The nicest Meliá among many Meliás in São Paulo and other São Paulo, Brazil Hotel/Accommodation Reviews

I'm very , very suspicious to talk about this place... because I am the owner of two units (yes , right , two hotel rooms) in Meliá Jardim Europa.... About two years ago I decided to try it out and off I went with my girlfriend Camila. We got there a bit late in the afternoon and saw a big crowd of eager , nervous and half hysterical teenage girls in front of the hotel... This could only mean that some famous singer or band was staying there. Jealous looks from the girls accompanied us as we entered the hotel and as we registered at the reception I asked what the big deal and uproar was outside.... And really , a very famous Californian rock band was staying at the hotel , occupying the whole 7 th floor.... The Calling... When Camila heard that she started to act just like the girls outside even though she's allready beyond her teens since 5 years . I myself had never heard about them , but had the immense pleasure of getting to know these young and very talented guys later on, also during the week I listened to their album and was quite impressed. Camila and I went to our room and then started to check out the hotel.... She was , at one point though , so anxious that she asked me to take her to the 7th floor and see if we could meet the guys from the band.... I thought , well... what wouldn't I do for Camila , my sweetie cutie pie and , even though I felt a bit like I don't know what , we descended to the 7th floor where we ran into a young guy in the corridor. I asked him if he was from the band and when he said yes , I asked him if Camila could possibly meet the intregants of the band because she was such a big fan.... To make a long story shorter ( limited space) we met the whole band and Camila was really happy, they gave us free tickets for their show that night and the next day in the morning they allowed us to shoot a whole photo session with them , while the poor girls outside got only like 10 minutes with them.....

Unique Qualities: Beautifull architecture of the highrise, rooftop (small) pool , jacuzzi ( out of order then , boooooohhh!!), work out gym with all machines and gadgets on top floor , fantastic 360 degrees views , spacy , comfty rooms with cable tv , internet access , I believe ( can't remember straight) a mini kitchen , king size bed , nice and not at all expensive restaurant on ground floor ....
The place offers more than enough for the price charged which fluctuates according to time of year , ideal place for business/convention and/or tourists/with or without children .
Good shopping and lots of good restaurants nearby , in fact , all of the Itaim Bibi District is at your disposal.

( A short remark about the pictures: Of course I wasn't shooting pictures of the hotel itself.... I was shooting pictures of MY model , Camila , inside the hotel. I never thought I'd write about or show the hotel in this manner....But as I love to take pictures of Camila and she loves to strike poses , whereever we go , ( lol... "Whereever you will go" is one of the great successes of The Calling...) I will end up with loads of pictures of her , while , at the most , a very few of me.. You will see that too in the upcoming descriptions of more São Paulo hotels and on my upcoming Egypt page...)

The pictures are : Camila in the gym , Camila in the room , Camila eating breakfast , Camila in the lobby , Camila and the guys from The Calling ....

I just love her......what can I do...?

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Address: RUA JOAO CACHOEIRA 107 111, Sao Paulo, SA 04535 01
Directions: João Cachoeira Street is a typical one way street in Itaim Bibi , a mixture of highrise apartment buidings and shops. The street starts at Avenida Nove de Julho and the Meliá Jardim Europa is on the second block on the left side....

Camila and I received kind of a propaganda advertising weekend specials at this hotel and decided to try it out.... The deal we got two years ago was excellent and included dinner and breakfast. I don't think they have this kind of deal anymore. We loved the place from the first minute. We left our little overnight baggies in the room and headed straight for the restaurant. Excellent outstanding cuisine and service , very satisfactory. Photo gallery above the restaurant with weird and artistic pictures. The room impeccable , comfortable , queen size bed. Think well with whom you will stay there because there's no way to hide the interior of the bathroom from the bedroom.....There's a glass window with stripes but between the stripes you can "see"... I got some very nice and interesting pictures of Camila this way that I , unfortunately , cannot share with you fellow VTers because it's against VT rules.... even though I wanted to show you the bathroom...( but there will be a bathroom picture PG rating...) I definitely want to recommend this hotel for the service , cozyness because it's modern and still very new . I would say it is rather the business hotel type but has a lot to offer for everybody. Even though located near other major hotels and shopping malls it is rather far from the center and most other points of interest. If you want to burry yourself in a highly pleasant and comfortable hotel like we did and not go out anywhere and just enjoy , this place is definitely right.... ( But this is how we enjoy it... go out and enjoy outside too, the place is still worth it...)

