La Faena Universe

I really need to drop a few links about this hotel, a magical transplanted place originally from Manchester... I'm staying under a roof that once belonged to a grain warehouse in the UK, and it was transplanted brick for brick across the Atlantic and turned into this classy hotel right near the rio de la plata...

Here's what the Times UK had to say about this spot:

"La Faena is the it hotel in Buenos Aires. When Coldplay, Jamiroqui or any other band are in town, this is where they choose to stay. The French designer, Philippe Starck has really gone to town on Buenos Aires' first design hotel. He told the owner Alan Faena that he wanted to create a beautiful theatre, where the guests are the stars of the show. And I want a piece of the action, so the mission is to keep up with the fashionistas and try and look as polished and glamorous as they do.
But, it’s not just about style at the hotel. Augustina, the new spa manager, has injected a healthy dose of spirituality into the treatments. Guests, staff and even locals can start the day with a meditation session. And “therapies for the soul” such as pranic healing, which works on revitalising the body’s energetic aura, are offered..."

The inside is a glorious scarlet haze of lights and flavors... a review has this to say:

"The owner Alan Faena, earned his money as a clothing designer in Buenos Aires, before he decided to spend them on establishing the hotel and an area around in Puerto Madero, to a culture area with parks, galleries and shops. Originally El Porteño Building was an old silo, built of brick stones from Manchester in England a century ago, in what is called Belle Époque in Argentina, the great time. Alan Faena saw potential in this seven floor high building and united old and new in an exiting universe, along with Philip Starck.The entrance to Faena Hotel + Universe is not very grandiose. It is a modest door in bricks, which leads to an overbuilt corridor between flower pots towards a 10m high double door with red glass windows. From there on the hotel is an experience."

This place is a dimly lit alternate universe, laid out around a central hallway and art directed by the famed designer Philippe Starck... yet another online screed declares the following about the Faena:
"For guests, the transformative experience begins at the 32-foot-tall pair of entry doors made of red-stained glass. These lead into the “cathedral,” a 263-foot-long corridor that forms the central spine of the Universe. Floor-to-ceiling windows, punctuated by brick and gold velvet curtains, flank the corridor while a red carpet, atop dark lapacho hardwood floors, runs the length of it. The cathedral leads into and unites a series of spaces each of which comprises a unique world. This includes a cabaret, library, the “El Mercado” restaurant, a bistro, and a Turkish Hammam. These spaces allow the hotel’s jet-setting guests to interact and mingle.
Starck collaborated with Faena to design the interiors. Etched glass and tall crystal mirrors create optical illusions throughout various spaces in the Universe. Imperial furniture with gold clawed feet, deep red and gold velvet, and Italian marble echo the Belle Époque of a century ago—and signal an opportunity for the era’s rebirth. A playful meeting of bygone style with modern fantasy suffuses the public spaces..."

we're spending the week in their small cabaret theater, around a u-shaped table, debating the merits and failings of our company's offerings to the world...