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My transfer was arranged via the hotel and via Grou, a large touroperator in Brazil, for an economic rate.
The ride was long however, due to the trafficjams to the city.

It was rather exciting to enter this new Starwood hotel in Salvador. My first impression of the lobby was a bit disappointing. I thought, Hey did they forget to replace some “old” furniture here. At the reception I received a warm welcome from the management of the hotel. The check in was fast. When I walked to the elevator I was surprised to see such a classic elevator signs. And looking into the brown interior design of the lobby with some odd chairs I didn’t know what to think of this ambiance. Brown is not my favorite color.

I was not escorted to my suite. My suite was not spacious. I did like the modern interior, and smart use of the available space. In the living was a desk with chair, a nice modern couch with table, and a large flatsquare tv. In the brown closed was a coffeecorner with a kind of nespresso machine. I could not find a manual so I tried myself. No milk was available and the maid did forget to give me more coffeecups the next days. It was not a problem since my room was opposite of the Sheraton Lounge!
In the evening the lights in the living appeared to be very glare, it felt as being in an office. No cozy lights. The hotel managed to find a cozy light for me and it was a big difference! I hope the hotel will place these lamps in all livings of the suites.
One can enter the bedroom via an open space, no door here. A large Sheraton Sweet Sleeper left almost no more space in the room, but it was ok to walk here. The bathroom was very small and narrow. When opening the door one could not reach the toilet, only for the ones with a very good figure or children. When you want to go to the toilet, you first have to close the door again so the limited space is free to walk. The bathroom offers a rainforestshower, a small but nice modern designed sink, upgraded bathamenities, a bathrobe and some fluffy towels.

In the room were some fragrance stick, I am allergic for this and put it on the corridor. I appeared to be allergic for the duvet and the hotel replaced this with some cotton covers. So that was a nice solution.

I did no receive a welcome amenity or welcome card. But instead a farewell amenity!

The big advantage was the spacious terrace, with table and chairs, a sunbed and even a Jacuzzi. On the side a small plant was placed, very tasteful!
I did not have the chance to use the Jacuzi due to the weather and my program. But I have enjoyed my moment on the terrace when the sun was shining. It was great to have a coffee here in the morning. The view was the park in front of the hotel.

I enjoyed my suite with the nice terrace, but did find the suite not spacious. The bathroom was much too cramped and I do not like a suite with a bathroom without a bathtub! It was a problem I noticed in more Starwood hotels in Brazil!

The corridors are noisy, when the personnel ride a trolley in the corridor it make a lot of noise.

The interior of the Sheraton Clublounge was very stylish and it was like the rest of the hotel, brand new. But it was very narrow and a bit cramped. The terrace however is great, and it make the lounge a better experience. It would have been much more spacious and attractive if instead of walls, the lounge would have open glass doors to the terrace. This way the open space of the terrace would be integrated in the feeling of space in the lounge.
The buffet was small but very stylish and tasteful. However the selection was very limited and rather disappointing. No free drinks or hot and cold snacks here in the evening. It was very, very disappointing and I have never experienced such a low kind of buffet in a Sheraton Lounge. The hotel told me management decided not to offer this. It seems Starwood hotels in South America may make a choice not to offer this to their most valued guests! I did get my glass of wine with some canapé s, on a individual notice on my first evening in the lounge after making some inquiries at the reception and management.
I did hear most of the businessguest did not go to the lounge for long. Well I do understand this very much, why should they when there is nearly anything to enjoy here? In most Starwood hotels the lounges are very appreciated and do have nice services to their guests. Its just very disappointing the Sheraton Bahia does not!

The breakfast selection in the lounge is something to Cry Out Loud! Cereals appeared to be ok, but the rest was not available or only in a very very selected way. A few “baby” bread rolls ( 5?) 3 slices of cold cut meat and cheese. However a very nice presentation, also for the scrambled eggs in small porcelain jars.
Quality of the products is high and the coffee is delicious. And the service, when they understand, is with a smile and in the appropriate stylish way. Bravo! Having breakfast on the terrace is nice, since it offer a nice view at the right end.

Another problem in the Sheraton lounge: not one of the waiters speaks English. It was sometime a funny situation, when I tried to make my wish clear with my “hands and feet”!

Breakfast in the Passeio da Vitoria Restaurant was a world of difference. This buffet offered a very large range of high quality breakfast items and it was easy to know which products were offered since small card with information could tell you. I did miss a toaster however, but used the tosti machine to make one. Several low fat products made me happy, like the yoghurt.
I always liked to sit outside, so every time I was having my food on the beautiful terrace, with a view of the park. I do regret the heavy noise here during the day and in the evening.
Though some waiters speak some English words, in general it was problem to communicate. For instance when I wanted an omelet at the omelet station the very young cook did not understand me. After three attempt it seemed she did and would bring me the omelet….. Well after half an hour and asking again I still did not have one… a waiter helped me out. The omelet with tapioca was very very dry and not to my taste.
In general I had a nice breakfast experience, the buffet was very large and I enjoyed the wide selection. But since almost nobody did speak English it was sometimes a frustrating experience.

