Casa de Uco
Bucolic bacchanalia
Vine-clad valley
We’ll raise a cheers to Casa de Uco wine resort’s full-wall panoramas any day: vines stretching improbably far, frosted Andean peaks – Mendoza’s majesty takes top billing here. The hotel’s man-made assets are equally impressive: eco-friendly industrial architecture puts a bold spin on the rural hideaway, high-calibre Malbec and its contemporaries are plentiful, and justified pride is taken in the estate-grown cuisine. Bold, playful and refined: Casa de Uco’s is a pleasing bouquet indeed.
Facilities
Rooms
19, including nine suites and three private villas.
Checkout
Noon, but flexible, subject to availability (charged at 50 per cent of the room rate). Earliest check-in, 3pm.
More Details
Rates usually include à la carte breakfast and some non-alcoholic drinks.
Also
The hotel’s common areas are wheelchair friendly, and the ground-floor Cordón del Plata room has been adapted for mobility-impaired guests.
Fitness Center
Free Internet Access
Laundry
Pool
On-Site Restaurant
Room Service
Spa
At the Hotel
Winery, spa, sauna, steam room, exercise room, tennis court, playroom, free WiFi, bikes to borrow. In rooms: a 42” flatscreen TV, free bottle of wine, regional snack, Nespresso coffee machine, non-alcoholic drinks, bathrobes and slippers.
Our Favourite Rooms
The lagoon-facing rooms on the top floor have a glass frontage for full-on scenery. There’s a private balcony too, and the sleek modern bath tubs (they’ll fit two if you don’t mind a close encounter) are right by the floor-to-ceiling windowpane. There’s a curtain if you’re feeling shy. The concrete-and-steel Bungalows look like villas from the future, with Corbusier-esque clean-cut modernism and rooftop Jacuzzis.
Poolside
The unheated outdoor pool looms over the lagoon on a concrete platform. The hotel sits along one side and sunloungers are scattered about, but swim to the infinity edge and you’re immersed in timeless Mendocenean terroir. It’s large enough for lazy laps, and a Jacuzzi bubbles away to one side.
Spa
The minimalist mod spa offers vinotherapy and hydrotherapy treatments. There's an aromatic cedar sauna and wet sauna, steam room and relaxation area. There's a fitness centre too and an open-air Jacuzzi and solarium.
Packing Tips
A star chart so you can impress your partner when peeking through the top-floor telescope.
Also
In the games room guests can play pool and computer games, and flip through the large coffee-table book collection.
Children
Over-10s can stay, but most activities require ID, so it’s best to leave the kids at home.
Gallery
Food & Drink
Top Table
Sit by any window and marvel at nature’s handiwork. For a quiet drink together, the upstairs lounge has fragrant candles, cosy throws and a telescope for stargazing.
Dress Code
There’s nothing but vines for miles around, so no one will bat an eyelid if you dine in that day’s riding gear (although try not to clash with the staff’s smart uniform of blue shirts and white jodhpurs).
Hotel Restaurant
Produce is grown on the sizeable estate or neighbouring farms. Mod-Argentinean dishes by chef Juan Ignacio Perez Daldi are designed around hauls from the hotel’s garden, artfully finished with home-grown herbs, seeds and flowers. Contemporary with soft leather sofas and all tables set close to the huge windows, the restaurant’s outdoorsy hues, warm woods and pretty plants invite nature in.
Hotel Bar
The sommelier has sipped his way through many a Malbec (among other wines) and his recommendations are duly reliable. Swap tasting notes with other guests in the sociable wine lounge. Alternatively, imagine you’re a nostalgic wine baron and wander through the hotel with your glass, stopping to gaze wistfully over your crop; summon a waiting staff member if you need a top-up. A wide wine spectrum is celebrated here, from chartreuse sauvignon to carmine pinot noir.
Last Orders
Breakfast runs from 7am to 11am. Lunch is served from noon to 3pm and dinner from 7pm to 11pm.
Room Service
The full menu is available during restaurant hours. If you need a late-night pick-me-up, a bartender will shake up a cocktail of your choosing and bring it straight to your door.
Planes
The closest international hub is Governor Francisco Gabrielli Airport, a two-hour drive from the hotel. Aerolineas Argentinas (www.aerolineas.com.ar) runs frequent two-hour flights there from Buenos Aires and 45-minute flights from Santiago in Chile.
Automobiles
The hotel’s remote setting makes driving necessary, but you’ll be rewarded with emerald- or ochre-tinged views, depending on the time of year, and mighty mountain-topped vistas. From the airport, reach the hotel via National Route 40, Route 92 then Route 94. There’s free parking at the hotel.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
Casa de Uco’s estate lends itself to simple pleasures: soaking in the pool, sipping a glass of wine or strolling through the vines. There are bikes to borrow for bombing through the vines, or you can hop on horseback – accompanied by a well-trained member of staff – for a peaceful trot through the surrounding wide-open spaces. Challenge your travel partner to a tennis match on the estate's courts, or try your hand at archery. A surfeit of wineries ensures that the Uco Valley’s cup runs over. Malbec and sémillon are the big names here, but diverse terroir yields some excellent Chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and pinot noir too. The Vines of Mendoza’s Uco Valley outpost, a 20-minute drive from the hotel, is said to be one of the best; here you can learn about the fermentation process, taste from the barrels, and blend your own wines, all with awe-inspiring Andean views. Bodegas Salentein, a 40-minute drive away, rivals the hotel for eye-catching modernist architecture, and its oak-barrel-aged wines aren’t half bad either. Guests whose sense of adventure stretches beyond their palate can hike the Andean foothills.
Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt
This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .
