Pousada Búzios Mandarine

The location is the best part: it’s near the center, and Rua das Pedras is an easy walk away. There’s a pool in the courtyard, and that area was fine. Breakfast was basic but okay. Our room, number 16, was very simple, and the bed was the main problem. The mattress seemed very thin or worn, and the bed frame creaked. The bathroom needs renovation. We only stayed one night, and the rate was cheap, so it was just about enough for what we paid.

We paid R$ 1.520,00 for four days, but the stay was far below what we had booked. On arrival, they sent us to an “annex” on another street, supposedly an extension of pousada Mandarine. We later found out the rooms were rented from someone who wasn’t there. There was no reception or supervision, and the gate was left open. The room smelled of sewage. The air conditioner was broken and only cooled a little, the old tube TV had a useless remote, and the bathroom was so cramped that your leg hit the splintered wooden door while sitting on the toilet. None of the promised toiletries were there. I had to walk back to the main reception to ask, and they gave me two tiny soaps. The mattress had a deep dip in the middle, so when lying face down my stomach didn’t even reach the bed. We complained, but they said they couldn’t move us because they were full. Nearby inns that suited our plans were also full, and Mandarine wasn’t going to refund us even though we weren’t getting the service we paid for. After a day out, we came back from the beach to find the annex had no water. The night guard said he couldn’t help because the owner of the annex wasn’t there. We couldn’t flush the toilet, and there was a urine smell in the tiny bathroom. We had to lie down dirty from the beach and try to wash with water from a bottle we’d bought at a small shop. It was a lot of stress during the few vacation days we’d managed to take. Early the next morning we complained again, and a room opened up in the main inn. We waited an hour in reception, still dirty from the previous day and without brushing our teeth, while a cleaner prepared it. At least we could wash once we got in. Breakfast was another letdown: only limp bread rolls with mozzarella and ham, overripe spotted bananas, margarine, and some powdered drink. No wholegrain bread, minas cheese, turkey breast, yogurt, natural juice, butter or jam. I only had hot milk. We tried to get some sleep, but the mattress was just as bad. The fan sounded like a tractor engine, and the bedspread smelled bad. They’d sprayed a watery fragrance over it, and it was still damp from the drops when we arrived. We stopped eating breakfast there for the rest of the stay, slept terribly, got no proper response to our complaints, and never used the pool because the bottom had dirt buildup and the water looked whitish. We were misled and paid much more than that service was worth.

It’s a simple inn with a basic breakfast and no parking of its own, but it was very clean and cozy. The location is excellent, and all the staff were extremely polite and attentive. We left the car in a partner parking lot almost next door and paid very little. Good value for money, and worth staying at.

The breakfast was weak and had little variety, and the cleaning was poor. There’s no parking at the property either. Parking in front costs 6,00 every three hours, which is ridiculous. The whole place needs urgent repairs: everything feels old, there’s a musty smell, holes in the wooden doors, an outdated bathroom, and a wasp nest in the ceiling lining. The bed was awful, with a sagging frame that seemed ready to break. The very old TV didn’t work. Honestly, I wouldn’t return, and I don’t think it’s worth staying there.