If you’re traveling to Buenos Aires to dance tango, you first find yourself asking: Where should I stay? For travelers visiting the city for the first time, the so-called Tango Hotels or Hostales are a great option. These are usually small guesthouses, run in a family style, offering individual service for tango dancers. Here, we present one of these houses: the Apassionata Tango Hotel in the center of Buenos Aires.
A guesthouse for the tango lifestyle
In the Balvanera district, close to the Plaza del Congreso, you’ll find the charming hotel “Apassionata Tango”. It’s in a relatively quiet side street, yet not far from the nearest subway station. From here, you can quickly get to other parts of the city—for example, the modern port district Puerto Madero, the historic San Telmo, or Microcentro with its popular shopping streets. There are plenty of bus stops as well, and taxis are constantly driving through the neighborhood, so you never have to wait long.
Apassionata Tango Hotel: Nostalgia and lots of charm
In 2010, the Argentinian Fabián Acosta restored the pretty townhouse from the 19th century together with his family and friends. The dark red façade with white stucco elements has a lot of nostalgic charm. You only realize it’s a hotel when you stand right in front of the entrance door and read the artistically painted lettering “Apassionata Tango”.
An open patio serves as a breakfast room, bar, and meeting point during the warm season. Right next to the entrance is the highlight of the house: a beautiful dance hall with a large mirror, used for tango classes and parties. Fabián Acosta is not only a professional tango show dancer, but also a tango teacher. If you’d like, you can book classes with him—he’s also an expert in Argentine folklore. So if you’ve always wanted to learn Chacarera or Zamba, you’re in the right place!
At home in Buenos Aires
Dark wooden beams, brick walls, and elegant walls decorated with calligraphic quotes give the house a romantic atmosphere. And almost always, you can hear tango music—so there’s plenty of good mood and dancing spirit!
Eight rooms of different sizes have been decorated with great care and taste around tango themes. They have catchy names and are arranged across several floors around the open patio. The hotel also offers a large rooftop terrace with sun loungers and lounge furniture, where you can sunbathe, relax, or celebrate shared barbecue parties.
Rooftop terrace with lounge area
International atmosphere
The idea for the hotel’s name came from the Italian hit “Appassionato Tango” from 1961—blended with “apasionada”, the Spanish word for passionate. The name is fitting, because the house owner Fabián Acosta loves and lives tango. He’s also charming and warm, so his international guests immediately feel at home. Since he lived in Germany for several years and taught there, he speaks German very well—and in addition, English and French.
Singles who appreciate a sociable atmosphere feel especially at home at the Apassionata Tango, but couples and groups are also welcome. You can chat casually with the other guests in the patio during breakfast, which is served until 11 a.m. There you make new acquaintances and share plans for the day together. Many guests come from the German-speaking region; otherwise, you simply communicate in English or Spanish.
What’s nearby?
The Apassionata Tango Hotel is located in the center of Buenos Aires. It’s just 200 meters from the famous Café de los Angelitos, where many tango greats have already performed. In the evening, you can enjoy elegant tango stage shows in the in-house theater room; during the day, it’s simply a beautiful, quiet café.
The subway station Pasco is 250 meters away, Carlos Gardel’s former home 300 meters, and the parliament building and the Plaza Congreso 500 meters. The Plaza de Mayo, the Café Tortoni, and the world-famous opera house Teatro Colón are also reachable on foot or within a few minutes by bus or subway.
Many well-known tango venues and milongas are also within walking distance of the hotel. For example, the famous El Beso, where tango is danced several times a week, or La Nacional, also home to various milongas. These days, you can even dance right at the Plaza del Congreso!
At the guests’ request, Fabián Acosta accompanies them to events, arranges reservations, and always knows where a great milonga is taking place on each particular day. He also offers good advice about the local atmosphere and dress code—whether elegant or casual. There are also several shops nearby for tango shoes and dance fashion, as well as well-known tango schools, such as the Estudio Copes-Valdez.
Special: the tango tour
A special offer from the guesthouse is the multi-day tango tours that you can book in addition to your accommodation. A tango tour is definitely an exciting experience and offers a combination of cultural experiences, lots of tango, and deep immersion in the atmosphere of Buenos Aires—the world’s largest tango metropolis.
Milongas, culture, and shopping
Even the private pickup service straight from the airport—either by Fabián himself or by drivers selected by him—is a pleasant and secure start. In the following days, intensive tango lessons are on the program, as well as shared visits to milongas, shows, and concerts. If you’d like, “taxi dancers” can also be invited to the milongas—experienced dancers with whom the ladies can take their first rounds on the dance floor. That makes it easier to get started—especially on your first visit to Buenos Aires!
A shopping stroll in the hottest tango shoe stores, along with tango sightseeing—such as a visit to the Carlos Gardel Museum—are also part of the experience. Guests wander through colorful street markets for handicrafts, learn about historic tango bars, and discover Argentine cuisine. They try Argentine wines and the famous Asado, experience tango lifestyle at its purest—all far away from ordinary tourism! Tango tours can be carried out individually for your preferred date or as a group, as soon as enough interested people sign up. They usually last 10–14 days.
Other activities
Learn tango to suit every taste
Learning tango in Buenos Aires is a diverse affair. There’s a huge selection of dancers, teachers, and tango schools. Getting an overview in a short time is not easy. Fabián Acosta is happy to give recommendations, so every guest quickly finds what’s right for them. By the way, you can also train with a private teacher of your choice in the hotel’s beautiful dance hall.