Unique Qualities: Well.... this is a Hilton and the name has a reputation, Big cable TV, broadband Internet Access , Coffee machine, I believe I remember a CD player , maybe DVD player , very nice room and bathroom, hair dryer , of course... Camilas paradise on the top floor : massage , hairdresser , make up specialists , gigantic work out gym , heated pool , fantastic breathtaking views from everywhere , the restaurant on the lobby floor ( Canvas the name , I believe...) is excellent and breakfast was a fantastically delicious buffet. It's a modern 5 star hotel and I feel really good there.

And....... because I took so many nice pictures ( of Camila of course but this way you get an idea of the hotel ) , I will make a second tip page of this hotel so I can add 5 more pictures.... I'm afraid , I'll have to simply repeat this text to be able to save the second batch of pictures.....

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Address: Av. das Nacoes Unidas, 12901, , SAO PAULO 04578-00
Directions: Near the end of Berrini Street , a bustling new business area , also near two gigantic Shopping Malls ( Shopping Morumbi and Market Place ) , also near DD shopping mall...
On Marginal Pinheiros and you will need transportation ( taxi ) to go anywhere....

ALL PICTURES ON PAGE 1 ( PICS 1 - 5 ) AND ON THIS PAGE # 6 AND 7 TAKEN IN SEPTEMBER 2003 , PICTURES # 8-10 ON THIS PAGE TAKEN IN AUGUST 2005

This a mere continuation of the hotel tip page for the Hilton Morumbi because there are so many more pictures taken there to give a better idea of the place.....

Unique Qualities: This a mere continuation of the hotel tip page for the Hilton Morumbi because there are so many more pictures taken there to give a better idea of the place.....

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Address: Av. das Nacoes Unidas, 12901, , SAO PAULO 04578-00
Directions: This a mere continuation of the hotel tip page for the Hilton Morumbi because there are so many more pictures taken there to give a better idea of the place.....

Well, Camila and I were on our way home from a late dinner in a restaurant in June 2003 when she had the great idea: "There's that new hotel I read about !! Let's go and check it out !" So we did... impressive allready the 8 meter high entrance door with all black clad security guards standing around near by...The wellcome at the reception is warm and courteous... the reception being just a table with two chairs on each side and one laptop.. that's all... you sit down on a comfty chair to fill out the form while they serve you champagne (or you just grab the champagne bottle and serve yourself). Service is very discreet , fast and perfect. The place is somewhat expensive for being so outstandingly different in many ways and because it is rather small for a five star hotel . I think I remember there are just 57 rooms.... I definitely recommend it. I LOVED the linen , sheets , the whole room , about 6 big , thick, soft , fluffy pillows on the bed , between the bedroom and bathroom is a ... ( don't know the english word...) kind of a separating device made out of some kind of acrylic plastic , not a door , not a curtain , that folds up and lets you watch your preferred cable TV show on the plasma TV in the bedroom from your jacuzzi bathtub... need I say more..?

O , yes... this is the place where you might see celebrities... We bumped into Milton Nascimento ( famous musician in the same bracket as Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso...)

Unique Qualities: This hotel is called Unique and it is... Conceived by a famous architect ( sorry , no name , I'm not into architecture...) it looks like a slice of watermelon with the curvy side down... or like a boat.... The windows are the watermelon seeds... The lobby is impressively minimalistic and there's a creek flowing through it ( if I remember right ) The hallways on the room floors are somewhat reminiscent of a purple labyrinth... The rooms on the edges have curved walls.... The pool on the rooftop is long and narrow and blood red....
Windows are round like big bull eyes...
This is not a highrise so the view from the rooms is not breathtaking and in the back really nothing special at all while you can see Ibirapuera Park from the front windows. But on the rooftop you get an impressive look at the São Paulo highrise silhouette along Ave Paulista and the Jardins area.
As Camila and I were standing on the edge of the hotel admiring the view , what a coincidence (!!!!) , we remarked that on the roof of the adjacent building , some 15 meters from us and 6 meters below they were shooting kind of a Playboy photo session.... Some 6 or 7 guys and 2 women ( production team) standing around while one beautifull , sexy and stark naked woman was being photographed......
Camila and I cheered , whistled and held the thumbs up and most of them including the model waved and smiled back at us.....
Do NOT count on having this kind of "exceptionally good and breathtaking" view everytime you go there , no matter how unique the place is....

