There’s nothing quite like a glowing hotel endorsement from the New York Times. And by glowing, we mean flickering like a string of Christmas lights about to expire. That’s the feeling we got reading this week’s Check In, Check Out column, in which a Times-er describes the 28-room cE Hotel de Diseño in Buenos Aires as “slightly more stylish alternative to the corporate chains.” Sort of ouchy, don’t you agree?

“While the minimalist-cool hotel, which opened in 2005, offers a few sumptuous extras like Jacuzzi hydro-massage tubs in every room,” writes the NYT, “it lacks such basics as a full-service restaurant and closet space readily available in this price range.”

What a day yesterday was for South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who after having been "missing" for five days, turned up deplaning after a flight back from Buenos Aires in Argentina and not the Appalachian Mountains, as his staff was lead to believe. Within hours of being caught on arrival, the Governor admitted to carrying on an affair while away in Argentina and resigned as chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

So aside from knocking boots with a hottie South American woman, what was the Governor up to in Buenos Aires? Five days can't all be spent in bed, and so we've compiled our guide to enjoying Buenos Aires in Sanford style:

Stay: Hotel 1555 Malabia House
As BA's first design Bed & Breakfast, the focus is on intimate interiors, garden spaces, and the historic neighborhood. This are, the Palermo district, is also where Sanford's mistress' apartment is located, so you're just around the corner from the luv guv's little love nest.

Nightly rates here average $170 for a room with private balcony; it's perfect for tawdry kisses and nighttime whisperings like "My heart cries out for you, your voice, your body, the touch of your lips, the touch of your finger tips and an even deeper connection to your soul." We're sure Sanford would have felt right at home chillin the balcony as if he were back on a porch in South Carolina.

· Buenos Aires: Beginning this weekend in the La Rural exhibition complex, the Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires brings over 1 million people together for the Spanish-speaking world's largest literature festival and book fair. Whether you're in the market to beef up your home library, tracking down signatures of your favorite authors or taking in a free lecture, the Feria is fun for all. Fluency in Spanish is of course highly recommended, but then we're sure they'll have language instruction for sale as well. Check out the full schedule for the fair, which runs until May 11, at its website.

Allow us to introduce our newest contributor. J. Jennings Moss has started a new business travel blog over at Portfolio.com which focuses on business travel. Recently, he scoped out the hotel scene in Buenos Aires. Got any questions about biz travel? Send 'em to us and we'll have him answer them for you.

Don't be fooled by the name. There isn't much that's "cool" about the Five Cool Rooms Hotel in Buenos Aires.

A disclosure to begin with: Five Cool Rooms was not our first choice for a boutique hotel. That honor, based on reviews in HotelChatter and word-of-mouth from friends, was Home

According to our sources, the Hilton Buenos Aires was inspired by “Dancing with the Stars” to offer its "Totally Tango" experience. Guess you never do know when inspiration will strike.

Available from now through December 31, the package starts at $259 a night for a room, and includes a private lesson with a tango instructor, tickets to the Casa de Carlos Gardel Museum, an evening at the Esquina Carlos Gardel dinner and tango show, and “a souvenir CD of techno tango music.” Sounds...interesting. Although it's not really new as the hotel has been promoting this for a few years now. But we thought we'd give it a closer look.

The neighborhood of Recoleta is filled with some of the fanciest houses in Buenos Aires, and now, a New York venture capital and real estate firm called the InvestProperty Group is turning one of them into the city’s newest five-star hotel, the Algodon Mansion.

Set to open in August 2009, the unfinished Algodon — we’re talking a real hard-hat zone of exposed brick and cement, some cracked plaster and excavation lighting — recently played host to the Argentine press, hoping to garner some buzz over the coming months.

We keep hearing how Buenos Aires is the gay capital of South America, but we didn’t believe it until the Axel Hotel opened.

Axel properties are geared towards the gay community but make sure to call themselves “heterofriendly.” That philosophy especially makes sense in a city like Buenos Aires where the nightlife is extremely mixed, and you’d be hard pressed to find an exclusively gay or exclusively straight bar or club.

Dining options abound in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, but most restaurants are good old-fashioned parrillas, or grills, where you’ll find menus featuring steak, steak, and more steak. Folks in Buenos Aires really love meat. Soberbia 22 is no exception, but a few things set it apart from the...herd.

First, it's not too difficult to get a reservation, or even just walk in and get a table, unlike some of the better known steakhouses in the city, like Cabaña Las Lilas in Puerto Madero, or La Cabrera in Palermo Viejo.

You won’t have to contend with a pack of tourists, either, since Soberbia 22 is more of a neighborhood place popular with the residents of leafy Palermo Hollywood, with the low prices to match. That’s right, you can get a whole steak dinner, including a glass of wine, salad, appetizer and dessert for under $20 by our last check.

All this week, Eric Rosen will be bringing us his hotel recommendations for an interesting trip down in South America. He explains it all in our latest hotel guide--Budget Boutique Hotels of the 33rd Parallel South.

Thirty-three degrees is an interesting number. According to Masonic lore, it is the line of latitude at which one’s psychic energy dies. Spooky. It is also the latitude of such mundane destinations as Phoenix, Atlanta, Dallas and Long Beach, not to mention Baghdad and Islamabad. Not exactly trendsetting places to jet.

If we flip the globe, however, and trace the same latitude, the route becomes a lot more interesting, taking us in to the heart

When Madonna travels, there's no messing around. According to gossip reports, the provocative pop star spent $1 million at the Four Seasons Buenos Aires when she was in Argentina for her Sticky and Sweet tour.

Madonna is said to have splashed out $9,000 a night to stay in the hotel's luxury suite - a private mansion in the grounds - while her 200 backing dancers, singers, make-up artists, choreographers, managers and security took up another 110 rooms, costing a minimum of $600 each.

The Four Seasons is without a doubt one of BA's best luxury hotels yet we're a little dismayed that Madonna wasn't able to negotiate some sort of group rate for her team. $600 a night