Sightseeing in the metropolis
Buenos Aires has a lot to offer: the quirky flea market in San Telmo, the La Recoleta cemetery with its marble mausoleums, the Teatro Colón, the Obelisk, the Casa Rosada on Plaza de Mayo, the gaucho market, or the botanical garden. Fabián provides valuable tips even if you haven’t booked a tango tour—or if it’s already over. After all, you’d like to stay longer …
Trips to other parts of Argentina
Fabián Acosta advises his guests as well if they’re interested in excursions to Iguazú, Salta, or Patagonia. After all, Argentina isn’t just Buenos Aires and tango—it’s also considered one of the most beautiful travel countries in the world!
Learn Spanish
Spanish is easy to learn, and Buenos Aires has excellent language schools. So why not combine tango and Spanish? Argentine Spanish is quite different from the European version. It’s enriched with many Italian words and expressions from the Lunfardo, the dialect spoken by the residents of Buenos Aires. For that reason alone, it’s worth learning on site! Classes can be adapted flexibly to your travel schedule during the tango tour, or you can plan your stay according to your own timetable.
Hotel, hostal, guesthouse, or pension?
In Argentina, a house like the Apassionata Tango is referred to as a Hostal. That means a mix of a hotel and a guesthouse or a pension. The difference is that a Hostal is run more individually and guests are looked after personally. It’s therefore not a hotel in the classic sense—for example, there’s no front desk staffed 24/7. Guests receive a key and can even go home as early as the early morning hours. The rooms can also be rented longer-term—just like in a pension.
Individually designed rooms
All of the Apassionata hotel rooms are set up differently, but each and every one radiates plenty of tango atmosphere. Some rooms even have two levels, with the sleeping level accessible via an internal staircase.
For hotel guests, there are 8 lovingly decorated themed rooms in different sizes and price categories to choose from: the stylish Carlos Gardel, the cozy Tanguería, the authentic San Telmo, the elegant Evita, the rustic Tango Bar, the colorful La Boca, the peaceful Tango Zen, and on top of the sunny terrace, the rural Estancia.
Good to know: Two of the rooms don’t have windows directly to the outside, but instead face the airy dance hall, which in turn has exterior windows. Those rooms are therefore particularly quiet. Two other rooms share a bathroom, and in another room the bathroom is located in the hallway. All of this is typical for historic townhouses in Buenos Aires, so you should check beforehand what each room offers. Something for every taste!
Prices: Rooms with breakfast from €60 per night, depending on the season. Please request your travel dates, room type, and—if you like—tango tour.
Overview of services at the Apassionata Tango Hotel
- Breakfast buffet until 11 a.m.
- Free Wi-Fi in all rooms
- Private Safe
- Personalized Support
- Ticket Reservations
- Private Airport Transfer
- Free Luggage Storage
- Group Tango Tours
- Special Tango Tours for Solo Travelers
- Our Own Tango Salon
- Private Lessons in Tango and Argentine Folklore
- Arranging taxi dancers
- The latest information on milongas, live music, etc.
- Polo Experience Day
- Tigre Delta Adventure
- Tango Relax Massages
- Laundry Service
The tango scene: like Phoenix from the ashes
During the pandemic, Argentina had the longest lockdown in the world. Since then, life has become even tougher for the people in Buenos Aires. On the one hand, the metropolis is full of energy and new zest for life; on the other hand, poverty has increased. There are more people without jobs and more homeless people, and there is also extreme inflation. Tourists from Europe benefit from this and can live affordably, but the downside is visible everywhere.
The world of tango is awake again
Since the beginning of 2022, the tango scene in Buenos Aires has really blossomed and reinvented itself. Many new milongas have opened, while some of the tried-and-tested ones closed. Dance floors are packed, new orchestras have been formed, and they’ve recorded CDs. Everywhere, there is live music and dance shows. Another novelty is the Electro Tango Festival, which is now set to take place every year. On milongas, you can completely forget about everyday life for an evening. Maybe that’s why the renewed desire to dance has returned?
A new beginning for the hotel business
For all hotels in Buenos Aires, the Covid years were very difficult, because there was no tourism at all anymore. Many houses had to close or saw their existence threatened. The Apassionata Tango had similar difficulties. Among other things, Fabián Acosta rented out his rooms cheaply to artist colleagues who could no longer afford their apartments.
However, things have been looking up since spring 2022. The tourists and tango dancers are coming back again. The Apassionata Tango Hotel has been freshly renovated and is now looking forward to new guests!
Video tour of the hotel with Fabián Acosta
Contact the Apassionata Tango Hotel
The hotel has a new website, and you can also find it on Facebook and Instagram—with many more photos and details. You can contact Fabián Acosta via Facebook Messenger, email, or WhatsApp—also in German if you like.
Email: tangoapassionata@gmail.com
Mobile and WhatsApp: +54 9 11 6684-6512
Address: Apassionata Tango Hotel, Pasco 272, C1081 Congreso, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Website Apassionata Tango Hotel
Apassionata Hotel auf Facebook
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Photos: Fabián Acosta/Apassionata Tango Hotel, Karin Lüders
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More tango hotels will be presented on this blog in a relaxed sequence.
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