Pousada Sitio Do Carmo

The couple who run the inn are lovely, and the staff are attentive too. The place is pleasant, the bathrooms were clean, and the bed and pillows were comfortable. Breakfast was really tasty. We also needed to leave our things there after checkout, and the staff made sure we were taken care of. I’d stayed here five years ago and will definitely come back.

It’s in a peaceful, easy-to-reach spot, close to lots of tourist attractions. The owners are very polite, and their dog is friendly, playful, and wonderful. Breakfast is simple but satisfying, and the inn feels cozy. The rooms and bathrooms are clean, with a TV, minibar, air conditioning, and good lighting.

The front desk staff are really welcoming. I spent one day in a dorm bunk and then five days in a double room. The room TV only gets Globo and MTV, and the reception’s outdoor area has cable TV if you want more channels. The air conditioner is an old box type, which I found pretty bad. I prefer split units because you can control the temperature better. Also, all the showers are room temperature. At night, Sargaçao is right across the street and has tasty, cheap snacks. The Sargaçao sandwich and the chicken X sandwich were both delicious, around 6 reais, and the place was very clean. A little farther on, Bar Estação Maxambomba has a great 1920s train-station feel, with tables on the sidewalk and servers dressed like train conductors. Ask for a 23-real beer tower, coxinha on a plate, and fried macaxeira, also called mandioca. The food was really good, but everything we ordered took a while. There was also a great band playing a kind of avant-garde samba. I went in January, when the pre-Carnival warm-up was already happening, so there was a little party around Carmo every evening. It’s also nice to ask around and walk up to Lapa, past all the beautiful Baroque churches, then take photos at the top and check out the fairs. You can see Recife from up there. I’m from Campinas SP and I love Pernambuco. Hope this helps get you excited!

I don’t recommend it. I booked a room with Wi-Fi, but the owner said it wasn’t working. I needed internet for work, so the next morning I asked for a refund for the following night because I’d have to find somewhere else. He refused. Then, right after we requested the refund through booking.com, the Wi-Fi “started working” again. It caused me a lot of trouble.