UeSo Pantanal Lodge — Hotel in Região Geográfica Imediata de Cuiabá

First of all, we are a family of 4 with two boys, 6 and 8 years old. We are from Belgium but have been living in Rio de Janeiro for 10 months now and have been travelling quite a lot in Brasil since. So may be we are already a bit used to Brasilian pousada’s pro’s and con’s.||||As I am writing this, in the pousada Estancia Vitoria, the kids are playing in the pool and there are a horse and a capibara walking around in the garden, looking for fresh grass. Plus, what feels like a thousand birds, hopping from one tree to another. So, if you or your kids like animals, you will enjoy the garden to rest in in between two excursions.||||This being said, it’s difficult to rate this pousada. Let’s say we would definitely recommend it to our friends but not to our parents who are rather high end travellers. Let me describe the pousada, without judging too much:||- food: buffet style, good variety but not always very refined (which is a common issue in Brasil). But don’t forget the pousada is relatively far from the civilised world, so every pot of yoghurt must be imported from the nearist city 40 minutes away by car. Breakfast served between 7 and 8, lunch between 12 and 13 and dinner between 19 and 20. ||- rooms: we had two rooms connected through a bathroom. Beds of good quality. Rooms without decoration, one fan lamp per room, airco present but not tested (at night temperatures drop). If cosy light is important to you, bring your own ;-) Our rooms were large enough to keep our suitcases open on the floor. There is a great variety of rooms, so ask the owner if you have special desires. No problem with mosquito’s at night.||- Noise: this is absolutely the quitest hotel we’ve have EVER slept in. If you do hear something, it are animals.||- Bathroom: good enough, with shower offering warm water 75% of the time (typical fot Brasil). Our shower was obstructed by the sandy water and the manager cleaned it as soon as we asked about it.||- Infrastructure: good swimming pool (just for fun, not for miles), table soccer table (bring a ball), enough place to play football, badminton,…||- Excursions: we liked the horse riding trip (even our kids got their own horse), the piranna fishing and the kayak ride organised by the hotel (separate fees). We had a rental car and used it to drive along the entire Transpantaneira, which feels like being on a safari. If you don’t have a rental car, you can also take a ride with the hotel jeep.||- Jaguars: not around this pousada. If you absolutely want to see jaguars, stay in Porto Jofre. Disadvantage of Porto Jofre: it is an almost 4 (four!) hours drive from Poconé (flying is possible but I guess it is expensive) and if there are too many jaguars you can’t do horse riding or hiking. So you are left with boat riding. We went to Porto Jofre one day, did a two hour boat trip and did, unfortunately, not get to see jaguars. May be we would have on a 4 hour trip.||- Staff: very friendly. Th manager, speaks many languages, so for non-Portuguese speakers this may have a lot of added value compared to other pousadas. He cares about his guests’ happiness without being all over them. Don’t hesitate to call him upfront if you have questions about your stay. ||- Wifi: worked well but we were unable to call with our cell phones||- Location: since the road to the pousada, the Tranpantaneira, is a big part of the Pantanal’s fun, any pousada along this road is well located. But I guess it is more convenient not to be away too far from Poconé if you have kids (for the first time in our life we had to go to hospital for a minor emergency after one of our kids fell and we were glad it was ‘only’ a 40 minutes drive to the first doctor who could stitch his wound). Between Poconé, where the Transpantaneira starts, and Porto Jofre, where it ends, there is absolutely nothing. No bars, no shops, no petrol stations. Just a lot of birds, crocodiles, capibara’s etc. So make sure to refuel on anything you need in Poconé. The condition of the road is remarkably good and you can drive for an hour without...

