Grand Palladium Imbassai Resort and Spa - All Inclusive

We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary here, including a magical dinner on the beach at night under the moonlight. It was an incredible, five-star resort stay. We chose the Sushi and Churrasco dinners and were glad we did. There was a different range of buffet options every day at every meal, and so many places to eat that the food never felt repetitive. I definitely recommend The Signature Level for its extra experiences, SPA discounts, exclusive bars, and dedicated van for beach access. At the Spa, Cintia helped us book everything we wanted, and Lucia was wonderful during our sessions. One small thing to know: this is a Spanish chain, so service is in Spanish and Portuguese. We rarely found staff who spoke English, and it would be nice to have food descriptions available in English. Aside from that, everything was perfect.

The air conditioning worked well, but that was the only good part of my stay. The website gives a completely misleading picture, and I can't believe this place is rated five stars. The staff seemed unhappy and distant, with little eye contact or conversation, and customer service was almost nonexistent. Very few spoke English, though Kai did a great job during our seven days. Meals were chaotic. We couldn't book restaurants and had to use a disorganized buffet where people pushed in and piled food onto their plates. There were lots of unhealthy options like chips, burgers, pizza, fried food, and cakes. Bar service was painfully slow, with three staff serving around 30 people waiting. The room service app often didn't work, and the room was only partly cleaned, with the bed remade daily. There was loud pool music from 7am to 6pm every day, so there was no peace. Sun loungers were already taken by towels before 7am, with nobody using them and staff doing nothing about it. The reception area was constantly crowded with coach groups coming and going, and the beach transfer bus took a long time. The New Year's Eve party on the beach didn't have enough seating. The Signature Level offered no privileges at all. The resort felt like a place focused on eating, drinking, and shouting, and I would never recommend it or return. Of all the places I've visited in Brazil and around the world over 30 years, this was the worst. It needs a serious review down to three stars. Having a pool and spa doesn't help if the service isn't there. Don't waste your money.

We had a good time visiting Salvador, Brazil. The resort was pleasant and well kept, though quite basic, and it felt very family oriented. The Palladium beach was lovely, with better service than the restaurants. We stayed five days and spent three away on tours, where there were much better things to do. Staff English was very limited, perhaps only two people spoke it, so we relied on Google Translate the whole time.

Suelem looked after our table of 12 and was so kind and attentive. She took care of everything we needed. I wish I could give her six stars. Thanks so much, she was wonderful!