Sol de Arraial do Cabo - RJ

There are cheaper places around, but for the price I thought the service here was fair. The location makes it easy to get anywhere, and the breakfast was good. The owner was really nice and made us feel at home. The hostel is real good.

Breakfast was the one part we really enjoyed: it was varied, fresh, generous, and delicious. Ana, the owner, was consistently friendly and helpful, and shared suggestions for activities and places to see. The location is excellent, within walking distance of practically everything, and the price is low. Even so, the stay fell well short of the Booking.com rating and reviews that convinced us to book. I don't mean this unkindly, I just want others to know what happened and avoid the same surprises. The main issue started at check-in. Our one requirement when booking was air conditioning, but we were told the room reserved for us didn't have it, despite it being mid-January in Brazil. We complained to Booking.com, who agreed with us, and were eventually moved to a room with AC. Then we were told it could only be used from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM, a restriction nowhere in the listing, even though we'd paid the highest price for that service. We stayed the night to give it a chance, but the mattress had a deep, obvious sag and my partner woke with severe back pain. There were no curtains, so sunlight came straight in at 6:00 AM and made sleep impossible. We spoke with Ana about the mattress, but she couldn't find a solution. We ended up moving to another inn. A few other details to know: there's no shampoo, conditioner, or hand soap. Rooms are cleaned every three days, and earlier cleaning costs an extra 25 reais. Breakfast is served in the kitchen, which gets very hot and has poor ventilation, with only a fan, so eating there was uncomfortable. I was honestly surprised this place is described in so many reviews as a "5-star" inn.

This is my second visit, and we keep feeling at home here. Ana is so warm and caring, and all the staff are lovely people. The breakfast is wonderful, especially the different kinds of toast the owner makes. We booked several outings through Ana, and she even helped us sort out unrelated problems we had. She really makes a difference to people's trips. I recommend the place so much, and we'd tell anyone to stay here.

The breakfast was wonderful, and the rooms were well equipped, with a bathroom, clean and comfortable. It's close to three beaches, with bars and restaurants nearby too.