Caribe Palace Hotel Taguatinga Norte

I didn't expect or want a five-star hotel, but I did expect somewhere more comfortable than what felt like a “captive cell.” The room had no lock on its door, the TV remote was literally cracked, the windows wouldn't open, and the old air conditioner barely switched on and made a lot of noise. There was a switch for a sound system that wasn't even there, no bathroom mirror, a broken toilet seat, and damp coming through the bathroom wall. The room had no curtains, mirrors, or hooks or hanger rail, and the lights kept flickering. The hotel had already moved my pre-booked room because, the receptionist said, its bathroom door was broken. The facade and garage were poorly lit, and the stairs had tiny steps for my size 44/46 feet, with no handrail on the second flight. After I paid the other half of the booking, I got the key to room 109. I saw all this in 40 minutes and left.

We'd booked ahead so my boyfriend and I could spend New Year's somewhere quiet, but the problems started as soon as we arrived. The room had a broken main door, a hard bed, and a tiny bathroom with no mirror. The window was rusted and stuck, damp covered much of the ceiling, the old air conditioner was noisy and didn't cool, and the sound system didn't work. Outside the room, the garage was dark, the stairs were awful to climb and had no handrail, and the reception was hard to get to. We spent about 45 minutes there, stunned by how neglected everything felt, trying to decide what to do. One thing was clear: we weren't staying. We knew it was a simple hotel, not a five-star place, but for the price we paid, we expected a lot more. We've stayed in plenty of simpler hotels and wanted to try somewhere new, but the comparisons were unavoidable, and so was the regret.

The breakfast menu clearly said service ran until 10:30, but we called before then and nothing arrived. When we called again, the receptionist said she'd forgotten our room number, then changed the story and said breakfast was only served until 10. That was disorganized and unprofessional, and it felt disrespectful. On top of that, we were wrongly accused of using shampoo and conditioner because staff checked the wrong room. Our own room didn't even have the basics: no soap, towel, or blanket. A complete disregard for guests.

The receptionist was very generous and polite, and she even showed us other rooms, but that didn't help. The place felt dark and abandoned, with old, unpleasant rooms, flickering lights, and even a strand of hair on the door. The doors were old and made a huge racket when opening or closing, and the couple photos at the entrance looked really tacky. It needs a massive renovation and an update. Everything bothered us. My boyfriend and I had gone there to get some rest for the night, but it was such an unsettling experience that you only have once, haha, never again. The one decent thing in one of the rooms was the mini fridge, with a few things to buy and drink. Apart from that, nothing. I don't recommend it.