The Faena Hotel Buenos Aires, formally known as Faena Hotel+Universe, is a

five-star hotel Hotel ratings are often used to classify hotels according to their quality. From the initial purpose of informing travellers on basic facilities that can be expected, the objectives of hotel rating have expanded into a focus on the hotel experie ...

in the

Puerto Madero Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning community as the Puerto Madero Waterfront, is a barrio of Buenos Aires in Argentina in the central business district, occupying a significant portion of the Río de la Plata riverbank and repres ...

section of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Overview

The lot where the hotel sits today was originally purchased in 1902 by

Bunge y Born Bunge & Born was a multinational corporation based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, whose diverse interests included food processing and international trade in grains and oilseeds. It is now known as Bunge Limited. History Bunge & Born was founded in 1 ...

, a leading local agribusiness firm. They had one of the largest wheat mills in the country, which allowed them to establish ''Molinos Río de la Plata'' (a leader in the local retail-foods market).educ.ar - el caso de Bunge y Born
/ref> The structure measured 25,000 m² (270,000 ft²) in indoor area and was built with bricks imported from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. The development of a new port further north after 1911 led to the original docklands' obsolescence, however, and by 1998, the shuttered ''El Porteño'' building (as the historic mill was known locally) had been slated for demolition. Saved from the wrecking ball by local cultural preservation associations, the building was purchased by former fashion designer

Alan Faena Alan Diego Faena (born 20 November 1963, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine hotelier and real estate developer who has developed properties in his native Buenos Aires, as well as Miami Beach, Florida. Faena is the founder and President of Faena ...

, who, after a US$40 million investment, opened the Faena Hotel in October 2004. Faena, together with interior designer

Philippe Starck Philippe Starck (; born 18 January 1949) is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles. Life Starck was born on ...

, developed the structure into a hotel with 88 rooms and residential 80 units. The hotel includes the rustic ''El Mercado'' restaurant, Bistro Sur restaurant, Library Lounge bar, La Cave wine cellar and private dining room, fashion boutique, El Cabaret, and Faena Spa. El Cabaret hosts the number-one tango show in Buenos Aires, "Rojo Tango". The hotel forms the core of the larger Faena District in Buenos Aires. Faena worked with

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...

to create the Faena Aleph Residences -

Foster and Partners Foster + Partners is a British architectural, engineering, and integrated design practice founded in 1967 as Foster Associates by Norman Foster. It is the largest architectural firm in the UK with over 1,500 employees in 13 studios worldwide ...

' first project in Latin America, completed in January 2013."Foster + Partners Completes First Project in South America: Climate-Friendly Faena Aleph Apartments"
''Inhabitat.com''

In popular culture

* The hotel featured in the 2015 film ''

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

''.

References

External links

Faena Hotel and Universe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faena Hotel+Universe Hotels in Buenos Aires Hotels established in 2004 Argentine companies established in 2004