Estanplaza Ibirapuera — Hotel in Região Imediata de São Paulo

I had already posted about Hotel Estanplaza Ibirapuera in Sao Paolo but due to a merging of accounts, it seems to have ended up showing only as a rating, so I must have selected the wrong option at that time.|I stayed here for several nights in early April as a part of a one month meandering vacation to Brazil, traveling around. The Guarulhos Airport is (like all of Sao Paolo) huge. I was concerned about getting into the city in terms of transport (primarily safety, given what I had heard about Sao Paolo). Prior to my trip, I phoned the hotel and I was reassured that typically, people use the blue coop cab company. It seems to have a monopoly of airport to city business. I recall that the one way trip to the Hotel Estanplaza Ibirapuera cost about 200 reals or $Cdn 85.00|I found the front desk and all employees to be totally professional, courteous, and helpful and they went out of their way to assist me. (I lost my safe key and the level of help that they went to was extensive and most importantly greatly appreciated!) Thank you front desk – day and night shift!! They also speak English well enough to make the tourist feel comfortable.|As I was only in Sao Paolo for a few days, and given the enormity of the city, I figured that the only way to get a sense of this gargantuan city was to hire a driver, and the front desk provided me with an excellent choice! The 4 hours cost me 350 reals or about $Canadian 150.00. Mind you, I could have taken a tour bus for a fraction of the price, but then I only would have seen a fraction of what my guide (named Napoleon) showed me. He has an absolute wealth of knowledge. He took me to the central market in downtown Sao Paolo, explained why there is height limitations on tall buildings in Sao Paolo, drove me to parks where there were amazing museums, took me to posh parts of town with $10 million + mansions. He drove me to have a view of the boat shaped hotel and up to its roof. We drove past innumerable churches. All that to say, I certainly got my money’s worth. I saw so much that I will only be able to piece it together, once I view all of the photos taken, when back home in Toronto! The city is humungous, full of energy, chaotic and a mostly continual traffic jam.|The hotel food was good and dinners were part Smorgasbord, part waiter service. I recall that a hotel dinner cost about 115 reals or $ Cdn 50.00. You might chop off about $ Cdn 15.00 off the bill if you forego the glass of wine and dessert. |On another night, I walked a couple of blocks to a restaurant, and the bill came to about 170 reals or about $ Cdn 70.00. Mind you, I had pork spare ribs stacked on my plate so high that I could only finish ¼ of them. Then there was a glass of wine and then dessert, so I could have reduced the bill by about $15.00 had I skipped the wine and dessert. Sao Paolo is an expensive city and you should budget at the high end of the price range, so as to avoid surprises.|I felt entirely safe walking to and from the restaurant, and the Hotel Estanplaza Ibirapuera is in a good neighbourhood (Moema/Indianopolis part of town).|There is a roof top pool at the hotel, which is the over-riding reason why I booked this hotel from the internet. However, the weather was not the best and I never even got up to the roof to view the pool, so I cannot comment on it, but it seemed nice from the photos.|In all, my stay was very enjoyable, and the hotel rooms was good with nice bathroom. All of the hotel staff made my stay most enjoyable. If I return to Sao Paolo, I will definitely stay here the next...

This is more for a 3.5 review, it's basically a 7/10. The reason is because while the rooms are very big and the breakfast is insanely good (lots of variety with very good quality products), the rooms are dirty, some things are broken, others feel dated. The view that they promote is only for some rooms in certain floors, that's because there are so many buildings that you have no view. The pool is a joke also, even a kid would find it small. But, it works. It's not terrible, but you expect more. On the plus side they have this afternoon meals (for free) that age really really nice and the SUM has a terrific view of the city (which is closed after 21! Why!?).

Oh and the WiFi is terrible...

The absolute worst check-in experience ever. The least helpful staff encountered during our two week stay in Brasil. The two ladies present during check-in not only did not bother to help with luggage, they also did not bother to provide any explanation about the hotel, leaving us with a very negative first impression and bad welcome for the rest of our stay. Same the morning after, when 3 people were present at the reception desk as well as two doormen, none said good morning, nor bothered to help with luggage. The room itself was comfortable and breakfast was good. However, the attitude of the reception staff does not make me...