Englishman Tom Rixton – former record producer for Elastica and Simple Minds – made eye contact with Argentine blonde Patricia O´Shea in Dublin over a pint of the black stuff in 2001. They fell in love, married in 2002, moved to Buenos Aires and opened Palermo Viejo’s Home hotel in 2005.
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rnThey live happily ever after, and so do their guests, who now have to book well in advance. This kind of quality boutique hotel is pretty rare in Argentina. The 18 rooms and 3 separate penthouse suites, each clad in a different style of wallpaper (from flower-power to granny pad to Afghani poppy field), with sculpted bathrooms and rogue minbars (stocked by Tom himself), are enormously comfortable.
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rnNot unnecessarily luxurious, but comfortable – just as you would expect at home. The wild Brazilian grass garden features a delicious infinity pool and sunbathing deck, which is unheard of for a boutique hotel of this kind.
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rnThe subterranean spa is pretty top-of-the-range, while the cocktail bar is expertly manned and hosts DJ parties – thanks to Tom’s long list of contacts – on a Friday evening.