Me and my partner are huge fans of this website and always check the hotels or B&B's on tripadvisor before we book. Since Tierra de Leyendas was rewarded for Best Hidden Gem of South America our expectations were high! We booked a deluxe room (with jacuzzi) to be sure to have a room with view towards the Beagle Channel. We were really looking forward staying at this prize-winning accomodation.

When we arrived from busy Buenos Aires we thought this place would be in a quiet and secluded surrounding, however this was/is not the case at all. It is set between other houses which were under construction.

The main dissapointment however was the dirt road that was right beneath our window (and the hotel itself) with a lot of traffic ( mainly taxi's for guests of the further and much more secluded&quiet hotel Los Cauquenes) causing a lot of noise. Since the rooms don't have double glazing and the dirt road is long, the sound of traffic going back and forth on the gravelroad was very penetrating.

We were very dissapointed about this fact. Instead of feeling "at the end of the world", it was more like being in a city (the room we had in BA was much more quiet)- and cetainly not in South America's best hidden gem. The next morning we decided to check-out and find another place.

We informed the owners about our dissapointment, it is not there fault that Tierra de Leyendas is next to a gravelroad. They said they never had complaints and when they started to get cynical by saying that some people are already put off by hearing
the wind or sea, we left.

During 5 weeks of travelling through Argentina we found a lot more places that truly could be labelled as South America's best hidden gem.

This is a wonderful place to stay in Ushuaia. It is a short taxi ride from the center of Ushuaia. The owners are so friendly and greated me by name as I entered. We were offered tea and given a place to relax and check e-mail, etc as we waited for our room (we were there early). The place is a converted farmhouse and is so unique and very well decorated. Our room was comforable and clean. The did use a strong incense and we had to air the room out, but no big deal. They helped us plan some activities and exchange money. They also phoned and confirmed out flight out - nothing was too much trouble. This was a once in a lifetime trip so we probably won't get a chance to go back, but we definitely recommend this hotel!

This was a fine little hotel. We stayed in many places over a month's time in Argentina and Chile and this was a good choice.The hotel is a little out of town so it's a short cab ride into everything ( $5 US). The owner is the chef and dinner was excellent. Even breakfast was very good, which is a rare thing. The staff is friendly and helpful and the common space is cosy and comfortable. Be aware that 2 rooms (I thnk) do not have water views and are somewhat ordinary.So definately ask for water views.

Due to late bookings and high occupancy, we spent our first two nights in Ushuaia in early February/08 at Los Cauquenes and the second two nights at Tierra de Leyendas. The former is a more substantial property, has an exercise room and a nice dining room, but Tierra de Leyendas has it beat for charm, warmth and value. If we could have stayed all four nights at Tierra de Leyandas, we would have.

The owners met at the Marriott in Buenos Aires, where Sebastien was a chef and Maria was working in reservations. They settled in Ushuaia, where Maria and her family are from. As a result of their Marriott experience, they know exactly what to offer their guests and they do it perfectly. We were amazed at the dinner menu selection for such a small establishment and enjoyed terrific meals. The temptation is to go into town for dinner to eat at one of the touristy restaurants promoting King Crab dinners, but you won't do better than to eat in here and relax.

We booked on the basis of reviews from the Trip Advisor web site and they were bang on!

Jim and Denise from Toronto