Estancia Villa Maria: Luxury in a Tudor Manor House!

Estancia Villa Maria was the final stop on our trip to Argentina, and honestly, it was the perfect way to slow down before flying home.

After weeks of travel, we wanted somewhere peaceful, beautiful, and close enough to Ezeiza Airport that we wouldn’t have to worry about a long transfer on our last day.

This historic estancia near Buenos Aires checked every box: elegant rooms, manicured gardens, afternoon tea, horseback rides, a crackling fireplace at dinner, and plenty of time to simply relax.

It’s not the kind of working ranch where you’ll be following gauchos across the pampas, but if you’re looking for a luxury hotel in the countryside with easy access to the city or airport, Estancia Villa María is a great choice.

The following is my review based on my recent stay with my husband, Samuel, and our daughter, Aurelia.

History of Estancia Villa Maria

Estancia Villa María started as part of a large cattle ranch founded by Vicente Pereda in the late 1800s. These were the days of Argentina’s cattle boom, when it rose to be one of the most important beef-producing countries in the world!

Then, in 1919, Vicente’s son, Celedonio, hired Alejandro Bustillo (Argentina’s most famous architect!) to design a summer villa for the family. The result was this beautiful Tudor-Norman style manor we see today.

Completed in 1927, this space became a countryside retreat where the family could escape the city, entertain guests, and enjoy estancia life in style.

The surrounding gardens were designed by Benito Carrasco, who had worked with the famous landscape architect Carlos Thays. The estancia has 74 hectares of park with over 300 species of trees and vegetation!

Today, Villa María has been restored as a boutique estancia hotel, for guests who want a luxurious estancia stay close to Buenos Aires.

You can book your stay at Estancia Villa Maria here. Rates are inclusive of 4 meals (breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner), plus horseback riding or carriage rides.

Rooms at Estancia Villa Maria

Estancia Villa Maria has 16 guest rooms, which are divided across 2 buildings: 11 rooms in the main house and 5 rooms in the French house.

The French house or Casa Francesa is an annex a few steps from the main building, and it’s an adult-only space featuring even more luxurious rooms, including a penthouse.

We stayed in one of the suites in the main house and loved our room! It opened into a receiving room and office-type space, which led into the bedroom with a four-poster bed, and a massive bathroom with beautiful details.

We loved the room and had such a restful night’s sleep here!

TIP: If you don’t want to spend the night at Estancia Villa Maria, you can book a Día de Campo or Country Day. This includes a BBQ lunch, carriage ride, pool time and afternoon tea.

Afternoon tea

Four meals are included when you stay at Estancia Villa Maria, except for alcoholic beverages. So expect to be well fed!

We arrived at the estancia in the late afternoon with just enough time to have merienda or afternoon tea.

We were brought a two-tier serving tray featuring a savoury plate with scones and sandwiches and a sweet plate with a brownie, coconut and dulce de leche square, quince cookie, and a red velvet cookie with white chocolate chips.

Sam had a cappuccino and I had a cup of tea, and I found it to be the perfect-sized snack, seeing as we still had dinner to look forward to.

Dinner

Dinner at the estancia was a 3-course meal served in the dining hall in front of a crackling fireplace.

For our starters, Sam got the fried mozzarella sticks and I got the broccoli and cheese soup. Then for our mains, the creamy mushroom risotto and the grilled salmon with mushy peas. And for dessert, pancakes with dulce de leche and artisanal strawberry ice cream.

Buffet breakfast

Breakfast was buffet-style with a nice spread of medialunas, bread, cake loaves, ham, cheese, fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, orange juice, tea, and coffee.

Just when we thought that was it, we were offered eggs and bacon, which we happily accepted.

We sat in the sun room, which has beautiful views of the gardens.

Wagon ride and horseback rides

No visit to an estancia would be complete without a bit of horseback riding, or in our case, a wagon ride! Because we were travelling with our daughter, Aurelia, who is a year and a half, we opted for the family-friendly option.

We walked over to the stables where the horses were saddled and the carriage awaited, and we hopped on for a leisurely ride through the estancia grounds.

We rode through tree-lined avenues with that soft autumn sunlight dappling through the leaves. It was so relaxing that our daughter fell asleep halfway through.

Horseback rides and wagon rides run between 10:00-12:00 and 14:00-16:00. So you can swing by the stables anytime during those windows without prior reservation.

More activities at Estancia Villa Maria

There are loads of things to do at Estancia Villa Maria, and I feel like we only scratched the surface with our 1-night stay.

To give you an idea, they have an 18-hole golf course, a clay tennis court, a swimming pool, a fútbol field, croquet, a billiards room and stacks of board games.

Plus, they are able to arrange private polo lessons, matches and demonstrations at an additional cost.

Lunch

If you can, it’s worth visiting Estancia Villa Maria during the weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), as this is when they do a big traditional asado. We happened to visit on a Monday, but the good news is that there is still grilled meat on the menu!

Sam and I both started out with two empanadas each for our starter: one beef empanada and one ham and cheese empanada. Then, we ordered the steak and salad for our main, which also came with chimichurri and salsa criolla.

Lastly, for dessert, Sam got the chocolate marquise, while I had flan with dulce de leche and cream. And our lovely waitress insisted that our daughter get dessert, so we got two scoops of artisanal vanilla ice cream, which our little girl devoured!

Why choose Estancia Villa Maria

Estancia Villa Maria is one of the most accessible estancias near Buenos Aires. It is just 40 minutes from Ezeiza International Airport or 1 hour and 10 minutes from downtown. That means you don’t have to travel very far to get a taste of the campo.

I would say this estancia is best geared at couples looking for a weekend of luxury or an easy escape from the city. The setting is romantic and lends itself well to rest. That didn’t stop us from visiting with our toddler and we still had a wonderful time.

Just know this is not a working ranch where you’re going to be following gauchos on horseback as they move cattle. You can certainly do so at other estancias further in the countryside, but this is not that type of property.

In our case, this proved to be the perfect way to wrap up our trip to Argentina. We had a super relaxing time and we stayed right up until it was time to go to the airport and catch our flight back!

Read more about estancias

• Estancias to Visit in the Sierras of Córdoba
• Estancias to Visit in El Calafate
• Estancias to Visit in Mendoza’s Winelands
• Estancia El Ombú de Areco: Folklore and Gaucho Traditions
• Estancia La Tomasa: A Working Ranch with British Roots