San Raphael Hotel

The building is quite old, and the rooms feel dated, with no USB charging options for phones. The bathrooms are a bit noisy. The lobby is decent and there's a nice restaurant. For the price, I would stay again.

The room itself was spacious, but very old and badly renovated. Mold covered the shower walls and ceiling, and the curtain was filthy. There was a sign asking guests to save water, yet the shower taps and toilet leaked constantly, and seemed to have been leaking for a while. The wall mounted AC units were so loud we couldn't use them in the room. They also kept making noise after we switched them off, which disturbed our sleep. With only two lifts serving a 20 story building, and a third reaching just 12 floors, getting downstairs with our luggage took over 15 minutes. Check-in was another problem. The hotel promises rooms from 14.00. We arrived from our flight at 13.00 and left our bags while we went to lunch. When we came back at 14.15, we waited in a queue of four people for 40 minutes, only to be told our room wasn't ready. We finally got it at 16.00. The receptionist gave my partner and me a coupon for ONE free drink at the hotel restaurant, but waiting there without knowing when we'd get the room was intolerable. If 14.00 can't be guaranteed, the hotel should say so. I wouldn't have minded a 16.00 check-in if that had been clear. There were some positives: it's conveniently near the center of Sao Paulo, the upper-floor views are rather nice, breakfast was okay, and the hotel was quite inexpensive.

The beds were uncomfortable, and the place felt dirty and worn. It doesn't live up to a 4-star standard. The AC makes a tractor-like hum, so it's better left off. Breakfast was limited to scrambled eggs and bread, with coffee in thermoses and no coffee machine.

The lobby was decently clean, but the rest of the place was among the filthiest hotels I've stayed in for years. Hair and nail clippings were everywhere, along with other grime on the floor. The bathtub was corroded, disgusting, and moldy. They don't always change the sheets between guests. I asked four separate times during the day to have the room cleaned, and it never got done. Management doesn't seem to care at all. Save your money and upgrade to a motel 6.