Had a great stay overall. I booked two rooms in my name - one for me and one for a coworker and applied lounge certs to the second room. Both of us were upgraded to suites for the stay, which was a nice surprise. My co-worker was actually assigned a nicer suite with 2 bathrooms and a direct lagoon view (he was right above the breakfast restaurant)
Room view:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BoiZGP9XfJzHLBsB7
Room view at sunset:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/UUFGZisUQJwUEa5j7
Service in the exec lounge was fantastic, although it did get busy on weekends. Happy hour during our stay in May ended up being right around sunset, and the view at sunset is bonkers. Many people enjoyed taking cocktails out onto the porch. The lounge attendants are happy to make several cocktails - Gin & Tonic, Caipirinha, and other simple mixed drinks (not self-mix). Hot cheeseballs and soup are also on offer.
Lounge spread:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mrmXsBPFjjVe5iej8
Lounge view:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ys5snztXTiprQNVm6
Breakfast was not served in the lounge, so we both received breakfast in the 'Italian' restaurant Tano. The breakfast spread was pretty good and there were enough options that we weren't terribly bored of it after 10 days. Dinner at Tano, however, was the worst meal of our trip. Just not good.
Our favorite meal of the trip was at a new taco shop called Dos Perros Tacos (yes we had Mexican food in Brazil). (
Map Location) The shop is owned by a Brazilian chef who has worked in Michelin kitchens in France, Chile and Rio. All the tacos are made of local ingredients. It was so good we went twice and we're from taco mecca LA.
Tacos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/d2DNRTkL3KMnBYAS8
The bike path straight out of the hotel allows you to ride all the way to Sao Conrado in one direction or Praia da Macumba in the other direction. The ride towards Praia da Macumba is very peaceful and most of it is through the lagoon reserve, but the path is pretty bumpy. The ride to Sao Conrado is great. Not dangerous, but scary due to being right next to the highway (separated by a large wall) and high up on bridges over cliffs and ocean. It's probably the most wild bike path I have ever been on. Highly recommended.
All of the men's bikes I tried had chains that were too loose, and if you tried to pedal hard the chain would slip. I tried some of the step-through bikes and they didn't have that issue. Other than that, the bikes were in decent condition. They state 1 hour free, but I was never charged for extra time.
Path at end of Barra:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qrcvANbzjY1RYeXE6
Path near Sao Conrado:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/NkWCPLwRW7cnt2M78
Path towards next to the lagoon reserve:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WYgx9wc8QRpYhH2C7
The hotel also offers a free "lagoon ferry" as part of the resort fee. When we were there it was on Wednesday and Friday. It takes about an hour, but its actually a lagoon eco-cruise led by a biologist. He points out native and non-native plants and animals. You can see lots of birds, monkeys and alligators. Worth it to spend a relaxing afternoon.
Boat and lagoon with hotel in the background:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fmni2f64hRb5mcic8
Heron:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tTUXu5dLyj9dYEdt6