Pousada Mainá — Hotel in Região Geográfica Imediata de Cabo Frio

We took a big chance on booking this place for the final leg of our holiday as reviews are so few online. The gamble paid off and we were happy with the place, although there are some things prospective customers should note. We booked Maina Pousada Ecologica and when we arrived (to the major squawking of parrots and other caged birds!) we were told that while we were at the right place, we were staying in another area a five minute walk away, but would come back there every day for breakfast. This was obviously quite disconcerting for us as we wanted to stay specifically where we booked but after a bit of a walk we realised we were staying in a much nicer place with a great view over the sea, a lovely pool and far from the noisy birds. The keys for our room had "Vale Das Emas" on it so if booking, you really need to specify that is where you want to stay. I cannot comment on the rooms in Maina Pousada Ecologica itself although the building was fairly old and the pool tiny, so definitely think we got the better deal. ||||The rooms in Vale Das Emas were great - very clean, a huge bed, great air conditioning and in a quiet area just a short walk from the very busy Buzios centre. We were staying just a few minutes walk from Orla Bardot (and the Bardot statue) and there were a few restaurants and bars nearby although it was nice to walk to the town centre every night for dinner. The rooms had chairs outside to enjoy the view and a fridge inside for storage of food and drinks. There was also wi-fi available though this only appeared to work outside the room on the terrace. ||||The less positive aspects of staying in a different location from the main pousada was that breakfast every morning was preceded by a few minutes walk - though not a big deal really. Also there were no phone in the room so if you needed to contact reception you had to go up to it - e.g. one evening we realised we had no towels and so had to re-dress, go to reception and wait for someone to send them down. ||||Overall it was a great room that we had though, with a lovely view to wake up to each morning and in a handy location. It is on a hill so not for the less able-bodied or those with young children. Also the staff had no English so if you've no Portugese, make sure you have your translations at hand before...

Pros - best location in Buzios, close to Rua das Pedras and nice beaches like Azeda and Joao Fernandes. Also, people is very nice, Renata and Silviano are very friendly, and the breakfast is pretty good. I got a room with an excellent view. I couldn't have gotten that same view in some of the more expensive places I was looking around that, when walking around in Buzios (and I did a lot, ran almost 10k a day...) saw they were very posh but facing crappy blocks. Outside deck in the room was great - awesome view, and only place where you get WiFi :-)||||Cons - WiFi sucks if you stay at Vale das Emas instead of the main property. Cable TV sucks too, only couple channels, no movies, nothing suitable to relax at night. Rooms are not very spacious - so it helps the outside deck. Also, a little cheap with some details; for example, they didn't leave hand towels and soap in the shower. No decent swimming pool - but you shouldn't need that in Buzios anyway...||||Conclusion - location is awesome, price is optimal, but needs some...

Nos alojamos 10 noches en una casa para cuatro personas en Vale das Emas I, que es un complejo que Mainá posee a una cuadra (subiendo por un morro) del edificio central. Ojo, también tienen habitaciones en el edificio central (desconozco cómo serán).||La casa que alquilamos está muy bien ubicada (a pie se puede llegar hasta Rua das Pedras -lo cual es muy bueno pues ir en auto y lograr estacionar es casi un milagro-, a las playas del centro, a Azeda, Azedinha, João Fernandes y João Fernandinho). Desde el deck que hay en cada casa, es posible contar con una vista preciosa al mar y, además, las residencias son bonitas aunque sencillas, bien iluminadas (pues tienen grandes ventanales) y tienen una buena distancia entre sí, lo que aporta privacidad. Lo mejor que tienen las casas de Mainá es la comodidad, no sólo por la cercanía a numerosos puntos de interés, sino porque también es espaciosa, por lo que cuatro personas alojándose ahí están cómodas (un ejemplo, la casa cuenta con dos habitaciones; cada una de ellas, cuenta con un baño en suite y, además, hay un baño más).||Al desayuno lo sirven en el edificio central de Mainá, donde está la recepción. El desayuno está bien, es rico, aunque no hay una gran variedad de opciones, por lo que puede volver rutinario. Para llegar hasta la recepción es necesario caminar una cuadra por una bajada empinada, pero a nosotros en particular no nos molestaba hacer ese trayecto cada mañana.||La pousada cuenta con dos piscinas: una pequeña en la zona de la recepción, que puede resultar incómoda pues está en un lugar de paso; la otra está en la zona cerca de las casas y es mucho más linda (aunque sigue siendo pequeña) por la vista a Ossos con la que cuenta.||El personal es muy amable e intenta resolver todas los inconvenientes que puedan surgir.||Los puntos a mejorar del lugar: a veces olvidan reponer las toallas; no hay un teléfono fijo en las casas, lo que ocasiona que cuando se necesita algo sea necesario caminar esa cuadra hasta la recepción para resolverlo; hay un televisor LCD no muy grande en el living de las casas, pero no tiene control remoto; no tienen cable, por lo que sólo se ven cuatro o cinco canales de televisión; el personal de limpieza olvida recoger diariamente la basura de los tachos dispuestos a tal fin en cada vivienda; la cocina no tiene toda la vajilla completa (nosotros, por ejemplo, sólo contábamos con dos platos grandes y era una casa para cuatro personas); las reposeras del área de la piscina y las mecedoras del deck de nuestra casa pedían a gritos una mano de barniz. ||Claramente, Mainá tiene varios puntos a corregir, pero verdaderamente la vista hermosa y la comodidad que ofrecen estas casas hacen que estos puntos se conviertan en detalles y la estadía sea placentera. Sin dudas, es un lugar recomendable, aunque antes de ir hay que saber que ahí no se encontrarán lujos ni una disposición...