Cala di Volpe Boutique Hotel


I just got back from a stay at this hotel. I’ve been to Montevideo several times for business and relax holiday weekends. To be honest, I’ve never even heard of this hotel before. I did some research on TripAdvisor to find some options with views from the Rambla. This came up as a top choice.

I’ve stayed at other hotels before including the NH Colombia, Radisson and the Sheraton. There aren’t too many options in Montevideo for high end hotels. I booked online on Expedia.com which had the same rate as a few other online sites. A corner suite was u$s 160/night + taxes. I went ahead and booked it.

The hotel was in a great area on the Rambla. I arrived with my car on Buquebus from Buenos Aires and it was very uneventful and easy. The hotel allowed me and my girlfriend to check-in early at 11 AM. The staff was very friendly. The lobby was ok and had a restaurant off to the right when you walk in. I never saw it busy during my stay.

When we got to the room frankly I was a bit disappointed as it’s not really high end. The view was indeed great from the room but that’s about all that was nice. The room was Freezing cold when we arrived. The décor is not that great and the bed and pillows weren’t comfortable. The finish out on things isn’t anything to write home about. The welcome guide said free internet was included and there was a computer in the room which was nice but then I discovered that the computer couldn’t be used for the internet without paying u$s 15 per day. Fortunately I had my laptop as the “free internet access” was wi-fi but the signal was very very weak so I only got a weak signal 2 times and gave up during my stay.

I hate writing negative reviews and you can see that all my reviews are typically positive on Trip Advisor but I wanted to provide a realistic post as some of the posts are not too accurate on this hotel. I’m posting very objectively.

Definitely, my recent stay at the Sheraton Hotel in Montevideo last month was much better and their rooms are higher end. No view like this but the hotel is higher end for the same price. Same thing with the Radisson which is about the same price yet is much nicer.

The staff was friendly. We ordered room service one day and the service was quick but the sandwiches we ordered were cold. The French fries were great and so was the soup but for some reason the 2 sandwiches we ordered were cold.

If a good view is a MUST then I’d recommend it but if an overall upscale hotel stay is your goal, there are better options in Montevideo.

The Cala di Volpe Boutique Hotel is excellent. We’re staying here now and extended our stay because of our pleasant experience with this hotel and the city of Montevideo. Hotel is right on the active beach front very near the Punta Carretas shopping and a 10 minute taxi ride to the Ciudad Vieja. The staff here is exceptionally nice. We stayed in an executive (mini) suite with two walls of windows on the top floor for US $150 per night. Hard to beat!

My spouse and I spent 10 days at this location in early March, which was the end of the summer season in Uruguay. We have visited Buenos Aires a number of times, 115 miles across the Rio de la Plata River from Montevideo, but this year I had a few days of business to attend to in Uruguay and my spouse suggested an extended stay in Montevideo. This is the first hotel that I have ever booked via Orbitz and we got an exceptionally good rate, more than 50% off the hotel's rack rate. We paid Orbitz in advance, printing out the hotel voucher which we presented at check-in.

The Cala di Volpe is about a half hour drive from Montevideo's Carrasco airport, and we took a taxi from the airport to the hotel for about $20 USD plus tip. The hotel is located in the upscale Punta Carretas residential area of the City, right on the Rambla, which is the road along the Rio de la Plata. The Rambla runs for 22 KM on the side of the City bordered by the Rio. The Rambla is a great place for walking, jogging, or bike riding. There is a bike path adjacent to the wide sidewalk on the water side of the Rambla and you see hundreds of persons on the bike path and walkways exercising each day and into the evening. Our hotel was a very pleasant surprise...Staff was very friendly and helpful. Our room was comfortable and had a great view of the river and the lighthouse off the Point (Punta Carretas) to the West. There was a combination lock safe in the room closet and the room had a small refrigerator with ice maker which was stocked with the usual mini-bar items. On arrival we had the Maid remove all the stocked items, since we had an extended stay and wished to put our own stuff in the refrigerator for our use. She did this with no questions asked. By the way, we tipped the Maid 125 Uruguayan Pesos ($5 USD) each day by leaving it in an envelope on our desk with a thank-you note. Service was perfect, with extra towels, tissues, etc., stocked each day. A Night Maid checked each room in the evening to check whether guests needed anything.

The hotel would change USD to Uruguayan Pesos (UYU) at the going exchange rate. However, USD is accepted currency in most places in the City and you can ask the restaurant or Retail Establishment to provide your bill in USD. Change will be given in UYU currency at the going exchange rate.

The Cala di Volpe's restaurant serves a decent complimentary European style buffet breakfast each day from 7 AM until 10:45 AM. The hotel has bicycles on hand for guests to use on the Rambla. They also have a small rooftop pool and a sauna and small exercise room, including a stationary bike and treadmill in a room adjacent to the pool. Televisions in guest rooms are HD and have about 35 cable channels available, with some channels in English language with Spanish subtitles. HBO and Cinemax usually show English language movies w/subtitles. There are 2 guest use computers available for a $5 USD/hour fee. You buy an access card at the desk and use it as you need it by entering the card's exclusive code when you sign on to use the computer.

The upscale Punta Carretas Shopping Center is a 10 minute walk away and the Center has a large supermarket for your in-room or picnic needs. There is a food court on the 3rd level, as well as a 10 screen movie theatre complex. Near the food court is the "El Fogon" parilla type restaurant which always seemed packed with locals enjoying the great grilled meats! We ate there a couple times at the recommendation of friends working at the nearby American Embassy. The food was fabulous and the steaks were as huge and delicious as they are across the Rio de la Plata in Buenos Aires!

All-in-all we really enjoyed this boutique hotel. It was quiet, relaxing, and well-managed with attentive Staff at your service. It was a terrific value.

Beautiful hotel, amazing location overlooking the ocean, close to a promenda, close to great beaches in the Carrasco area. Beware of shady cabdrivers in Montevideo, however.