The Best Places to Pamper Yourself in Buenos Aires

After a long day of sightseeing around the big, grimy city of Buenos Aires, you’re probably in need of a pick me up, something that involves either being sat or reclined for a few hours and hitting your off switch before the night time activities commence (be warned: Buenos Aires is a city that never sleeps). Relax and get groomed, primped and preened at one of these pampering establishments.

Lather Up

Photo courtesy of Barbería La Época.

In the modern day era of portable electric razors, shaving has become a five-minute morning job carried out while simultaneously drinking your morning coffee and combing your hair. But back in the day, it was a long-drawn-out masculine ritual performed down at the local barbershop. This tradition lives on in the historical Barbería La Época in the heart of the residential Caballito neighbourhood. Men can go in for a traditional hot-towel straight razor shave and some man time. Settle back in your reclining leather chair, order a little tipple (since the place is also a bar) and put the world right with your waistcoated barber as he applies steaming white towels to your face and neck and brushes foamy soap onto your face before skilfully removing your five o’clock shadow in slow sweeping strokes with a blade. Go with time on your hands and soak up the authentic age-old surroundings. And if you go late afternoon on a Friday, you might also catch a live tango show while you’re there.

Barbería La Época
Guayaquil 877, Caballito

Unwind Argentine Style

Photo courtesy of The Spa at Four Seasons Buenos Aires.

Your body is treated like a temple at The Spa at the Four Seasons Hotel. The no-expense-spared establishment in the smart Recoleta district re-opens next month (and if the other recent hotel renovations are anything to go by, it promises to be opulent with a capital O). Of the first-class treatments on offer, we recommend doing it Argentine style with the Porteño Tango, a hot-stone massage that’s rhythmically performed in time with the beats of tango music and designed to alleviate stress using products infused with Argentina’s other passion in life, red wine. Alternatively, you can travel to Patagonia and back again with the Discovering Argentina treatment whereby your body becomes a map of Argentina and the various products and techniques bestowed on different areas reflect the climates of the different regions: your lower body is subject to the cold of Patagonia in the south while your upper body receives a warm nourishing back mask made from yerba mate that represents the warmer northern regions. Following your treatment, relax with a cocktail in the hotel’s uber-trendy Pony Line Bar.

Four Seasons Hotel Spa
Posadas 1086/88, Recoleta

Turkish Delight

Photo courtesy of Faena Hotel + Universe.

A dip in the Faena Hotel + Universe‘s steam bath and you’ll feel like a new person. The glitzy boutique hotel in Puerto Madero is home to a luxuriant Turkish-style hammam done out in marble. Clear your passageways with the eucalyptus-infused vapour and people-watch in the candlelight as the spa is known to attract the who’s who of Buenos Aires.

Faena Hotel + Universe
Martha Salotti 445, Puerto Madero

Knead to Relax?

Photo courtesy of Buenos Aires Life Centre.

The best remedy for tired feet and a stiff neck and shoulders? A massage of course. And massage therapist Jennifer Kleuppel, a Canadian expat and co-founder of the tranquil Buenos Aires Life Centre, has gifted hands that will relieve aches and niggling knots and tend to any specific ailments you may have. She specialises in Swedish-style remedial massage therapy and offers 60 or 90 minutes sessions. The holistic centre tucked away in a well-lit Recoleta apartment also offers acupuncture and yoga classes.

Buenos Aires Life Centre
French 2647, Alto Palermo

If you’d prefer the massage to come to you, call on physical therapist Nicola Stolar Tarbuck to visit you in your place of lodging. Her magic hands and healing powers have treated many a celebrity both in the UK and Argentina. She also specialises in Thai Reiki, yoga and pilates.

Nicola Stolar Tarbuck
[email protected]
Phone: +54 11 666 168 36

A Cut Above

Getting your hair cut, styled or coloured in a foreign country can be a traumatic experience due to the language barrier – hand gestures don’t always get the right message across. To avoid any potential hair disasters, pay a visit to Irish-born expat Terrie Orr who welcomes clients into her cozy Belgrano apartment and tidies up their tresses from the comfort of her front room. She’s become a well-known figure on the expat scene and her scissor and styling skills are in high demand so be sure to book in advance. While you’re there, you can also get her to tame, tease and tint your unruly eyebrows using the latest HD Brow techniques (that are all the rage at the moment). She’s also got her finger firmly on the pulse and can give you plenty of tips on what to see and do while you’re in Buenos Aires.

BA Hairdresser, Terrie Orr
[email protected]
(address given out on request)

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Sophie Lloyd

UK-born Sophie Lloyd first moved to Buenos Aires at the beginning of 2010 out of a desire to learn Spanish and live the Latino lifestyle, having spent the previous five years working as a fashion editor, writer and stylist in Shanghai, China. She quickly adapted to the late nights and copious amounts of Malbec. She works as a freelance writer and copywriter and currently contributes to the Buenos Aires edition of Global Blue's Shop magazine as well as running her own personal shopping and private shopping tour business Shop Hop BA delivering a stress-free, customised shopping experience to visitors to the city.