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$120-180  » Currency Converter
Address: Avenida Brigadeiro Luis
Directions: On Ave. Brigadeiro Luiz Antonio , practically across from Ibirapuera Park. Near Itaim and Jardins.

One more hotel tip from me , anyone...? Here we go , this time the Grand Hyatt with íts own distinctive class and style. Modern , minimalistic, comfortable , practical and discreetly luxurious. Spacious room , beauuuuutifull bathroom , of course all facilities you would expect in a hotel with a class brand name which in this case even starts with "Grand".... Two special restaurants on the bottom floor , Eau ( french....) and a japanese....
Of course recommandable if you want to afford the steep prices and the location which is far from the center. The Grand Hyatt is practically across from the Hilton Morumbi , so what I wrote there about location is valid here too....

Unique Qualities: Again, the Grand Hyatt has exuberant views , a fullblown spa with massage , waxing service , hairdresser , a nice and big swimming pool... in other words , a truly five star hotel with all it takes....

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$120-180  » Currency Converter
Address: Avenida das Nações Unidas ( Marginal Pinheiros)
Directions: Please refer to this section in my Hilton Morumbi tip , the Hilton and the Hyatt are in front of each other , maybe 300 meters apart , but no buildings in between , so in both cases you can see the other hotel as part of the great view....

The International Plaza is either a four or five star flat hotel with all necessary amenities recommendable because of its location just one block off Ave. Paulista on Alameda Santos and its very affordable prices. The standard rooms are somewhat small but there are "suites" on higher floors available with fantastic views , almost as if you were in an airplane because the International Plaza is just about the tallest building around.... well , maybe the second tallest....
BTW , just like in Meliá Jardim Europa I own one unit in this building on the 25th floor.....

Unique Qualities: As mentioned before , all necessary amenities , that is : work out gym , pool , restaurant , rooftop piano cocktail happy hour bar and restaurant with fantastic view , near Ave. Paulista, shopping , restaurants , cinemas etc.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: 5511 31465966
Address: Alameda Santos 981
Directions: On Alameda Santos between Alameda Campinas and Alameda Joaquim Eugênio de Lima one block below Ave. Paulista on the Jardins side... this means : prime location !

Nice and cute , lots of knick knacks everywhere , partially lush and oppulent , small five star ( how do I rate it small..? There was no hair dresser for Camila and this is a MUST for her...) French atmosphere to the point that there's a french boulangerie in the lobby. The room comfortable , very nicely decorated , I would say it's somewhat fin-de-siècle ( but how would I know ? I don't understand too much about this...) Excellent service everywhere... there was a minor problem at breakfast , I can't even remember what it was but the manager treated us like king and queen.... and dinner was also excellent , hmmmmm french cuisine......
Recommendable for everyone but especially for couples who like it a bit romantic...

Unique Qualities: Sofitel belongs to the french Accor group.... I'm not in the hotel business but I believe that Sofitel is kind of the top product of Accor ( Formule 1, Ibis , Mercure , Novotel , Sofitel...) What makes this hotel outstanding is not the view (nothing special) , facilities like in any other five star ( no hair dresser or spa.... boooh ! ) but the romantic atmosphere of a place that looks as if from the 19th century.... Bright colored carpets , flowers , little statuettes , framed pictures on the wall everywhere....

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$120-180  » Currency Converter
Address: Rua Sena Madureira, 1,355 - Bloco 1 - Ibirapuera,
Directions: Near Parque Ibirapuera , near Vila Mariana..... in my opinion not well located , on a busy thoroughfare street , nothing special nearby within walking distance like restaurants , shops or cinemas... But of course this is just my subjective opinion.....

Why confusion..? Because there are various George V. , some of them belonging to each other in the same chain , others not belonging to each other anymore and even others which had nothing to do with the others in the first place......

But who cares...? This George V. is located in the Jardim Paulista area , in a high middle class residential highrise surrounding... Not very much to do or see within 3 or 4 blocks around the hotel besides apartment buildings , but if you dont mind walking 7 to 10 minutes , then it is perfect. Well upkept it is like 12 years old and the rooms are extremely spacious... The smallest unit is 66 m² , the nice size of a two bedroom apartment , except you have a really big living room , with broadband internet access , 29 " cable TV , also a couch that opens into a double bed so the place really sleeps 4 comfortably.... There's a fully equipped kitchen and "frigo bar", with different drinks ( soft/hard) and stuff to munch on.... The bedroom with king size bed has a second TV , the bathroom has for instance a bathtub and a separate shower....