First of all, we are a family of 4 with two boys, 6 and 8 years old. We are from Belgium but have been living in Rio de Janeiro for 10 months now and have been travelling quite a lot in Brasil since. So may be we are already a bit used to Brasilian pousada’s pro’s and con’s.||||As I am writing this, in the pousada Estancia Vitoria, the kids are playing in the pool and there are a horse and a capibara walking around in the garden, looking for fresh grass. Plus, what feels like a thousand birds, hopping from one tree to another. So, if you or your kids like animals, you will enjoy the garden to rest in in between two excursions.||||This being said, it’s difficult to rate this pousada. Let’s say we would definitely recommend it to our friends but not to our parents who are rather high end travellers. Let me describe the pousada, without judging too much:||- food: buffet style, good variety but not always very refined (which is a common issue in Brasil). But don’t forget the pousada is relatively far from the civilised world, so every pot of yoghurt must be imported from the nearist city 40 minutes away by car. Breakfast served between 7 and 8, lunch between 12 and 13 and dinner between 19 and 20. ||- rooms: we had two rooms connected through a bathroom. Beds of good quality. Rooms without decoration, one fan lamp per room, airco present but not tested (at night temperatures drop). If cosy light is important to you, bring your own ;-) Our rooms were large enough to keep our suitcases open on the floor. There is a great variety of rooms, so ask the owner if you have special desires. No problem with mosquito’s at night.||- Noise: this is absolutely the quitest hotel we’ve have EVER slept in. If you do hear something, it are animals.||- Bathroom: good enough, with shower offering warm water 75% of the time (typical fot Brasil). Our shower was obstructed by the sandy water and the manager cleaned it as soon as we asked about it.||- Infrastructure: good swimming pool (just for fun, not for miles), table soccer table (bring a ball), enough place to play football, badminton,…||- Excursions: we liked the horse riding trip (even our kids got their own horse), the piranna fishing and the kayak ride organised by the hotel (separate fees). We had a rental car and used it to drive along the entire Transpantaneira, which feels like being on a safari. If you don’t have a rental car, you can also take a ride with the hotel jeep.||- Jaguars: not around this pousada. If you absolutely want to see jaguars, stay in Porto Jofre. Disadvantage of Porto Jofre: it is an almost 4 (four!) hours drive from Poconé (flying is possible but I guess it is expensive) and if there are too many jaguars you can’t do horse riding or hiking. So you are left with boat riding. We went to Porto Jofre one day, did a two hour boat trip and did, unfortunately, not get to see jaguars. May be we would have on a 4 hour trip.||- Staff: very friendly. Th manager, speaks many languages, so for non-Portuguese speakers this may have a lot of added value compared to other pousadas. He cares about his guests’ happiness without being all over them. Don’t hesitate to call him upfront if you have questions about your stay. ||- Wifi: worked well but we were unable to call with our cell phones||- Location: since the road to the pousada, the Tranpantaneira, is a big part of the Pantanal’s fun, any pousada along this road is well located. But I guess it is more convenient not to be away too far from Poconé if you have kids (for the first time in our life we had to go to hospital for a minor emergency after one of our kids fell and we were glad it was ‘only’ a 40 minutes drive to the first doctor who could stitch his wound). Between Poconé, where the Transpantaneira starts, and Porto Jofre, where it ends, there is absolutely nothing. No bars, no shops, no petrol stations. Just a lot of birds, crocodiles, capibara’s etc. So make sure to refuel on anything you need in Poconé. The condition of the road is remarkably good and you can drive for an hour without...

First of all, we are a family of 4 with two boys, 6 and 8 years old. We are from Belgium but have been living in Rio de Janeiro for 10 months now and have been travelling quite a lot in Brasil since. So may be we are already a bit used to Brasilian pousada’s pro’s and con’s.||||As I am writing this, in the pousada Estancia Vitoria, the kids are playing in the pool and there are a horse and a capibara walking around in the garden, looking for fresh grass. Plus, what feels like a thousand birds, hopping from one tree to another. So, if you or your kids like animals, you will enjoy the garden to rest in in between two excursions.||||This being said, it’s difficult to rate this pousada. Let’s say we would definitely recommend it to our friends but not to our parents who are rather high end travellers. Let me describe the pousada, without judging too much:||- food: buffet style, good variety but not always very refined (which is a common issue in Brasil). But don’t forget the pousada is relatively far from the civilised world, so every pot of yoghurt must be imported from the nearist city 40 minutes away by car. Breakfast served between 7 and 8, lunch between 12 and 13 and dinner between 19 and 20. ||- rooms: we had two rooms connected through a bathroom. Beds of good quality. Rooms without decoration, one fan lamp per room, airco present but not tested (at night temperatures drop). If cosy light is important to you, bring your own ;-) Our rooms were large enough to keep our suitcases open on the floor. There is a great variety of rooms, so ask the owner if you have special desires. No problem with mosquito’s at night.||- Noise: this is absolutely the quitest hotel we’ve have EVER slept in. If you do hear something, it are animals.||- Bathroom: good enough, with shower offering warm water 75% of the time (typical fot Brasil). Our shower was obstructed by the sandy water and the manager cleaned it as soon as we asked about it.||- Infrastructure: good swimming pool (just for fun, not for miles), table soccer table (bring a ball), enough place to play football, badminton,…||- Excursions: we liked the horse riding trip (even our kids got their own horse), the piranna fishing and the kayak ride organised by the hotel (separate fees). We had a rental car and used it to drive along the entire Transpantaneira, which feels like being on a safari. If you don’t have a rental car, you can also take a ride with the hotel jeep.||- Jaguars: not around this pousada. If you absolutely want to see jaguars, stay in Porto Jofre. Disadvantage of Porto Jofre: it is an almost 4 (four!) hours drive from Poconé (flying is possible but I guess it is expensive) and if there are too many jaguars you can’t do horse riding or hiking. So you are left with boat riding. We went to Porto Jofre one day, did a two hour boat trip and did, unfortunately, not get to see jaguars. May be we would have on a 4 hour trip.||- Staff: very friendly. Th manager, speaks many languages, so for non-Portuguese speakers this may have a lot of added value compared to other pousadas. He cares about his guests’ happiness without being all over them. Don’t hesitate to call him upfront if you have questions about your stay. ||- Wifi: worked well but we were unable to call with our cell phones||- Location: since the road to the pousada, the Tranpantaneira, is a big part of the Pantanal’s fun, any pousada along this road is well located. But I guess it is more convenient not to be away too far from Poconé if you have kids (for the first time in our life we had to go to hospital for a minor emergency after one of our kids fell and we were glad it was ‘only’ a 40 minutes drive to the first doctor who could stitch his wound). Between Poconé, where the Transpantaneira starts, and Porto Jofre, where it ends, there is absolutely nothing. No bars, no shops, no petrol stations. Just a lot of birds, crocodiles, capibara’s etc. So make sure to refuel on anything you need in Poconé. The condition of the road is remarkably good and you can drive for an hour without...