Tulip Inn Vila Velha

Maintenance has really let this place down. On my first stay, the room window wouldn't close, so all the street noise came in. The hotel is on a very busy avenue. When I asked to switch rooms, the receptionist was arrogant, and I practically had to beg for a change. This time, the A/C is making such a loud noise that I can't sleep with it on. I told reception this morning and asked them to check it, but when I got back tonight nothing had been fixed. The attendant was defensive and seemed to be trying to stall me, saying the A/C just sounds like that. I've stayed here before and told them it wasn't normal. They also said the maintenance guy had been by and that replacing the board could cause the noise. But it was making the same noise yesterday, before that supposed replacement. I asked to move rooms and was told there weren't any available, and to check again tomorrow morning in case one opened up. Seriously?

Getting a cup of hot water turned into a refusal, with no real effort to help. The service felt completely lacking in empathy or concern for the guest. I wouldn't recommend this place at all. The room was far too tiny for a couple, and uncomfortable. The bathroom was cleaned daily, but every flush brought up a strong sewage smell. The bed was much too soft, and the shower seemed clogged, with erratic water flow and very little pressure. The only toiletries were one bottle of liquid soap and one of very poor-quality shampoo that wouldn't lather, so I had to go to a pharmacy to buy my own. Breakfast was really weak. The cakes tasted stale and were genuinely bad. The sandwich press broke, and it took three days to repair it. They should have had a backup. The scrambled eggs, a basic hotel breakfast item, were awful, with such a strong greasy taste that I couldn't eat them. The food selection was unpredictable too. There was plantain one day and none the next. When I asked, they said they'd restock it, but brought sweet potato instead. It was always a gamble whether there'd be plantain, cassava, or sweet potato. Either make sure the item is available every day or don't offer it.

The stay was calm and comfortable, and the hotel met what I needed for the trip. It's well located near Praia de Itaparica. There was nothing extraordinary about it, but it was in line with the price. Breakfast was well organized and had good options. For New Year's Eve, they set up a photo booth for guests, which was a really nice touch and made the stay more enjoyable.

We really liked the location, but the stay started badly and had more problems later. We booked through NuViagens, whose description said the room would have a queen-size bed. Instead, we found two separate beds in an extremely small room. It took several conversations with reception to sort out, which was tiring and stressful. After moving rooms the next day, we had trouble with the A/C, which was freezing the room. Reception partly fixed it. The problem came back on our last night, but since we were leaving, we decided not to complain again.