Grand São Luís Hotel

I’d happily stay here again when I come back to Sao Luis. The rooms were very clean, the staff were wonderful, and breakfast was really good. There’s plenty to do around the hotel, so I only ate there twice apart from breakfast, though the food was good too.

The place is beautiful and welcoming, and it’s in a nice location. I spent three nights at Grand Sao Luis hotel and was really pleased with the service. The reception was very helpful, and the rooms were kept clean and tidy.

The restaurant and breakfast room were the nicest parts, clean and modern, with big windows looking out over the garden and pool. Those are small but well kept. Dinner was decent: the Spag Bol was OK, and the unusual veggie pizza was more like a pie but tasted nice. There was no pepper or Parmesan, though. Beers were R8 each, a good price, and I had a few very cold ones. The guava juice was natural. With 10% service, the bill was a reasonable R90 for two including drinks. Our change was late, but the waiter found us afterward and returned it. Breakfast was fantastic, with fresh juices, moist scrambled eggs, steamed Macaxeira, soft fresh bread, several kinds of bolos, fruit, ham, cheese, cereal and yogurt. Coffee came with hot milk. The room itself was shabby, though the sheets, towels and pillows were very clean. There was dust in quieter spots, including curtains missing hooks, and marks on the bathroom floor, doors and fittings. The aircon initially smelled like wet dog and probably needs servicing. The shower had lots of limescale, but both hot and cold water worked well. The bed was comfortable, soap and shampoo were provided, and there was a clean fridge, though no tea or coffee making facilities. The TV worked Saturday. Sound insulation was very good, which helped with the noise outside. Staff tried to help but didn’t speak English, which wasn’t a surprise in Brazil. The room numbering seemed random, and the signs made little sense, which is frustrating when tired. One of the two free web computers was broken and the other was missing. There was no fire extinguisher in the lobby. The local area has historic buildings and is nice, but a Military Policeman kindly advised us it wasn’t safe at night. The breakfast felt over the top for such a cheap, shabby hotel. I think they’d do better to scale back the extravagant hot food and spend that effort on cleaning and small room repairs. Better lighting in reception would help too. The central location is handy, with plenty of Ubers, and the price is cheap, but anyone used to a purpose-built budget chain like IBIS may not be happy with the room standards. If dust bothers your partner, think twice. If you’re used to rough two-star places, you’ll probably manage fine and can sleep off the huge breakfast by the pool.

Good location and a nice breakfast, but the place wasn’t very clean and smelled strongly of mold. Fine for one night, though I’d look elsewhere for a longer stay.