Hotel Florida

The building is beautiful and old, but sadly it hasn't been maintained. The rooms need a lot of upkeep. Their very high ceilings help make up somewhat for the lack of air conditioning, and they've installed an exhaust fan to pull hot air out of the room, which is a good idea. The bed and pillows were fair to poor, although the bedding and towels were spotless. There's no breakfast. At about US$29, or around R$100, the value doesn't add up for me. In 4 Barras PR I paid R$85 at Pousada da Serra, where the facilities were much better and breakfast was included.

We prepaid through Booking.com for Carnival, but when we arrived the rooms had already been booked and there was no reservation for us. Ten other guests were in the same situation. We spent the afternoon waiting in the hallways of this "hotel," calling Booking.com and every hotel listed on the site, but couldn't get anywhere. Some people ended up sleeping on the street. Neither the hotel nor Booking.com took responsibility. The receptionist treated everyone badly and never helped us find somewhere else to stay. Some foreign guests didn't understand what was happening because they didn't speak Spanish. The place was disgusting too. If you're considering it because of the price, don't. It's a tenement with very unpleasant people. An absolute disgrace.

Revolting place. The bathroom was disgusting, the floors hadn't been cleaned, and the room had a foul smell coming from the toilet. We had to buy air freshener to deal with it. Even the towels were dirty, and looked like they'd been taken from another hotel. The reception was forgettable. Filthy.

The location is ideal. Walk along Florida Street and, two blocks later, you're at Plaza Independencia, with the Puerta de Ciudadela and the start of pedestrian Sarandí Street. The area gets dark and deserted at night, but we went out every evening and nothing bad happened. The building is beautiful, with a grand old staircase and vintage furniture in the hallway. Our room had a balcony and very retro doors. It didn't have the advertised air conditioning, though there was both a ceiling fan and a standing fan. The rooms don't match the old architecture, and are simple, undecorated, and dated looking, but perfectly adequate for a stay.