Hotels in Sao Paulo and Salvador Bahia????

[+ Axiom2001]

Although I have a sneaky suspicion that my question has been previously addressed and is buried in the depths of these archives--I have decided to propose it again. I plan to be in Rio and the other two cities alluded to in this thread sometime in October (the spring as suggested by Ernani) and would like suggestions made as to lodging in the two cities. I'd appreciate all suggestions from those who've been there previously, please.

 

Also, (as an aside but just as important)as a neophyte-- solo traveler-- would you stay in a hotel or at O's apartment?

[CT Dick]

I just flew in from Salvador this morning. There are no well-placed hotels in the city.

 

The best area to visit is the old city and there are no hotels there. Sofitel is turning an old convent into a hotel and that will be the first.

 

The Persona Sauna, reputed to be the best there, is not in a hotel district, either.

 

Most hotels are along the bayfront and oceanfront which meet at the southern tip of the city. These are a US$2-3 taxi ride away from the old city.

 

I stayed in the Sol Victoria Marina on Av. Sete Setembre. It had a great view of the sunsets but the AC blasted the bed so bad that I had to move it.

 

Dick

[trilingual]

In SP, Tri's recommendation is to stay on downtown on Av. Vieira de Carvalho. Choose a hotel in a price range you like. From cheap to more expensive are the Itamarati, Republica Park and Bourbon. The Hilton is a few blocks away, across the Praça da República.

 

In Salvador, things are kind of spread out, as CTDick says. I'd suggest looking for hotels in the neighborhoods of Barra (where the gay beach is located and fairly close in), Pituba or Ondina. Others are rather far out and you'll spend a lot of time trying to get around.

[CT Dick]

>I'd suggest looking for hotels in the neighborhoods of Barra

 

BTW, that's pronounced Baha, as in Baja California :7

 

Dick