The same situation occurred while dining in the evening in this restaurant. A difference seems the attitude of the waiters. They smile much more and seem eager to help. Only most of them do not know how.
My first dinner was a little funny. The a la carte selection was way to small so I wanted to have the buffet. The buffet offered a large range of my fav. salads and ingredients, and the desserts offered the same large range of selections. Yummy…..!
However for the main course only a very selected range of dishes were offered!! Only one selection of meat for instance, some pasta and a sauce. The sauce was like soup. One of the problems was ofcourse the lack of waiters who speak English! But the waiters do everything to try to help. So with “hands and feet” I tried to order what I wanted. I am sure they wanted to help me but they did not know how. Many waiter available but they just did not know how to serve. They just walked around in their beautiful 9white) uniforms. One waitress did go one step further, Andrea did everything she could think of and helped me out on her own way. She was really a nice person and was so willing to learn.

The quality and taste of the main dishe was low and could be much better. I had the choice of the beef and it was very very dry. I asked for gravy or sauce but they did not understand. Finally with the help of the receptionist, who did speak English, and after explaining again and again I did get some gravy!
One evening I did have a special dinner here, everything was taken care of and the service was professional and the waiter did speak some English. My special beef was from the farms in South Brazil, and it was just so delicious. Just as the perfect wines. This was promising for the future. So, I had two very different experiences here.

In the suite I found a book, the hotel running he already for 60 years and rather famous. I had a talk with the hotel concerning the “old” appearing eclectic brown style of the interiors. However the style is based on the time the hotel opened her doors, 60 years ago. I could make another interpretation of the style now. But still brown is still not my fav. color…… and I did not get used to this interior style. However, from a historical perspective it was allright.
The poolarea offered a beautiful bar with excellent service and even a waitress who speaks very well English. The dimensions of the pool were ok. Enough space for the stylish sun beds an tables with chairs.

I did pay a visit to the fitness room and it was very nice, modern machines and I did notice a trainer.
The Spa offered several treatments, however I did not like the ambiance so much. I did not find it luxurious.

The hotel offers a small nice shop and Grou, a touroperater with a the most helpful and friendly assistant you can ever find! And she does speak very well English! She made my stay much nicer, since she was so helpful with my tours and transfers.
I did have a tour with mr. Dirk Raymond, he speaks many languages and also Dutch. He appeared to be a very friendly dedicated and intelligent tourguide. He could tell me interesting stories concerning the old buildings (Pelourinho) and history of Salvador, Brazil and Portugal. His emailadres is: [email protected]. The other driver and guide, mrs. Elenia was also very professional and friendly. Only she did not speak English. But with google translation on her tablet, we could manage. They do offer very economic rate for private tours.

The location of the hotel is perfect, between the beach and the historical city.

Well resuming, my fav. color is not brown…., I have to look to the ‘old “ interior designs of the public areas of the hotel with a historical perspective, my suite had a nice modern interior but was rather smallish. The bathroom was cramped and you cannot reach the toilet when opening the doors, it misses a bathtub. I liked the large terrace though. Its nice to have a coffeemachine but everyday house keeping should refill the cups. The livingroom does miss a light for a warm ambiance.
Housekeeping should avoid to put shoes in different places, so I do not have to look for my shoes behind a curtain.
Clublounge boasts a classy interior but is cramped, just too smallish. The terrace is nice and why not integrate it more in the area of the Clublounge with a glass wall with opening or sliding doors? The buffet is much too limited and one of the biggest disappointments was no offerings of alcoholic drinks and snacks in the evening. The breakfastbuffet is stylish but too limited to have a nice breakfast. Service is with a smile but without any English understanding.
Breakfast in the mainrestaurant on the terrace was great, and it was nice to have it outside on the terrace, quality is high in general and the selection was wide.
My dining experiences appeared to be extremely different, however the quality and taste of the food should improve. The personnel did not know of the promotion for SPG’s and even the reception did not know. I had to prove this with a print out! I guess the personnel in the restaurant should know this.
On the bill of the restaurant the discount was not calculated, and according to the reception it would be calculated on my roomaccount. But Hey, how could I see this promotion on my bill? Well I could not! So I think they should improve this. Though I was sure mrs. Carla would help me out with that! (And she did!)
Personnel at the reception can be friendly and some speak English. But sometime they can be a little stubborn.
I want to thank mrs. Carla and mr. Bruno for the arrangements they made to make my stay more pleasant. I did talk with them concerning the issues I encountered and I know they will do their utmost to make the hotel even better. And, the hotel is just now only 3 month in operations as a Sheraton hotel, so it just needs some time to improve.
Well I do hope to come back here but I did have some serious issues during my stay!


Pictures http://www.flickr.com/photos/8579375...7635180024638/