Oyo Hotel Praia De Ondina - Salvador

The air conditioner in my room wasn’t working properly, and there was water leaking through the ceiling on the fourth floor, dripping onto the bed all day. I moved the bed and that took care of it, but it says a lot about the hotel’s poor condition. The bathroom window didn’t open, and there was no mechanical ventilation, so you can imagine how the room smelled after using the toilet. Water ran out on Saturday and Sunday. On the other days, the shower only had cold water. It was hot out, sure, but I like warm showers and paid for that. I had to head to Carnival dirty after a whole day at the beach because I didn’t want to miss the money I’d spent on the VIP booth. What a disgrace. Breakfast was pitiful. At 8 in the morning, the only thing to eat was cake. They’d be better off not serving it, or charging for something decent. The front desk staff seemed poorly trained, though I don’t think that’s their fault. They can only offer what the hotel provides. I paid 2,500 for the stay expecting comfort and good service. I wasn’t looking for luxury, just facilities that matched what I paid. On top of that, housekeeping should check with reception to see whether a guest is in the room. Two days in a row, the cleaner opened my door while I was asleep and naked. They could at least provide a do not disturb sign for the door. The air conditioning units are at the ends of the hallways, and the corridors fill with very hot exhaust. I’ve never seen that in any of the hotels I’ve stayed at.

The place felt run-down inside, with renovation notices posted around, something that should have been mentioned on Booking or when I made the reservation. The facade doesn’t match the interior, and it clearly needs better management and/or investment. I’ve stayed in much better places for the same price, so it wasn’t good value. Breakfast was so depleted by a little after 9 that we didn’t bother eating. There was a sad, wilted papaya and hard bread, and they didn’t even have a disposable cup when I asked. There’s no intercom in the rooms. The shower stall was very uncomfortable, with a high marble threshold that I banged my foot on several times. Its glass door opens inward and takes up the little space there is, and it has no brake when closing, so it could smash against the marble. In our first room, the toilet kept leaking and made a constant running-water noise. The receptionist promptly moved us, but the second room had its own problems: the air conditioner drain leaked inside, the old rusty mini-fridge barely sealed, the TV was tiny, and the bathroom faucet was so close to the sink basin that washing my hands meant rubbing against the porcelain. The shower heating system takes far too long to send hot water around, wasting a lot of water. The stair landings were cluttered with beds and linens, real obstacles in an emergency, and there was a musty smell that was disgusting. Noisy air conditioning units were exposed in the hallways, and the elevators were loud too. Their doors woke me several times in the middle of the night. Everything was very basic, worse than a motel. From the location and photos, I thought it would be a bit better.

Stay away from this place. They treated us with complete disregard and disrespect. I booked through Booking 20 days before the trip. When I arrived to check in, the hotel staff said there were no rooms available because the rooms weren’t fit for guests and had been blocked. They blamed a Booking system error for showing them as available and said they couldn’t change it. They also claimed there was no way to contact whoever made the reservation, which is a lie: a few days after booking, I got a confirmation email with a message from the “Equipe Oyo.” The next day they even charged a no-show fee and sent me a message saying I hadn’t arrived, despite the confirmed reservation. The staff were totally unprepared, and the chain’s administrators clearly weren’t communicating with the hotel team. It makes me wonder what shape the rooms are in if this is how they handle things. We weren’t the only ones. While we tried to sort it out, three other guests arrived with the same problem. I had to find another hotel at 9 p.m., after hours on the road and in the rain, and pay for transport. Update: Oyo Hotel replied to this review asking me to email my complaint. I did, and never heard back. The indifference and lack of commitment seem to be standard across the whole chain.

The room was clean and the air conditioning worked well. Those were the basic positives. The mini-fridges were old, though, and the shower water wasn’t warm at night or early in the morning. We hadn’t been told on Booking that the hotel was being renovated or reopening. It certainly looked that way. In the breakfast area, there were sheets on the floor waiting to be ironed, and the supposed terrace was completely neglected, with broken basins and a woman hanging sheets on lines there. We arrived late as we’d told them, but the initial welcome was careless. The receptionists seemed to be changing shifts and didn’t even say good evening. We waited while they finished talking before anyone addressed us. Everything felt half-hearted. The man who helped us was wearing flip-flops, which I find inappropriate at work, especially since I also work in hospitality. Around 5:30 in the morning, we heard a woman in the hallway complaining about the water, along with a lot of noise right outside our room, 108. At checkout, we asked for a late checkout because of our flight, and the receptionist granted it. There was a problem with the card machine as we were leaving, but she was patient and we managed to sort it out in the end.