Hotel Real Castilha - Buenas Hoteis - Centro - São Paulo - SP — Hotel in Região Imediata de São Paulo

I had decided to stay at Republica, though some friends recommended makin a reservation in more safe area. I have chosen Real Castilha Hotel and I have made reservation using Expedia service. Hotel is really cheap. I've paid only $34 for every knight from my 3 days long stay.||||Location is really shabby, but I cannot say, that I have felt to be not safe. Ok, I have kept phone hidden deeply in the pocket. :-) There are lot of different bus stops just few steps from the hotel. There is also Republica Metro station within 5 minutes walk, maybe less. For 3.5 R$ (1 US$) you can go everywhere. I strongly recommend using public transport.||||At the front of the hotel you will find quite nice "restaurant" – Timbiras Grill & Chopp, where you can have a lunch or dinner for 7 R$ (2 US$). You can also order here one of many juices also for few Reals. ||||Rooms at the Real Castilha Hotel are quite comfortable, of course keeping in mind price I have paid. First of all, they are quite clean. No smell or dirt. ||||Breakfast are really reach. Almost impossible for such price. You can have warm scrambled eggs and sausages. You will also find different types of bread, ham, cheese, pastries and fruits.||||Front desk staff was exceptionally helpful and very pleasant. They have remembered me I have received proper key without even telling them my room number.||||I travelled to the airport using metro and public bus. First, for the 10R$ I have taken a taxi from the hotel to the Republica Metro station. It is not far away, but I had heavy luggage. Than for 3.5 R$ I have taken metro from Republica to the Tatuape metro station. At this station, for the 4.15 R$ you can catch public bus going directly to the airport. There is also alternative connection by airport shuttle service (Airport Bus Service). There is bus stop of the shuttle at the Republica Place. Of course, you can always take taxi, but you will pay up to 150 R$.||||Staying at the Real Castilha Hotel do not forget to visit Mercado Municipal, which is only 15 min...

Nice adequate hotel. Reasonable included breakfast. Shower, taps, toilet all working and no leaking. The air conditioner was a bit noisy but worked perfectly and drowned out the outside street noise. Nice helpful reception staff, but very limited English, which is common in Brazil; ie most people do not speak it. I stayed in this hotel twice: once for 4 nights and once for 2 nights. On the second round, my laptop could not log into their WiFi, as they had changed some settings, and the young man who was in charge, spent a lot of time trying to help me with my laptop. Finally, that night, after I came back to my room, it had been fixed. The rooms was clean and was cleaned daily. The mattress squeaked a bit, but was comfy. The area is rough; it is in downtown and there is an army of homeless and unhygienic people hanging around. They are harmless though and did not bother me. This area is said to be unsafe in Lonely Planet & Eyewitness travel books, but I did not see any lack of safety. Despite being a rough area, people minded their own businesses. The area, not considering some of its poor homeless people, is nice to walk about and there are plent of Brazilian restaurants and fruit shops around. It is near easy reach of Praca De Republica and its metro station. The main airport’s, Guarulhos, bus service station is also in the Republica. Taxi cost me R$93 from hotel to airport. The...

In a nutshell:||Stayed here for a night, no major complaints. If you get it at a great price and aren't fussy, no problem. Most of the recent reviews seem correct. ||Instead of a costly cab ride from the airport you can take the airport bus for R40 as I did and walk from Praca da Republica stop for a couple of blocks if you aren't daunted by the post-apocalyptic downtown core. ||||Pros: ||-affordable||-decent breakfast with awesome fruit||-helpful front desk with caveat||-in-room wifi was excellent||-plenty of restos, bars and metro very nearby, you can buy whatever you need from the streets||-didn't hear guest noises||-clean||||Cons:||-there's a construction site next door, looks like it will take several months, they start heavy equipment at 8am||-any phone that rings in any adjacent room sounds like it's ringing next to your bed||-musty smell in room and bed||-run-down area (applies to much of downtown to be fair)||-I could communicate with reception using Spanish but not English||-only two 'hot' items for breakfast and the eggs were stone cold||-those staying with someone else might be put off by the bathroom glass that is more a barrier than...