Press
International Press Reviews
Press
International Press Reviews
La prensa internacional notó la presencia del Brisas desde nuestra primera temporada. En 2010, un artículo sobre la costa de Uruguay en CN Traveler contó con la presencia del Brisas y el New York Times siguió con un artículo sobre La Pedrera y Brisas en 2011; más adelante, en 2014, Rocha & Brisas en particular salió #25 en la publicación anual “54 Places to Go” del NYT en el mundo; el verano pasado, 2019 nuevamente fuimos elegidos el lugar para hospedarse en La Pedrera. La prensa de viajes de los EE. UU., el Reino Unido y Europa continental han sostenido su interés a través de las temporadas, manteniendo a Brisas en la mente de los viajeros del norte.
The international press took notice of Brisas upon as early as our first season. In 2010 a feature article about Uruguay's coast on CN Traveller positively featured Brisas and the New York Times followed with an article about La Pedrera & Brisas in 2011, later in 2014 we were features in the NYT yearly “54 Places to Go” in the world, and as recently as last summer, 2019 again we were chosen as the place to stay in La Pedrera. Travel-specific press in the US, UK & mainland Europe has continued to follow up through the seasons, keeping Brisas in the mind of travelers.
In Uruguay, Bohemian-Chic at the Beach
New York Times Travel Section, September 2011
New York TIMES 52 Places to Go in 2014, #25: The Uruguayan Riviera
New York Times Travel Section, January 2014
WHEN summer arrives in December, La Pedrera’s main street bustles with families dining al fresco, sandy-haired teenagers hanging out in board shorts, jazz musicians entertaining passers-by and artisans selling handmade jewelry on makeshift stands. […] La Pedrera’s first boutique hotel, Brisas, opened in late 2009. Laura Jauregui, an Argentine who has traveled the world working for multinational technology firms, bought and renovated the 14-room property near the village’s scenic cliffside promenade, decorating it with a mix of midcentury finds and custom-made rattan furniture. Televisions and telephones are purposely missing.
Around glamorous Punta del Este and boho-chic José Ignacio, there’s no deficiency of boutique hotels, expat art galleries and exclusive waterfront brasseries. But farther east along the Uruguayan Riviera, a relatively untrodden stretch of Atlantic coast tucked between Argentina and Brazil, sun, sand and simplicity remain the draw — for now. In the Rocha region, villages like Cabo Polonio, La Pedrera, San Antonio and Punta del Diablo are just starting to attract serious international attention, bringing a sprinkling of first-rate accommodation — like Brisas, a clifftop 14-room inn restored by an Argentine tech mogul — without compromising the area’s natural charms: […]
On the Road to Uruguay’s Barely Known and Beautiful Beaches
New York Times Travel Section, January 2019
This progressive country has long been off the radar for North Americans. But it has some of the best beaches in South America and discounts for foreign travelers […] In the high season, turning off the highway in Rocha onto the main street in La Pedrera means encountering a swarm of people […] Craggy rocks make for fabulous views, but the beaches themselves, especially Playa del Barco to the south and Punta Rubia to the north, are wide, clean and good for swimming…. Book ahead to reserve a second-floor room at Brisas La Pedrera, […] around the corner from the Avenida Principal. They come with balconies facing the ocean, beach chairs and sun hats are provided.
Conde Nast TRAVELER: BAREFOOT ON THE BEACH
W MAGAZINE “PLAYA LINDA”
[…] But in the past few years, in an area east of Punta del Este, a savvy crowd has been discovering that Uruguay actually has plenty to boast about. Along a rural stretch of coastline in and around the province of Rocha is a diverse array of enticements, from the understated glamour of the tiny fishing village of José Ignacio to the Wild West rusticity of Cabo Polonio. Still, the region’s subtle appeal remains difficult to characterize, and among new arrivals a common pastime is trying to articulate what’s so special about it. “Uruguay is maybe the most undramatic place imaginable, but people get here and they find themselves hanging around,” says Diego Sanchez, a Montevideo-born model–turned–energy healer who spends summers surfing with his family in the eastern village of La Pedrera. “They don’t really know why, but they stay.”
[…] Leaving Jose Ignacio and the busy department of Maldonado behind, I drove up the coast to the wild and watery country of Rocha, known for its palm groves, lagoons and stretches of deserted, dune-backed beaches…. A short drive further up the coast […] is La Pedrera, a funky little town on a rocky promontory with a cliff top rambla and two lovely beaches, one wild for surfers, the other calm for families. Just recently, investment money has perked up the disheveled beach-shack atmosphere, mont notably with the recent transformation of one its oldest hotels into the spotless Brisas de La Pedrera. […] This smart, spotless hotel opened last season. Owner Laura Jauregui supervised the refurbishment of the original, early-1900s hotel and has decorated it with a light touch: white walls and bathroom tiles, wood floors, and quirky, 1970s furniture. Simple and rather sweet, it is the first hotel with any design sense in La Pedrera and has set a high benchmark for the competition to follow.
Conde Nast TRAVELER: UNDERSTATED URUGUAY
[…] Everyone I know in Uruguay loves Rocha. They may prefer the shopping in Punta and La Barra and even José Ignacio (all in Maldonado) but they like the beaches and remoteness of Rocha best. The border between Maldonado and Rocha lies north of José Ignacio on the other side of a vast lagoon. There is, at least for now, no bridge across the water, so you have to scoot around it by driving inland and then sharply back down to the coast, adding an hour or more to any trip. Most people simply don't make the effort, which is one reason why Rocha is largely undeveloped. (Another is that there are only 3.4 million people in Uruguay, with 1.8 million in Montevideo. As someone has noted, there's a lot of elbow room around here.)
[…] The last time I was here [in La Pedrera], I had stayed at the brand-new, bright and quietly stylish Brisas hotel. It had taken guts for the young owner, Laura Jauregui, to open something so flagrantly different, almost metropolitan, in determinedly rural Rocha. 'But it was a success from day one,' she says, sitting in the now-mature decked garden of her hotel. 'It's been difficult, very hard work, and a fantastic experience. But I've done it now, and it's time to move on.'
I suspect the hotel will return a healthy profit for Laura. Any investor can see its potential. Since the Brisas opened, chefs from Montevideo and Buenos Aires have begun opening restaurants serving homemade pasta and focaccia and fresh seafood. And they have the confidence to charge prices that reflect a far more moneyed client than the shaman-loving hippies of old. (There are still plenty of those gentle, questing souls about, notably at a New Age commune in the nearby hills.)