Fasano Hotel — Hotel in Região Imediata de São Paulo

The Fasano in Jardins is a beautiful hotel with spacious, well-appointed rooms. Just don’t expect 5-star service. ||The good: The hotel is in Jardins, a very beautiful, lush, fancy part of town, with excellent restaurants and high-end shopping. The hotel rooms were very spacious, clean, and quiet. The beds were fairly comfortable although they could have used a heavier comforter as the room was quite cold, even with the A/C off. Snacks awaited our arrival; however they disappeared the next day and were replaced with different snacks, which were delicious, but they should have left the original snacks which we had planned on eating. The bedside tables had USB ports which were convenient for charging a mobile phone. The room had automated blackout shades with two settings: completely closed or completely open. That was a big fail in design as it did not allow for just a bit of light to come into the room, which some might find preferable for sleeping. The room had the other usual amenities such as a desk, safe, closet, Nespresso machine, and well-stocked minibar. The Nespresso machine was not performing optimally, though, as the coffees it produced were barely warm. The bathroom was spacious enough and well-lit. The towel rack was heated. The room’s best feature was the shower. It was a top 5 shower, in our experience. It allows the user to turn on and adjust the temperature without getting soaked and splashing outside the shower. It had good water pressure and stream, a handheld shower head, and excellent temperature control. The only thing missing in this shower was a hook or rack for the towel inside the shower, for drying off before stepping out into the cold. ||The common areas were classically beautiful and comfortable. The elevators had excellent safety features, allowing guests to only go to their floor or the common areas like the restaurant and spa. The indoor pool and hot tub overlooking the city were a wonderful place to unwind. The steam room was excellent. ||The continental style breakfast was impressive. It included fresh fruit, juices, yogurts, granola, charcuterie, cheeses, and an assortment of breads. We had intended to book the breakfast-included rate, but in our haste to reserve during the drive into the city (São Paulo was not originally on the itinerary but our plans for Ilha Grande were foiled by cancelled transportation due to poor weather), we unintentionally didn’t; however they did not charge us for the breakfast. ||The bad: Impeccable service should be the feature that sets a hotel of this caliber apart and above all the others. While the staff were generally friendly and professional, the concierge service at the Fasano left much to be desired. Having arrived hungry, we asked for a lunch recommendation while we waited for our rooms to be ready. They directed us to a restaurant that was closed. We asked for help getting tickets and a VIP experience to a soccer match the next day. Hours later, there was no response so we called and reminded them. Their response was to send a link to the website where we could buy the tickets ourselves. At 6p, we asked for dinner reservations at any of a handful of restaurants. They told us they would let us know when they confirmed a reservation. After waiting two hours, we called and they told us they couldn’t get a reservation anywhere. They told us that we should have requested reservations before 7p, despite the fact that we asked for their help at 6. We ended up making our own reservations. Later that evening, we had drinks and dessert at the Baretto jazz club, which is part of the hotel. They had a promotion that offered free dessert for Amex Platinum members; however, I noticed later that dessert had been charged. This is, unfortunately, not an uncommon experience in Latin America, where partnerships with Amex are advertised and then not honored, or the merchant requests the customer use an alternate credit card to close out the bill. ||The service at a hotel of this caliber should be exceptional. Unfortunately, the Fasano was been overpriced disappointment. It was, at best, an average experience for a 5-star...

Don't expect 5-star luxury. This is a decent 4-star hotel with a famous name that happens to house a famous restaurant (but I am only giving it 3 stars because of the disappointment). We stayed 2 nights in November. Good things first: staff very nice and helpful (this is normal in Brazilian hotels), a good-sized room, and possibly the best hotel breakfast I've ever had. However: things started badly, with a 150% charge blocked on my credit card - i.e. an additional USD600 to cover miscellaneous expenses, which is ridiculous. (And I consider any credit card block an insult at a hotel of this category!) The hotel is in an excellent location, but cramped and gloomy on entering - you have to negotiate a crowded bar seating area to find reception at the back. The lift is poorly lit and you have to practically get down on your knees to find the L (for Lobby) button. We had a "de luxe" double room, at USD600 a night. A big room and a very big, comfortable bed. However: pillows very hard and we had to ask specially for soft ones (a selection should be supplied without asking). The room is furnished in dark brown, rather chipped elderly furniture with no special charm. Two very uncomfortable leather armchairs. The lighting system is a nightmare - switches all over the place; and when we reported a light out of order nothing was done to fix it. A splendid marble-lined bathroom with a good bath and excellent shower; but cheap extras - especially the towels, which for this price should be fluffy and new, but in fact were elderly and worn - no better than you find in 2 or 3 star hotels (except perhaps in size). Bathrobes ditto - should be luxurious but in fact just look cheap. Soap and shampoo - a local brand, nothing special. Apart from the bathroom and the bed, absolutely nothing 5-star or de-luxe about the room. Really very disappointing and definitely not...

Our stay at the Fasano São Paulo was for the last night of our 3 week trip to Brazil. The hotel is top notch, located in the fashionable and safe neighborhood of Jardins. We were greeted upon arrival by a butler, Isabella, who cheerfully and professionally showed us all the amenities of our room, which were plentiful. Our luggage arrived promptly while we were touring the room, which was on the 4th floor and very quiet. We had fresh fruit and custom chocolates waiting for us. We really enjoyed every aspect of our stay - from the delicious and varied breakfast buffet, to the delightful lunch on the terrace at Nonno Ruggero, to the exquisite dinner at Fasano Restaurant, to the fabulous bossa nova performance at Barretto nightclub -|the pluses go on and on. Our room itself was quiet and comfortable, great bed, soft linens, fantastic toiletries (I wanted to buy some to bring home but didn't have time to shop), good A/C, everything by was "just so" (in the best possible way). We especially want to thank the front desk/concierge staff, in particular Camila, who skillfully and cheerfully directed us to the best sights given our very limited time in SP. A very lovely short visit. Upon return to São Paulo, we will happily make a return visit...