Aparthotel Adagio Sao Paulo Itaim Bibi

The location is a strong point: it's on a quiet street, close to some very good restaurants and a short walk from supermarkets and other shops. This aparthotel is part of the adagio chain, launched in Brazil a couple of years ago by the Accord Hotel Group. It previously operated under the group's Mercure aparthotel chain. Unfortunately, two issues keep it from being very good or even excellent. The more serious one is the Wi-Fi. During my stay it failed to connect to the Internet about 90 percent of the time, and my smartphone also had trouble connecting from the room. That's a poor situation on a business trip. The other issue is the room renovation. A large room that used to combine the bed, kitchen, table and chairs, sofa, and TV was split up to make a tiny bedroom, with barely enough room to walk around the bed. The kitchen, table, and sofa are now in a separate living area, and the TV sits on a rotating panel so it can face either room. It may have seemed like a good idea on paper, but the whole space, including the enclosed bathroom, is only 40 square meters. The two small rooms are connected by an awkward door setup. The same door closes off either the bedroom or the living area, and getting between them means squeezing around it.

The staff are friendly, and the room is spacious and really clean. It's a great hotel.

A simple but good aparthotel, and I'd recommend it. Breakfast is very basic, and the gym is tiny.

This place is too old. Only the guest relations staff speak English. The restaurant was a disaster because nobody understood what you wanted, and sometimes they were very rude. The swimming pool was under maintenance, but nobody told us.