Respected winemaker Susana Balbo opened SB Winemaker’s House & Spa Suites in unspoiled Mendoza countryside in April 2022 as her first hotel, and has added to her portfolio with the first seaplane in Latin America, operating fly-in experiences in remote places.
Argentina’s first female winemaker, she started VisionAirVIP with Swiss entrepreneur and pilot Patrick Schmidlin.
“It was one of my crazy ideas – my mind never stops; I think I don’t have a fear of risk and want to build a luxury travel brand and portfolio, so this is what I am doing,” Balbo told TTG Luxury.
Using a 2019 Grand Caravan C208B, a prototype Cessna with executive interior configuration for six passengers, the idea is to take guests on anything from one-day wine explorations to cross-border tailored trips over the glaciers of the Andes, to a log cabin on a remote lake in Patagonia, or a wine lodge in Cafayate.
With the plane able to fly for four hours between refuelling stops, anything from one- to 11-day tours are available; one option is a four-day tour of Patagonia, accessing its most exclusive and luxurious spots and accommodations.
“This is an amazing opportunity to see these incredible places; in winter, we can fly north to escape some of the heat further south too,” she adds.
SB Winemaker’s House & Spa Suites is fully equipped for a family or group stay for up to 14 people and has enjoyed high occupancy since launching, with mainly UK, US, French and Brazilian guests.
“We have done the webinars with tour operators, and we have had some made bookings,” Balbo added, with brands such as The Ultimate Travel Company in the UK featuring both the hotel and seaplane experiences.
Created by local Argentine design studio Mora Hughes Arquitectos, SB Winemaker’s House & Spa Suites consists of a large central estate house with seven glass-walled suites with private gardens and is also said to be the “only wine hotel in Latin America with fully integrated in-room spa features and services in each suite”.
All have a private steam room, sensations shower, and massage table, while four of the seven suites also have a dry sauna; guided by the in-house “wellness butler”, guests can choose from a number of wellness rituals using local herbs, and there is also a pool.
To align with Balbo’s pillar of women empowerment, the suites have furniture, furnishings and decor all commissioned from female entrepreneurs.
La Vida restaurant features Argentinian cuisine with sustainable and organic ingredients, and guests can also opt to dine at the exclusive Chef’s Table overlooking the open-flame cooking.
Guests can also, of course, have the opportunity to experience Argentinian wines in unique and extravagant ways, through wine tasting, wine pairing, wine safari and winemaking – with the very people who made them.
