Residencial Belo Horizonte

The staff were friendly and helpful, and there are plenty of restaurants close by, plus a quick walk to the train station. I found the place a bit hard to locate and had to look for the street numbers. I don’t think there’s a sign on the street. My phone kept complaining about the WiFi and switching to 4G. I was probably more or less alone in the hotel, but could still hear how thin the walls were. It was November, and the room felt about the same temperature as outdoors. They’d put a freestanding electric radiator in there, so by morning it was okay. The bathroom was a decent size, but the sink was directly in front of the toilet. I’m not very big and still couldn’t fit properly, so had to sit at an angle.

The location was good, and the bed, pillows and hot shower were all nice. The bathroom was cramped, and I couldn’t sit straight on the toilet. There were lots of stains on the walls, and I couldn’t tell what they were. At 4 am people were talking really loudly, and there was street noise too. I had to get up around 5, so it was far too noisy, and the place could use better insulation. The staff were really nice. When I had a question on arrival, the person couldn’t speak English, and I don’t speak Portuguese, so she called someone who could help.

The place has no air conditioning, but the old building stayed cool overnight. For the 70 euros we paid, it was good for a night or two, and there’s a coffee shop on the building’s first floor where we had breakfast. It’s simple accommodation for a low price, with no coffee machine in the room. I chose it partly because of the name. I thought Horisonte meant it would be on the flat part of the city, but it’s on a hill, a 10-15 minute walk uphill from the old city. Not bad, but the location could be better.

The location is ideal, very close to the town centre. The rooms were clean and spacious, and there’s a small kitchen where you can make tea or coffee if you need to. The team at Residencia Belo Horizonte were welcoming and helpful.