Viale Cataratas Hotel

The hotel is about 15 minutes from both the Falls and the airport. It's a little outside the city, though from what we saw there isn't a huge amount in Foz anyway. There are a few places you can walk to, including a shopping centre down the road, but most people seemed to use taxis, Ubers or organised tours. The room was nice, with a big, comfy bed, and it's a good-quality hotel. Dinner is a very nice buffet for 115R each evening, and breakfast was very good too. The pool was pleasant, though the water was cool, which felt refreshing in the heat. There's a small gift shop inside as well.

The location is great, and I can see this working well for a group tour with kids. For us as a couple, though, the room was small and noisy, and a long way from the facilities. Food was limited to lukewarm buffet dishes that a bus tour had already picked over. With the front desk staff being rude as well, I don't understand the strong reviews.

Dinner was limited to a buffet that looked completely unappealing, and the breakfast buffet was inedible too. Our room service plates were still sitting there this morning. The bathroom had mould, and the towels and uncovered quilts were threadbare. The staff were very rude. This place was awful, and nowhere near a four-star standard, more like a below-par three-star hotel.

The rooms were decent and the staff were friendly. I was glad to find some small gluten-free options, which you rarely see at hotels. The buffet had a good range, with a large breakfast area, and I especially liked having a separate counter for tapioca pancakes where you could choose sweet or savoury. The lobby was huge, too. One unpleasant moment at the restaurant: a big cockroach crawled across the floor. Another woman saw it, and I think she complained to the staff as well. Still, we had a pleasant stay.