Castelmar Hotel

I was here for a short stay while running a half marathon that started near the hotel. Caroline was the person I dealt with most, and she was welcoming and very polite. Check-in was easy, breakfast was delicious, the shower was hot, and the view was gorgeous. The only issue for me was the internet, but I managed by using a hotspot.

The staff are polite and do their best to sort out problems, and the hotel is well located. Room quality varies a lot, though, so you might get a very nice one or a very bad one. The restaurant menu is limited, and some dishes, like the risottos, taste as if they were microwaved. Breakfast is good, about what you’d expect at a hotel.

The downtown Florianopolis location is very convenient, but this was the worst room I’ve ever had. The tile floor was meant to keep the place warm, yet Florianopolis gets quite cold in winter. There weren’t enough blankets, and there wasn’t even a small bedside rug to step onto when getting out of bed. The shower towels were too small, with no bath mat, just a wet rubber mat that felt cold and dirty. Worst of all, a dirty plastic tile in one window rattled terribly all night in the rain. The front desk staff were unfriendly, and breakfast was below average.

The view from the upper floors is amazing, and the bedroom is nice. But the rooms keep making noises they shouldn’t. NEVER come during high season, when there are over 9000 people in the hotel and the breakfast will suck.