Estância Rio Acima

The communal areas are pleasant, and there’s a charming kiosk guests can use, with an oven, stove, and kitchen utensils where friends can gather. Breakfast was excellent, and the owner, Márcia, was attentive and polite. The property itself is very beautiful, with a river running through it, though getting there is difficult. The accommodation was the real problem. My wife and I stayed in chalet 1, and it was in very poor shape. I don’t mean it was simple, it just wasn’t a place where I felt comfortable spending time. The bathroom was awful too. Even at half the nightly price, I don’t think the stay would be worth the cost. Márcia treated us with a lot of warmth and attention, and the site has real appeal. I’d suggest a full renovation of the chalets. As things stand, I can’t recommend it.

The natural water and the sound of it made resting here so relaxing that I even meditated. Some of the chalets sit right by the water, which is lovely if that’s what you’re after. The sauna was another highlight, rustic, with a local stone inside, and you can cool off afterward with a dip in the natural waters. We spent New Year’s Eve at Estância, where Marcinha, the owner, arranged a package with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was fantastic. The place feels so welcoming, and the family’s warm hospitality and distinctive natural setting made me feel grateful. I loved this little piece of heaven and hope to return many times. Thank you, Marcinha! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

The included dinner didn’t work well for us as hikers. On the first night it was brown rice, sweet potato mousseline, and five small stuffed mushrooms per person. There wasn’t much food, and guests were competing for the few mushrooms left on the platter. We were hungry and embarrassed. We ate at pousada Picus on the following nights, where the food was better suited to people coming back from the park. The schedule is also a problem for anyone visiting Parque Nacional de Itatiaia. Park entry passes start being handed out at 6 a.m., so we left the pousada at 5. Breakfast there starts at 8, and they offered no support for an early departure. There wasn’t even a light, so bring a flashlight to find your car. Unlike other mountain pousadas, they wouldn’t help prepare a packed breakfast the night before, but charged us the full breakfast price anyway. They did let us use the kitchen fridge for the food we brought since there’s no minibar in the room, but at 5 a.m. the kitchen door was locked and we couldn’t get to it. The hours affected housekeeping too. We had nowhere to leave the room key when we left before dawn, so my room and bathroom bins weren’t cleaned at all during the three nights I stayed. The owner didn’t explain how the pousada worked or organize an introduction to its attractions for all guests. On our last day, another guest showed me a sauna that looked quite nice from the outside. It may be a pleasant place for yoga, but for mountaineering it was a frustrating and unnecessarily expensive stay. I don’t think the pousada is bad, just not functional for people heading into the mountains. Guests whose main aim is socializing might enjoy it. My comments are suggestions for improvements that could help attract the area’s typical mountaineering visitors, if that’s of interest. I want to clarify the response below about our arrival: we did not have dinner that night. We arrived at 11 p.m. and weren’t offered food, even though another couple was eating in the kitchen. It felt unfair to see them eating while we were hungry, but you had said dinner would only be served to guests arriving by 9:30, so we didn’t complain. I also didn’t realize that socializing with other guests was a condition for getting information about the pousada. We left at 5 a.m. to climb and returned exhausted at night, so it was hard to socialize. Still, we said good morning and good night to the guests we saw, and exchanged climbing information with a few.

The river and the surrounding nature are wonderful, but the pousada was a letdown when I came with a group of friends at the end of the year. Márcia’s welcome was very poor, and the Wi-Fi didn’t work where it was supposed to. The chalets were badly maintained, we had trouble with the lights and hot water, and there was a musty smell. The guest kitchen was awful too. The sink kept clogging, and the utensils were old and rusty. I wouldn’t recommend staying here. There must be better pousadas nearby for enjoying the beautiful nature.