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Hotel Sheraton, Buenos Aires
Unused Doble A card 3058 (4-1/8″ x 7-1/8″). Grade: 3
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La Falda, Cordoba, Retiro Betania (Argentina)
Unmailed card, 4″ x 7-1/8″, with writing and tape on the back from 1985. Grade: 4
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Mar del Plata, Vista del Boulevard Maritimo y Hotel Provincial (Argentina)
Unmailed 4″ x 7-1/8″ Edicolor card 3.540/1, with writing in small various areas of the reverse. Grade: 4
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Mendoza, Hotel de Potrerillos (Argentina)
Unused, old, heavily aged card with serrated edges. We wanted to learn more about the hotel (if it still exists) but Google was suprisingly vague and unhelpful this time. But the card is from a long time ago. Grade: 3
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Mar del Plata, Torreon, Hotel Provincial y Casino (Argentina)
Unused 4-1/8″ x 7-1/8″ Edicolor card 27, strongly aged on the reverse but otherwise unmarked. Grade: 3
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Mar del Plata, Vista aerea Hotel Provincial, Casino y Playas (Argentina)
Unused, significantly aged Edicolor 4-1/8″ x 7-1/8″ card #24. Grade: 3
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Mendoza, Hotel – Puente del Inca (Argentina)
We are unable to determine if this hotel still exists: the unused real-photo postcard is very old. But somehow the card makes the hotel look like a prison camp. Grade: 2
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Mendoza, Hotel – Puente del Inca (Argentina)
Another view of this property on an unused, aged real-photo card. Grade: 3
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Uspallata, Hotel Uspallata (Argentina)
Now apparently the Gran Hotel Uspallata, with grudgingly mixed reviews online. The card: unused Edicolor 6.454, 4-1/8″ x 7″, heavy foxing on the reverse. Long Spanish-only caption. Grade: 3
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Santiago, Hotel Sheraton y barrio alto … (Chile)
Unused card. Slight aging. Grade: 1
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Vina del Mar, Hotel Miramar 05-8 (Chile)
Now a Sheraton, on this unused, aging card. Grade: 2
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Hotel Miramar, Vina del Mar (Chile)
The card is 4-5/8″ x 6-3/4″, not postally used and with an inked notation from 1990 in the address area. Now the Sheraton Miramar Hotel & Convention Center. Grade: 4
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Vina del Mar, Hotel-Restaurante Cap Ducal (Chile)
A quirky hotel–still there, apparently–with mixed reviews online. We are not concerned with those, however. The card was not postally used but has a long message (in French) from 1991, covering the entire reverse. Grade: 4
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Hotel Tequendama, Bogota (Colombia)
The card was mailed in 1978 using a postage meter. Though showing its age, the card is clean and a nice view of Bogota. As for the hotel, it’s now the Crowne Plaza Tequendama and the online reviews are so mixed but amusing to read from so far away. We guess one just goes in with an open mind … Grade: 1 (weak)
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La Habana, Hotel Nacional (Cuba)
Older view of this iconic property. Reading online guest reviews is great fun. Unused card, smudging on the back along with a small piece of clear tape. Grade: 4
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Hotel Presidente, Havana
The name of the hotel now seems to be the Hotel Roc Presidente, and online reviews for it are average-to-good. Card is unused, but with two pieces of clear tape on top reverse. Grade: 3
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La Habana, The East Beach, Atlantico Hotel (Cuba)
In Spanish, Playas del Este. We aren’t certain whether this property is the same as the “Gran Caribe Club Atlantico” that comes up online when we try to Google it, but the Gran Caribe version takes a bit of flak. Not unlike this unused card, which has some foxing (mottling) on the back along with some small pieces of tape along the upper reverse edge. Grade: 4
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Hotel Comodoro, Havana
When the photo on this unused card was taken, the hotel may have been in better shape than online reviews suggest it is now. Sounds as though it could use a great deal of TLC. So could the card: heavily fingermarked on the back, and small pieces of tape on the upper back edge. Grade: 4
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Holguin, Guardalavaca – Piscina Hotel Atalantico (sic) Norte (Cuba)
The property is still there — now called Club Amigo Atlantico — with absolutely polarizing online reviews, the kind that sometimes make for difficult decision-making. Unused, aging card with two shards of tape on the upper reverse edge. Grade: 4
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Granma, Panoramic view of the Marea del Portillo Hotel (Cuba)
An old and what might be the only standby in this area, now called Club Amigo Farallon del Caribe – Marea del Portillo. It gets average-to-good online reviews, which helps if it is indeed the only option in the area. We’ve not been there, we don’t know. The card is unused, in good condition apart from the same two small pieces of tape that plague many of our Cuban postcards. Grade: 3
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Motel Balneario del Sol (Cuba)
Mailed, with stamp but no legible postmark. Some tape along the left back edge. Grade: 3
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Las Tunas, Hotel Cadillac (Cuba)
Now known as the Islazul Cadillac, not much in the way of recent reviews so we will just tell you the card is unused apart from the name “Cuba” written on the upper left reverse. Grade: 3
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Cienfuegos, Hotel Jagua (Cuba)
