Welcome to Quinta Mendoza

December 21 – December 28, 2006To borrow one of our host Riyad's favorite words, Quinta Anabtawi is fabulous!Riyad – you have created (and are still creating) a garden of earthly delights. It's a tranquil, comforting oasis in this wonderful high desert landscape and a safe refuge from the crazed and astonishingly incompetent Mendocino drivers.Riyad – you are a great host and a very generous human being. It has been a privilege to meet you and to spend some time talking and getting to know you. May your wife and your son have a wonderful, happy and healthy life.A personal note – as owners of a home in Mexico that we rent, we want to praise Riyad for the great job he does – from the first e-mail contact through our entire stay. Life is in the details, and Riyad is a master of the details.He really understands how to make his guests feel they are at home.Then there is Raul, master of the asado and the creator of the best pizzas we have ever eaten ( or could imagine eating). Not only is he a great chef, he is also a sweet, loving man. Our only regret is that we don't speak enough Spanish to get to know him much better. What can you say about Homero that everyone hasn't already said? He is a love. He is also a great actor, doing a great impersonation of a dog. He has also convinced us that he is sad to see us leave.Our favorites here in Mendoza:-Dinner at la Bourgonge – superb food and service in a beautiful setting at Carlos Pulenta winery.-The wine tasting tour at Nieto Senetiner led by a young woman called Belen. She was passionate about the winery and extremely knowledgeable. Probably the best wine tour we've done anywhere.-Rafting the Mendoza river with the people from Betancourt.-The bathrooms and mud bath at Cacheuta Hot Springs.-Ayllu Arte Popular – great artisan store on the west ring road to Mendoza.- The town square in Chacras-Cocktails in the bar at the Hyatt hotel. The longest cocktail list we've ever seen. Great pisco sours.-Dinner and conversation with Riyad and Raul!Thank you very much!See you laterTerry, Michelle & Vera FitzpatrickPortland, Oregan USA

December 6, 2011 Riyad, We had an amazing time at your Quinta, and wish we could stay (much) longer. The BBQ with Raul was delicious, and got pretty wild! Maybe next time you'll have better luck at foosball. Lunch at Melipal vineyards was an experience of a lifetime; Food & Wine were unbeatable. We tried putting Homero in our carry-on, but he was too busy enjoying the sun. Eggs for breakfast from the chickens, fresh plums and cherries. What a treat! We can't thank you enough and hope our paths cross again, soon!! All our best, Mario & Diedre. Rhode Island Manny & Jackie, Miami, Fl Matt & Glen, New Jersey

Riyadh! Thank you so much for your generous hospitality! This place is amazing! The BBQ was one of the most unique experiences I have ever had! - AND DELICIOUS! Camelia & Emanuel were so nice & we enjoyed all of your company! I can't say enough about Homer! As a dog lover I enjoyed having him around the house! Hope to see you again soon! Best to you on the success of all your endevours. Stacey & Adam - Texas Dear Riyad We can't thank you enough for your generous hospitality. You have been so amazing throughout the whole trip from beginning to end. All your help and suggestions were immensely appreciated and we have memories that will last forever. This has been an once - in - a - life time trip, but we are grateful for you and our friendship that will always be in our hearts. Homer is a gem and loved his company! The Argentinian feast was the highlight and we are still full - ha! Thank you again... much love to you my dear friend! Juli & Trent, Grand Junction, Colorado

We recently stayed here for 3 nights traveling between Santiago and Bariloche. It was a wonderful stay and the grounds are so lovely. Everything is very well maintained and having smaller children, it was perfect as they could run around and play and I didn't have to eagle eye them all the time. Riyad was a wonderful host and made sure everything was set up perfectly for us, even to the point of stopping by a local restaurant and making reservations for us. I would definitely come back and spend more time!

Great for entertaining larger groups, family gatherings, birthdays, etc. We had our family reunion here in the summer and the place was perfect.

This is the perfect spot for checking out the local wineries. It is within 15 minutes of most wineries. After a day of wine tasting, we thoroughly enjoyed coming back to the quinta and hanging around the pool with bottles we purchased throughout the day.

Great property and host. Very nice area in wine region (nearby Chacras), easy access to leisure activities destinations (rafting, hiking, others). On weekends, there might be parties in the neighborhood. Overall very recommendable.

December 6, 2011 Riyad, We had an amazing time at your Quinta, and wish we could stay (much) longer. The BBQ with Raul was delicious, and got pretty wild! Maybe next time you'll have better luck at foosball. Lunch at Melipal vineyards was an experience of a lifetime; Food & Wine were unbeatable. We tried putting Homero in our carry-on, but he was too busy enjoying the sun. Eggs for breakfast from the chickens, fresh plums and cherries. What a treat! We can't thank you enough and hope our paths cross again, soon!! All our best, Mario & Diedre. Rhode Island Manny & Jackie, Miami, Fl Matt & Glen, New Jersey

Our group was five retired adults, and we anticipated calling taxi's to take us to dinners. However, on the evening of our arrival we could not get a taxi - actually two taxis needed for all of us. Our host Riyad saved us from a catastrophic night of eating eggs and toast for dinner by driving over himself to take several of us to a place to pick up pizza to go. While we greatly appreciated his efforts-he probably spent 90 minutes coming to get us, waiting for the pizza and driving us back-pizza to go was not what we had hoped for on our first night in Mendoza. We had wonderful all day wine tours the following two days, including large lunches at the wineries, but again we were stuck eating out of the refrigerator in the evenings after having our guide the first day stop at the grocery with us to pick up items for dinner. Riyad had picked up groceries at our request before we arrived, but we had only ordered breakfast food because we had expected to go to restaurants each evening. Bottom line is you really need a car or an arrangement for someone to drive you at night. Aside from the transportation problems, on the positive side the grounds are lovely and we really enjoyed lounging by the pool after a day of wine tasting. On the negative side were problems with the Internet - not completely unexpected in a rural area, but still a problem. There was a consistent but slow connection in the main house, but no connection in the smaller apartment. Riyad is aware and will try to have it fixed, but like all of us he is at the mercy of an Internet provider. You also need to be aware that the place is essentially rural in nature, and while clean the facilities are somewhat rustic. Three of us enjoyed this aspect of the location, two did not. The pictures are accurate and descriptive, so nobody should be surprised buying what they find. Despite our transportation problems we really enjoyed our time in Mendoza and would consider returning to Riyad's place if we had a car.

Quinta was the perfect place to spend our last three nights in Argentina! Riyad was a wonderful host and we enjoyed the barbecue very much! This is a very unusual property with room to spread out. We traveled as two couples and enjoyed having separate quarters. The beautiful landscaped property was fun to wander around. We enjoyed the full moon and starry nights. I would rather stay here than the Hilton any day! Riyad was a very gracious host and helped us airport arrange transfer, wine tour and mountain tour. Everything was coordinated to perfection! If we get back to Mendoza we will definitely stay again! Highly recommend! Thanks Riyad for the MF good time and the whiskey too! Cate, Russell, Amy and Mark.