Hotel Portaló

“An extraordinary experience”

Perfect location, Close to the center, Beautiful and exotic hotel, clean, excellent service. In particular, Director Rita, is remarkable for the warm and courteous attitude. You can contact her and get help from her in any subject. I highly recommend the hotel . for this hotel is nomber 1. I'll g... more

Perfect location, Close to the center, Beautiful and exotic hotel, clean, excellent service. In particular, Director Rita, is remarkable for the warm and courteous attitude. You can contact her and get help from her in any subject. I highly recommend the hotel . for this hotel is nomber 1. I'll go back to this hotel for sure

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“Great EXPERIENCE... Perfect start of the Year!”

The hotel is well located by the pier, where all boats arrive. The location is amazing... but what makes the hotel unique is the staff. From the manager (Rita) to the front desk staff (Bruno, Barbara, Debora...) to the waiters (Keven...) the service was AMAZING!!! THANK YOU!!! The rooms are wel... more

The hotel is well located by the pier, where all boats arrive. The location is amazing... but what makes the hotel unique is the staff. From the manager (Rita) to the front desk staff (Bruno, Barbara, Debora...) to the waiters (Keven...) the service was AMAZING!!! THANK YOU!!! The rooms are well clean and with minor need of improvement (such as handles in the bathroom door apt 1 and 3). Breakfast misses a bit of the regional touch with someone doing the tapioca to be seen and other ingredients of the local cuisine and a bit more "sorria, voce esta na bahia" ("smile, you are in bahia" - state slogan) The sunset bar is a great place to be with friends and family for a sunset drink. Prices are normal and reasonable. We spent 8 days there and could not have chosen a better place to stay in Morro de Sao Paulo. Looking forward to be back one day!

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“Incredible location, great bar for sunset and beautiful pool”

Overall, I had a great stay at Hotel Portaló. There are some elements to the hotel that make it a wonderful place to stay. It is one of the few hotels in the town that gets a view of the sunset, and the hotel capitalises on this with its pool and lively bar, both of which look out across the wate... more

Overall, I had a great stay at Hotel Portaló. There are some elements to the hotel that make it a wonderful place to stay. It is one of the few hotels in the town that gets a view of the sunset, and the hotel capitalises on this with its pool and lively bar, both of which look out across the water. There's normally a DJ at sunset and the caipirinhas were great and reasonably priced. It was low season, so the swim-up bar at the pool was closed, but I imagine it's a nice place to enjoy a drink when it's open. The room itself had great views, a relaxing hammock and outdoor table and was very clean and comfortable. The hotel is located right at the port, so when you arrive by boat, you are basically dropped off right at the hotel - which is great. The hotel has some room for improvement, but depending on who you are or the type of holiday you are looking for, these factors may not be so important to you. While there was a lot to choose from at the breakfast buffet, it lacked a certain feeling of care that you normally find with breakfasts in Brazil. The wifi didn't reach my room, so if you want to do work or use internet while staying there, you'll probably need to sit in the common areas (by the pool, in the bar or the restaurant area). This was disappointing as I am a writer and the balcony area of my room would have been an ideal place to work, alas I had to sit by the noisy pool area instead. I found some of the staff to be lovely and helpful and some others to be a bit aloof. The hotel is built on a hill so it's not ideal if you aren't able to walk up steep inclines, etc. If you are bothered by noise, you may not like that the boats like to sound their horns throughout the day and night. I thought it added to the charm. Overall, if you're not a traveller who plans to hang out in their room all day or who wants a high degree of service, than you'll enjoy your stay here. Come for the incredible views, the beautiful gardens, the cool bar and the lovely pool!

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“Paradise lost”

Hotel Portalo is suffering for the same blight that is affecting much of the island of Morro de Sao Paulo. Increased popularity and tourist numbers are driving down standards to the lowest common denominator. No doubt once this hotel was a fine place. Nice little bungalows terraced up steep gr... more

Hotel Portalo is suffering for the same blight that is affecting much of the island of Morro de Sao Paulo. Increased popularity and tourist numbers are driving down standards to the lowest common denominator. No doubt once this hotel was a fine place. Nice little bungalows terraced up steep green hillsides and overlooking a sparkling sea. Whats not to like? The breakfasts were basic and served with the same surly style that the entire hotel staff seem to exude. Their location makes the hotel bankable so there seems to be no need to provide service above the bare minimum. Even for Bahia - where service can be idiosyncratic and slow, but generally well meaning - this place oozes indifference. But the greatest drawback is the noise. Not just the interminable boats that rock up to the jetty from sunrise to sunset, but the music. You get blasted all day long (and night) by multiple sound systems; even if high energy techno is your idea of a relaxing morning tune, you're never going to get into the groove because of the high number of sound systems competing to be heard. Stay somewhere else on the island away from the noise or, better still, go somewhere further south in Bahia and find the real Brazil.

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