Hotel Review - La Posada del Monje
Mendoza's Uco Valley Attracts Wine Tourists to a unique Country Inn
May 13, 2008
Although Mendoza is one of the eight great wine capitals of the world, wine tourism is still a developing industry here. The capital city of the province, also called Mendoza, boasts a wide range of lodging from tiny B & B's to deluxe hotels and everything in between, along with an excellent assortment of wineries to visit within a thirty minute drive. But for serious wine lovers, the Uco Valley is a one-hour side trip from the capital that is not to be missed.
Uco Valley - Perfect for Wine Tourists
Nesled up against the Andes, the Uco Valley boasts some of the most spectacular winery architecture in Mendoza including Dutch owned Salentein, Spanish owned O. Fournier and French owned collective, Clos de los Siete. Other excellent wineries include Andeluna, Bodega Lurton, Finca La Celia and Altus. Numerous other small wineries and thousands of acres of vineyard dot the valley. Roads are narrow and have to be shared with farm equipment and the occasional farm animal. Appointments for tours and wine tasting are a requirement. Getting a room for one or two nights is just the smart thing to do.
Country Inn and Former Abbey
Located at the southern end of the valley in the sleepy hamlet of San Carlos is a former abbey that has been converted into a twelve room inn, La Posada del Monje or the Monk’s Inn. In 2000, Swiss-born Maria Cristina Lugones found a dilapidated seventeenth-century abbey with farmlands and converted it into a hotel with a restaurant, bar, swimming pool, gardens and a small zoo. Her ability to speak multiple languages including French, German, Spanish and English makes guests from all over the world feel welcome.
Zoo and Farm
What began as a small collection of animals that would provide the basis of some menu items served in the restaurant along with organic produce grown in the gardens, soon grew into a full-fledged farm. Senora Lugones admits she loves animals so much that it was impossible to kill the ducks she’d originally purchased to create a duck dish for the restaurant. Along the way the townspeople came to rely on her to help with any animal that was sick or wounded. Llamas, goats, boars, horses, exotic birds of all sorts, cats, dogs, bunnies and a lone deer all found a home at the posada’s well-maintained zoo.
Guests are welcome to cross a small bridge over a stream behind the posada and visit the ever-changing menagerie provided the gates are kept shut and you do not enter the animal pens. Dogs and cats can be seen in various locations on the grounds and although barking can certainly be heard during the day, animal noise at night was not a problem. Still, if you’re not an animal lover, this may not be the place for you.
Rural Argentina's Challenges
The hotel’s pool boasts a small Jacuzzi and the rooms are also equipped with Jacuzzi tubs. A computer is available upon request. Unfortunately, phone service is spotty at best, nightlife is non-existent and twice during a three-night stay there was either a lack of water or a lack of water pressure. Problems with phones, internet service, electricity and plumbing are all a common part of life in rural Argentina.
For a clean, comfortable country hotel with an interesting hostess, well-prepared homemade food and an eclectic collection of critters, La Posada del Monje is well worth a visit.
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