Pousada Balancê

The pousada has a lovely setting and a pleasant, quiet atmosphere, and the location is perfect, right beside Prado's best kiosk. There is a lot to like, but many details need more attention and investment. Our room was pleasant, though the doors and bathroom shower enclosure need adjustment, and the balcony doors bang noisily at night when it's windy. The shower also needs a little maintenance. The glass balcony door and its small glass windows let in a lot of early morning light. Other rooms had curtains there, but ours didn't, and we missed having one. The beds weren't very comfortable, and some of the towels were a little torn. These things don't prevent a stay, but they aren't ideal. Breakfast was simple and adequate, served from 8h to 10h, which felt late if you want to get an early start for an outing. The pousada serves breakfast only, with no lunch or dinner. There's a barbecue area, which is handy, but guests have to bring their own meat and prepare it themselves. Room cleaning was every other day, and sometimes the room was still dirty when we got back even after it had been cleaned. The pool is cleaned daily, though it still looked a bit dirty and seemed to need more care. The way the place is staffed could also be better organized. The same person handles room cleaning and reception, and there isn't a fixed employee for each area. At times no one was at reception, including at check-in, when we waited quite a while for someone to show up. Reception isn't open 24 hours. The whole pousada uses 220V, so keep that in mind when bringing appliances. We needed an iron and a hair dryer, and the pousada lent us small ones. They were basic, but useful and helped us out. It isn't a bad place and has a lot of potential, but it feels a little neglected. More care, maintenance, and organization would make the experience much better.