BrazilianLiving to appear soon
Interested in real estate and expat life in Brazil? Looking for practical information on buying a second home or making the most of your stay in the country? UruguayNow's sister site, BrazilianLiving.com will go live in November.
And the winner is… Results of the UruguayNow awards for 2010
They may not quite be the Oscars, but UruguayNow has its own awards, six in all, for 2010. We hope that our pale-blue certificates (sorry, but there are no shiny gold statuettes for the moment) will serve as a recognition of excellence in the country's hotel and restaurant sectors. The research was carried out between December 2009 and March 2010. Journalists requiring more details of the selection and award criteria should mail Nick Foster, publisher of UruguayNow at nick@uruguaynow.com. The awards ceremony took place at the headquarters of Uruguay's National Tourism Ministry in Montevideo on 13 April 2010. Our thanks go to the Ministry for their precious support of the UruguayNow travel guide project. The award winners are:
Best-Value Hotel in Montevideo: Regency Golf, Punta Carretas
Best Business Hotel in Montevideo: Sheraton, Punta Carretas
Best Restaurant in Montevideo: Francis, Punta Carretas
Montevideo's Most Innovative Dining Experience: Rara Avis, Ciudad Vieja
Best Boutique Hotel in Punta del Este: L'Auberge
Best-Value Boutique Hotel in Punta del Este: Posada Aldilá
You can find out more about these establishments by visiting the Montevideo restaurants, Montevideo hotels, and Punta del Este hotels chapters of the guide.
Our top web picks
Not yet made it to Uruguay? When you're done with UruguayNow, our choice of the top 6 internet resources for the country is just a mouse click away. In no particular order, they are:
Ola Uruguay: www.olauruguay.com
Mercopress: http://en.mercopress.com/
Benjamin Gedan's Small State: http://benjamingedan.blogspot.com/
Retired in Uruguay: http://wallyinuruguay.blogspot.com/
Uruguay Natural: www.uruguaynatural.com
Global Property Guide: http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/Latin-America/Uruguay
For reviews of these sites, please click here.
UruguayNow in the press
UruguayNow's mix of travel and tourist information on Uruguay, hotel reviews for Montevideo and Punta del Este (coming soon for Colonia), restaurant reviews and tips on excursions, sightseeing and lifestyle in Uruguay has been featured in El País, La República, MercoPress and on Uruguay's Channel 5 TV and other news media in the country. Look out for features on cinema and movie-making, estancia tourism, Uruguay's best beaches and Uruguayan wine (and tips on the best bodegas to visit) in our next edition in October 2010. Journalists interested in finding out more about our Uruguay travel guide project should mail nick@uruguaynow.com.
Introduction
Although not as varied as the offer in Buenos Aires, Montevideo’s dining scene has diversified and improved greatly in recent years (see our feature, here). Best deals are at lunchtime (usually 1 pm onwards). Almost all restaurants offer a set lunch, often including a glass of wine and cover charge. Uruguayans dine late, almost never before 9 pm and often not before 10 pm, and still later in the summer months.
Service is generally not included. It is usual to leave 10%, although some Uruguayans leave as little as 5% in simpler eating places. Note that if you pay for food and drink in a restaurant using a credit or debit card issued outside Uruguay, you will be refunded 9% of the bill. This will be visible on your statement as a credit.
Uruguay has excellent sparkling mineral water. Salus is a recommended brand. It is unheard of to order tap water in a restaurant.
Click here for our reviews of a selection of recommended restaurants in the capital, including our choices for Best Restaurant and Most Innovative Dining Experience in Montevideo. If you understand Spanish, www.saliracomer.com is a great source for reader-generated comments on a huge number of restaurants in the city.
Finally, if you are visiting Montevideo on a budget, we have some money-saving tips here. Enjoy!