Faena Hotel - A Phillippe Starck wonderland

An amazing decision was made in 2006 to build a Phillippe Starck designed hotel in the Puerto Madero area of BA. What a treat. We visited and had lunch in this restaurant called 'Mercado'

The luscious entry hall

In Mercado the decoration was eclectic to say the least, but all added up to a great atmosphere. Richard had Risotto with Osso Buco (proclaimed excellent) and I really enjoyed the local speciality called Milanese - which turned out to be Veal Parmigiana. The 'Portenos' as the locals are called just love it - smothered with grilled cheese in copious amounts - they do LOVE their grilled soft cheese...

A few details of the decoration

These two photos are of inset boxes in the wall of the red lobby above - each one about a foot square

 

The sumptuous evening dining room - chandeliers are designed by Phillippe for Baccarat. In fact he re-designed their whole showroom in Paris

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=baccarat+showroom+paris&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.49784469,d.d2k,pv.xjs.s.en_US.MpiVkF51mpA.O&biw=985&bih=485&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=-pjzUY7dHI2d0wXco4HwDA

We got chatting with the hotel manager - more on that later...