Originally Posted by Londonjetsetter

Fasano Sao Paulo

Oh dear. We were looking forward to staying here. Good points first - rooms are perfect. Very stylish and masculine. We had a deluxe room which was huge and had great views. One of the best rooms I've seen in a city hotel. The public spaces are similarly stylish, although quite dark and wintery feeling. Great location in the centre of Jardins. Walking distance to great shops and restaurants.

Unforunately we spent most of the time feeling irritated by this hotel. Service was unacceptable. We had booked a spa package which entitled us to a free upgrade to a deluxe room (upon availability). We were automatically assigned a standard room with no mention of the upgrade. When I queried this we were immediately told none was available in a way that conveyed that it was entirely inappropriate that we had even asked. It turned out a room was actually available (after we asked yet again). The whole process took about half an hour and was not a relaxing start to our stay. We were paying around US700, so I felt it was worth pushing the point.

Despite meeting some on the ball employees (the lady in the spa and one at the front desk) many of the staff behaved in a bizarre 'we know better than you' way. For what it's worth, we were not poorly dressed, loud or otherwise obnoxious. Very old fashioned and stuffy service. An example was at breakfast when the waiter became moody when we asked to see the menu instead of ordering immediately. I'm sure the idea is that you can have whatever you like, but I wanted to see some options before I ordered. I asked for a tea spoon, response 'it's on the table', um, not it isn't etc etc. All very tiresome.

Dinner in the Fasano restaurant was interesting. Fairly nice food and a stunning setting but, again, stuffy condescending service. Also offensively expensive. Prices in Brazil have shot up since I was last there. Nearly US800 for two with only one bottle of relatively modest wine. Over $20 cover charge for bread.

Oh yes, door staff who didn't once open the doors for us. Yes the rooms and location were nice, but we couldn't wait to leave.

On the way back from Trancoso (see below) we stayed at Hotel Unique. Around 10 mins by car from the Fasano. Not as good a location as there is not much within walking distance, but not terrible either. Small rooms in a much more minimal style. Everything felt less luxurious, but also lighter and sunnier. The roof top pool is the real high point here. A very relaxing space that gets the sun all day. Breakfast was slightly carb heavy, but was still nice. Dinner in the restaurant was fine - OK food, but a fun scene. The main plus was that the staff were the lovely, engaging and helpful people we were used to meeting in Brazil.

The main reason for going to Brazil was a trip to Trancoso in Southern Bahia. In short we absolutely loved it there. Some of the best beaches I've seen and a stunningly beautiful village. Great restaurants and bars. None of the hotels are particularly high end (although they are expensive). Uxua Casa is one option, but we stayed at Pousada Etnia. Not really luxurious but very comfortable. The reason we stayed there was their beach club, Clube de Mar, that was a great place to spend the day. I'd go back, mostly for the village itself.