The hotel is still there, and gets better reviews from people who realise “you get what you pay for”. The card is severely aged and unused apart from some tape at the top reverse. Grade: 4
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Varadero, Hotel Atabey (Cuba)
The new name of this hotel is BelleVue Palma Real, and if online reviews are to be believed (and we have to say, those reviews are consistent), there are only so many different ways to say “What do you expect, it’s Cuba”. Clientele to now seems to be almost entirely Canadians who commiserate with the staff and hate the management. Anyway … the card is unused and with quite small bits of tape along upper reverse edge. Grade: 3
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Varadero, Villa Punta Blanca (Cuba)
If you do an online search for this property, you will be led up a bunch of blind alleys. One person laconically posted a forum question: what is this called now? We have no idea. Your turn! Unused card with tape on upper reverse. Grade: 4
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Varadero, Hotel Melia Las Americas (Cuba)
Still there and with generally good online reviews. The card is unused but for those same small clear pieces of tape near the reverse edge. Grade: 3
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Giudad (sic) Trujillo, Hotel Jaragua (Dominican Republic)
So many changes. Keep reading! First, the city name of course now is Santo Domingo. Second, the hotel name is now Renaissance Jaragua Hotel and Casino. Third, this unused linen item is not technically a postcard, more an ad card fully pre-printed on the back. If you had been desperate at the time, you might have been able to mail it as a postcard but that was not the intention. As for the hotel, it is apparently closed for renovations as we type this, due to re-open soon. No doubt the online reviews will improve then. Implied grade for this nice historical artifact: 1
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San Salvador, Boulevard de los Heroes y el Hotel Camino Real (El Salvador)
In 1974, someone wrote a message on the back and then did not postally mail the card — which is now heavily aged and handled, over the years. By the way, the hotel is now an Intercontinental. Grade: 4
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Hotel Curacao Intercontinental (Curacao, N.A.)
This now seems to be the Plaza Hotel Curacao, with decidedly mixed and amusing reviews online. As for the card, it’s old and very, very heavily aged, but unused and otherwise clean. Grade: 2
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The Panama Hotel, Panama City
Unused Dexter Press card DT-55308-C, dated 1969, serrated edges, showing its age, with captions in Spanish and English. Grade: 2
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Hotel Guarani, Asuncion (Paraguay)
Continuing a series of unused old cards. Highly aged but otherwise unmarked. This is card #F.513. Grade: 3
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Asuncion, Hotel Casino Ita Enramada (Paraguay)
About the hotel: it has an Asuncion address, but looking at the picture it is (or was) quite far from town. And even now it has so few online reviews. We are curious. The unused older A.G.M. card 97 is not bad, a little brown with age on the reverse but otherwise quite O.K. Grade: 1
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Lago de Ypacarai – San Bernardino – Hotel del Lago (Paraguay)
Unmailed card not in such great condition: small abrasion above the clouds on the front, and foxing and a 1975 date on the reverse. Now, here’s the thing about the hotel: it seems still to be there, and has one good online Tripadvisor review, but still only ranks #46 of 53 hotels in Asuncion. If the review is so good, and the rank is so low, how does that work? Grade: 4
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Caribe Hilton and Casino, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Unused card in fine condition. It seems through our search engine that the casino might have been closed, but the resort is still there. Grade: 1
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Punta del Este, Hotel Casino San Rafael (Uruguay)
Unused MAPA card No. 5 from 1976, moderate foxing on the reverse. We are always curious about our hotels’ online reviews, so we looked this one up. Wow … decidedly mixed. One reviewer said “It was a bit like that hotel in the Shining but without any maitenance done for the last 50 years.” If you’ve seen the film … Grade: 3
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Punta Ballena, Casa Pueblo (Uruguay)
Unused MAPA card No. 194 from 1978. Beginning to show its age. The location gets great online reviews; the hotel, somewhat less so. We could describe those reviews as “love-it-or-hate-it”. Whatever, it looks unusual. Grade: 2
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Maracaibo, Hotel del Lago (Venezuela)
Unused card with abrasions and staining on the reverse. Grade: 4
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The Princess Hotel, Hamilton (Bermuda)
This place is now called “Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, a Fairmont Managed Hotel.” Tak about polarizing online reviews! Love it or hate it, but as it’s Bermuda and not Cuba, expectations may be higher … so, this card was mailed from Hamilton in 1974, with stamp and postmark. The pool looks big. Grade: 1
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Caribe-Hilton Hotel, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Back when this hotel (and the card) was new, it was probably great. Now, it gets decidedly mixed online reviews. But we’re selling the card, not the rooms. Unused, aging card. Grade: 2
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El Panama Hotel, Panama City (Panama)
From no later than 1956, the card was not postally used but has message and address on the back. As for the hotel, like many of our hotel postcards, this shows the property in its heyday. Online reviews now are middling, with a recent one saying “still surviving,” but we’ve no doubt it has its attractions. Grade: 4
