Hotel Porto da Ilha

From check-in through checkout, everything went smoothly, even my 4am pickup. The place was clean, the facilities were good, and breakfast had a good buffet. What stood out most was the staff, who were friendly, welcoming, and very helpful. I was really impressed.

It was okay, but for the price and the reviews I expected more. They list a fitness center, but there isn't one.

The quietest part of the stay was our last night, when the manager finally came to apologize and offered us a better room. We were leaving the next morning, so we declined. They also sent a cake, but we’d already eaten and were flying out, so we thanked them and turned it down. In the end, our good memories are of our friend and the beautiful city. We’ll never stay at Porto da Ilha Hotel again. We’re Brazilians living overseas, and this was the last stop on our trip back to Brazil after several years. We picked the hotel because of the reviews, but it became the worst part of the trip. We stayed five nights. On the first night we arrived late, and were offered an upgrade for ~90 BRL per night. We didn’t need anything else in the room and said no. Maybe that would have prevented the problems, who knows. The next morning, we woke earlier than we wanted because we could hear the cleaning lady’s radio outside. I mentioned it to the manager, Ricardo I believe, over breakfast. He was professional and apologized, and promised to talk to his team. The coffee was OK. We spent the day out with a friend who lives in Florianópolis. We came back late on Friday. My wife felt unwell and took a "Naldecon noite," a flu and cold medicine that makes you sleepy. Around 3 AM I woke to doors slamming. They have automatic closers, but the walls seem so thin that we could hear the doors and a group of friends talking outside for 15 minutes. I eventually fell asleep again. A little after 6 PM, the radio woke us both again with "Check out 804, check out 804" from the cleaning staff. At breakfast we reported it, but the manager wasn’t there. Denilson, I believe, listened with a concerned look, then said we should have called reception. I explained my wife was still asleep. He said there was nothing he could do, but if it happened again we could call and they’d do something. Leaving a note under a stone would have been just as useful. The following night was still the weekend, with people coming and going after midnight. I feel bad for the cleaning staff because the walls seem to be the main problem. They’re extremely thin. Even when people weren’t talking, their sounds woke us. I’m a heavy sleeper, and even I woke up, though my wife is a lighter sleeper. I think if the manager had heard from staff sooner, he might have tried moving us to another floor. When he returned on Monday, he probably saw the log and came to apologize. I told him I thought the walls were the issue and that the noise was very inconvenient. The gym is a few blocks away, outside the hotel. It’s a nice gym, but it closes early on Saturday and isn’t open Friday. You can’t use the pool or attend classes there.

The room wasn’t made up during the last couple of days, even though we left the sign outside the door the whole time we were out. Parking was another problem: R$30 extra per night, very tight spaces, and not workable if you have a large car. The one time I handed over my keys so staff could move my car, they hit it. Their camera angle conveniently didn’t show the accident, and manager Roberto tried to blame me, despite me parking under the crew’s supervision and none of them seeing anything. He should show customers some empathy instead of getting defensive and taking no responsibility if he wants them to return. This was a bad experience, and I wouldn’t recommend the hotel to anyone hoping to enjoy Florianopolis.