Avenida España 284 Sur, tel. 0264/427-2821, www.nuevo-sanfrancisco.com.ar [5], US$33 s or d with private bath and breakfast) offers firm beds plus bright and spacious common areas as well as arranging excursions.

The tiny reception area at Hotel Selby (Avenida Rioja 183 Sur, tel. 0264/422-4766, www.hotelselby.com.ar [6], US$33 s, US$39 d, with breakfast) is a misleading approach to an aging but well-maintained hotel with smallish but otherwise good rooms with private baths.

The traditional elite hotels are Gran Hotel Provincial (formerly Hotel Nogaró, Ignacio de la Roza 132 Este, tel. 0264/422-7501, www.granhotelprovincial.com [7], US$57 s, US$70 d) and Hotel Alkázar (Laprida 82 Este, tel. 0264/421-4965, www.alkazarhotel.com.ar [8], US$73 s, US$82 d, with breakfast).

They’ve been overshadowed, though, by the new Del Bono Park Hotel, Spa & Casino (José Ignacio de la Roza Oeste 1946, tel. 0264/426-2300, www.hoteldelbono.com.ar [9], US$121 s or d), whose modernistic architecture and garish casino stand out in an otherwise conservative provincial capital. In services, though, it has gone far ahead of anything else in town.