I spent a week at the Argentino in Feb 2006 - It was summer there and the place was packed with families with children - a bit noisy at breakfast! I enjoyed the place but its NOT for those looking for 21st century amenities. Its one of those huge old destination resorts where people went for large blocks of time in the summer back in the old days. The halls are 18 feet wide! Elevators old but functional. The building itself is an incredible concrete monolith. Like vacationing at an old State mental hospital. Bedrooms are a bit spartan - large with high ceilings and dated wooden furniture. We sprung for a "Senior" room which had air conditioning (most rooms are not air-cinditioned). The AC was a most insufficient noisy through-the-wall unit. However there are constant breezes off the water (location is right on the Rambla facing the beach) and after the first night we turned the wheezing unit off and opened the huge windows. If you open the transom over the door you get a powerful steady air current through the room as the hotel keeps the enormous hallway windows open at all times. Meals were OK, except in the main DR which was too crowded and noisy for my taste - check out the wonderful grill room in the back of the property beyond the pool - nightly entertainment. The freshwater and salt water pools behind the hotel are surrounded by lawns with plenty of trees for shade, if you want it. This is a family oriented resort - lots of room for kids to run around and organized activities daily. They also have nightly cultural offerings - guitar concerts, poetry readings, a book discussion etc. In Spanish of course. Overall I liked the stay here and I liked being someplace clearly different than what we usually experience.

The town is small - there is a wide sandy beach in a crescent shape. There is an arial tram to the top of San Antonio Hill with good views of the area. Many small restaurants along the Rambla if you get bored of hotel food.

SB Philadelphia

I stayed at the Argentino Hotel in Piriapolis in February, 2006. Fortunately, we only stayed for 3 days. It was awful! Even when we rented one of the "recently renewed rooms" and one of the most expensive room in the hotel.

The building resembled a public house or a hospital: very tall ceilings; huge corridors, with no furniture; floors were old and damaged, elevators were old and did not work properly.
Rooms were not well appointed. In those rooms that were "renewed", small TVs were placed on some iron-made tables which, certainly, had nothing to do with the old fashioned style of the hotel. This was just one more detail that showed the poor quality of the hotel. There were no blankets available: just some small ones, similar to airplanes blankets.

Bathrooms´ windows faced the corridors, so you could hear noises from the bathrooms when you were walking the 150 m corridor that stood between your room and the elevators. Regarding "renewed" bathrooms, pls expect some renewal from the 70´s, nothing after that. Hot water was missing sometimes. The quality of towels and soaps was really poor! Not even in some cheap budget hotels I had found stuff like this.
Pools were ok, even when they needed extra maintenance ( painting and some other details were missing).
Breakfast was ok, nothing great but not bad.
By night, there was a live music show that gave some fresh air to the overall depressive hotel.

The exterior of the hotel is impressive: it looks really nice. Unfortunately, the interior is not quite the same.
I found no better hotel at Piriapolis: the whole city lacks a good tourist infrastructure. Just budget hotels. Caffes and restaurants were also modest and did not seem very clean.
Beaches were good.

Visited the Hotel Argentino on the 14th of January. The building does not resemble the web pictures. The building reminded me of an institution in the U.S.(ie courthouse jail or welfare office). The rooms were dark musty and rundown. The bed was a weird version of a futon and the pillows were as fluffy as airplane pillows. No TV in the rooms and no water pressure (hot or cold ) so your daily shower is out. The food was bad buffet style. I would try one of the smaller hotels in the area. Although I really do not know what there is to do in Pirapolis. The place reminded me of a cross between a run down Balboa Island and Tijuana. I apent 2 days then returned to the civilization of Buenos Aires. I won't be back soon Frank

This hotel is well worth staying at if you are going to Piriapolis. It is a grand old hotel with all the style that newer hotels seem unable to replicate. We had a room with a river view and balcony which was actually a suite with two rooms with ceilings 20 feet high. The breakfast was outstanding, the service excellent although don't expect any English to be spoken, and the facilities were very good. The pool area is particularly well appointed although the pool itself really needs renewing. The location is A1 with the beach just across the promenade road. Be aware that the river is tidal and so on some days the beach doesn't exist. I would head straight back here if ever in Piriapolis.