Posada del Ángel

August is late winter in Uruguay, and the World Heritage seaside town of Colonia del Sacramento is especially welcoming to the handful of visitors who come through this time of year. The Posada del Ángel was extravagantly hospitable to me and the other two guests who were staying during my three nights there. Count a warm welcome as a good augury of a happy stay. The Posada is a 7-minute walk from the ferry terminal, in the historic center of the town (though 2 blocks outside the Portuguese-built original wall). I was assigned Room 12, which looks out over the swimming pool and patio -- a room that also has excellent WiFi, a serviceable writing table, and a bathroom that, while tight, has more than just the basics. Indeed, know that the bidet is quite particular: it sends a jet spray upward, so the guest should settle onto it before turning on the water, and can then luxuriate in a warm bottom shower. While, as I say, the writing table in the room is serviceable, I preferred to use the common room just outside my door for writing postcards and reading on-line. Perhaps the tables are snapped up by the full house of guests in high season, but I had the room all to myself in winter, with a view not only to the swimming pool but also to the Río Plata. Breakfast was adequate, though aficionados of espresso-based coffees will be disappointed that their morning caffeination is drip-brewed rather than expressed. While the breakfast service starts at 7:30, the staff accommodated my early departure on my last morning by setting it up for me at 6:45. I was duly appreciative.