Unique Qualities: What makes this place special is the sheer space they give you. I only saw one unit on the first floor where friends of mine from Vienna stayed two nights, so I wouldn't know much about great views..... There's a nice pool and a nice restaurant "Jorge" in the lobby.
I thought my friends were paying a price higher than the average but what you get for the extra price is really the much extra space......

The place was very nice and radiated comfort . I could imagine someone staying there for quite a while and feeling very much at ease....

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: *5511 3088-9822
Address: Rua José Maria Lisboa 1000 , Jardins
Website: www.georgev-etoile.com.br

This cute , little hotel is just outside of São Paulo , in Guarulhos , about 5 km max from the airport. Camila and I had a flight to Montevideo out of GRU ( = Intern'l Airport of São Paulo ) at 9:00 AM and I figured , if we had to be at the check in at 7:00 AM , we would definitely not make it..... I know Camila and myself..... So I suggested we take a room close to the airport , not to have the hassles and stress next day early in the morning. We went by car as I had calculated that parking the car at the airport would be cheaper than taking a taxi back and forth.
Arriving in Guarulhos we drove around the city to get an idea about it and after a while we found a Meliá and a Mercure ( Accor )..... But this time , we said , we didn't want a room in a trademark chain hotel but in a small , "local", independent hotel....
So , circling around ( pretty confusing , this city) , we found this hotel. For us it was just perfect because we were on a real budget trip. The main pro's were the silence , a big bathroom , everything clean and also the breakfast (included in the price).
We still drove around a lot , found a nice restaurant , had dinner and back in the room stayed up till maybe 2:00 AM.....
I set the alarm for 5:45 , one hour and 15 minutes to wake up , have breakfast, pay, get out of the hotel and get to the check in counter by 7:00 AM.... Everything worked smooth as greased... only Camila had a very , very bad time waking up.... took her a little while and I couldn't resist taking a pic of her very early morning bad humored , cute face...... LOL......
To see this pic , check out my Uruguay Travellogue...

Unique Qualities: Well , the hotel is pretty simple and small but with very polite and friendly service , it has a big parking lot across the street and has obviously quite some movement because it seems that many people had the same idea as us..... sleep close to the airport and don't miss your flight.....
For this purpose the hotel offers a free airport shuttle for the guests, something not at all common in Brazil and really worth considering......

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: telfax(11) 64689502 / 64401161
Address: Ave. Emílio Ribas 189 , Guarulhos , SP
Directions: Near Ave. Tiradentes and Rua Abrahan Lincon ( !!!!!, sic ... bad mistake on the hotels cards map...), also near Rua do Cano and near the UNG University.
Website: mail: guaruplazahotel@terra.com.br
Other Contact: telfax(11) 64793012 / 64614853

This hotel , just like the one in the last tip, is not actually in São Paulo but close to the International Airport which is located in the suburb town of Guarulhos. I didn't stay in this hotel but visited when my cousin flew down from Los Angeles, stayed overnight and took an early next day flight to the Amazon.

This is the perfect hotel for quickie business meetings in and out of São Paulo in time lapse mode..... It's perfect for whoever wants to avoid morning rush hours to get to the airport in time.... And it's perfect for whoever comes flying in on a 12 hour flight and wants to resist the temptation to see anything else than brazilian airports.... ( LOL ...)

Besides that it's a typical business hotel with elevators, lobby, hallways and restaurants.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the hotel but it caters only to the few who come to São Paulo to stay just one night....

Unique Qualities: The only unique quality to this hotel is the 3 minutes proximity to the International Airport.

As it stands alone with no immediate buildings around , there's a good view from practically every room, especially if you like to see approaching airplanes just before touch down.....

And they place a little chocolate bonbon on your pillow , so you can have a tasty good night calory boost....

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Address: Rod Helio Smidt sector 1, , Sao Paulo 7141970
Directions: hmmmmmmm.......... how should I describe this...? Near the International Airport Cumbica, in Guarulhos ( GRU ) ?