Pousada Estalagem Paraty

The breakfast was good, but guests have to book a time slot because the dining area can’t serve every room at once. If you want to head out early for the beaches or other plans, you’re stuck with the slot you get. We arrived last, so ours was 9 to 10, which meant we’d have had to eat elsewhere if we had an early commitment. There were a lot of problems in the room too. There were no proper wardrobes or large shelves, just a few small ones, and nowhere convenient to put toiletries or personal items. My wife struggled to do her makeup and use her hair tools, and the bathroom sink was too tiny to hold anything. The outlet there wasn’t suitable for a 20A hair dryer, so we needed an adapter. The bathroom light flickered and dimmed during showers, the toilet wouldn’t flush, and we had to fill a basin from the tank to flush it. There was a constant water noise from the toilet and strange rattling from the minibar, which made it hard to sleep. The smaller window had no curtain, so daylight came in around 6 a.m. They also told us just two hours before we arrived that there was a R$ 100 pet fee. I think that should have been disclosed on the site or at least 24 hours after booking confirmation. We’d already said we would clean up after our pet, but since they only told us at the last minute, I insisted they clean up the mess themselves. At the end of the trip, we hadn’t planned to complain, but the owner accused us of breaking the toilet, which wasn’t true. She confronted me and said we should have reported it, though I think finding and fixing broken things is the owners’ responsibility. I hadn’t even realized the toilet was broken. I’d seen negative reviews on Google, including one from someone who said they went three days without hot water after the shower element burned out, and were told nothing could be done. I expected raising an issue might be a waste of time and just upset us on our trip, so we didn’t mention the toilet noise. A lawyer advised me to take no action for now over the accusation, but if they charge us for alleged damage, we’ll sue over the false accusation and improper charge. The Booking site says there’s parking, but in reality the car is left on the public street, exposed to risk and with no security. Without car insurance, that feels like a constant risk.

We loved our stay. The owners were attentive, served a great breakfast, and gave us really helpful tips for outings.

We were on our honeymoon, arriving Thursday and due to leave Sunday morning for a commitment in São Paulo. On Saturday night, after coming back from the beach, I showered before we planned to have dinner in the historic center. When my husband tried to shower, the already-not-great shower burned out. I went straight to the owners, but they said nothing could be done. They weren’t prepared for this kind of problem and didn’t have a spare shower. My husband had a cold shower on a chilly night, and on Sunday morning I had to take one too, again in the cold, with the same response that they couldn’t help. The owner disappeared and gave us no support. As we were leaving, her husband suggested we use the bathroom in a room that had just been vacated. That was the last straw, we didn’t want to use a bathroom other people had just used. I wonder whether the owners would think that was acceptable if it happened to them. The mattress was also very poor quality, and I know mattresses well because I work in the mattress industry. I can’t recommend this place.

I’m used to staying at pousadas in Paraty in this price range, and this was the worst experience I’ve had. The owner was extremely unfriendly when I arrived, and everything felt shabby. I wanted to cancel then, but he said he wouldn’t refund me. Luckily, I only stayed one night. I slept badly on a hard mattress, with a lumpy pillow, poor-quality sheets and towels, and not enough sheets or blankets. The room smelled damp and musty, and the blanket was worse than my dog’s. Everything seemed old and disorganized. The shower was barely a trickle, and there wasn’t even free shampoo. The room was dark, and there was no privacy because its window faced the common area where everyone walked by and the owner sat watching. The owner constantly monitored guests, including breakfast. He poured each cup of coffee himself, so you couldn’t just have as much as you wanted. Guests also had to choose a one-hour breakfast slot, either 8 to 9 or 9 to 10, with no flexibility to wake up when they liked. We felt like we were in a monitored lodging with no compassion and only the bare minimum of comfort.