Unfortunately our experience was not like the other reviews. We had such high expectations based on all the positive things people said on Trip Advisor. However the owners were absent which I think made all the difference as it is they who provide the setting, make guests feel welcome and involve them in the farm activities. They left a skeleton staff of the cook and a housekeeper to take care of us. They were very kind but as they could speak no English and we no Spanish, they could not take the place of the owners. They disappeared after serving food and were not to be seen until the next meal. The food was plentiful but rather bland for our taste and certainly the food we ate everywhere else in Uruguay was much better. The resident gaucho was sick but they pulled in a young gaucho to take me for a ride which was very nice. On the first night we were greeted by an awful smell of strong insect killer that had been liberally sprayed all over. It was so bad that we had to sleep on the sofas in the lounge of the main house. This was the nail in the coffin. So the next morning we decided to leave the estancia after only one night. We haven’t received an explanation for why the owners were away but my advice is to check beforehand that they will be...Unfortunately our experience was not like the other reviews. We had such high expectations based on all the positive things people said on Trip Advisor. However the owners were absent which I think made all the difference as it is they who provide the setting, make guests feel welcome and involve them in the farm activities. They left a skeleton staff of the cook and a housekeeper to take care of us. They were very kind but as they could speak no English and we no Spanish, they could not take the place of the owners. They disappeared after serving food and were not to be seen until the next meal. The food was plentiful but rather bland for our taste and certainly the food we ate everywhere else in Uruguay was much better. The resident gaucho was sick but they pulled in a young gaucho to take me for a ride which was very nice. On the first night we were greeted by an awful smell of strong insect killer that had been liberally sprayed all over. It was so bad that we had to sleep on the sofas in the lounge of the main house. This was the nail in the coffin. So the next morning we decided to leave the estancia after only one night. We haven’t received an explanation for why the owners were away but my advice is to check beforehand that they will be on site during your stay - it will probably make or break your stay. More