Mercure Beverly Hills Hotel in Porto Alegre

[rehoboth19]

Anyone familiar with this hotel? It's located near Bomfim gay district, is relatively cheap, and has excellent reviews on line.

[azhiker]

I spent a couple of months in Porto Alegre last year at a 2 star hotel that was about $40 a night. Hotel was a Master Express in a very busy neighborhood near downtown with lots of restaurants and sidewalk cafes. Your hotel choice looks good, that is an upscale neighborhood. POA is much safer than Rio and the guys are just as much fun. I would go mid week if you can as most gay venues aren’t open Mondays. There was one sauna there I liked a lot called Mezzaninu, not sure if it is still open. Favorite bar was Mixx 54 which had boys upstairs.

[Strafe13]

I second azhiker on his endorsement of Mezzaninu. It's a fantastic sauna and the owner Roy speaks fluent English and will watch out for you if you tell him it's your 1st time there.

 

Back to your original question, I stayed at the Mercure Beverly Hills in late November/early December of last year. I had a pretty good time. I booked via Orbitz less than 2 weeks before my stay and got what I felt was a pretty good rate considering how last-minute it was. I stayed three nights in a "superior room" (whatever that means, see detailed description below) for just north of $260 total including taxes (rate was a little over $80/night before taxes). The neighborhood is quite safe and although the hotel itself is on a quiet side street, it's like a 2 to 3 minute walk to a major street with stores, banks, and lots of traffic. But be sure to bring a copy of your printout if you book online over here. The cute front desk guy started to check me in as a walk-in guest (I think that's common down there) until I communicated to him (via broken Portuguese; his English was a bit bit better, but not fluent) that I had pre-paid and I showed him the printout which helped him locate my information in the computer.

 

They had free wired internet in the room (don't think wireless was set up then, but it may be now, so check), a good selection of channels showing TV shows & movies from South America and the U.S., plus their room service was pretty decent (not luxurious or anything though). The rooms are more suite or apartment style in the sense that there's a kitchen area (microwave, sink, cupboards, fridge, & maybe a stove area), a little living room area with a TV, small but really comfy couch, and a small balcony area. The bedroom is separate and small but not cramped and has its own TV and an electronic safe big enough to fit my 15-inch laptop (although just barely). There's a small & modest bathroom with a shower (no tub).

 

The front desk staff were super cute boys and/or handsome men, if that matters to you. Unfortunately, since PA is not a tourist destination like Rio, only like 1 or 2 of the staff spoke any English at all and it was only broken, not fluent English (though far better than my broken Spanish and really bad Portuguese!). Have a great time and if I can be of any further help, Pvt msg me.

 

I spent a couple of months in Porto Alegre last year at a 2 star hotel that was about $40 a night. Hotel was a Master Express in a very busy neighborhood near downtown with lots of restaurants and sidewalk cafes. Your hotel choice looks good, that is an upscale neighborhood. POA is much safer than Rio and the guys are just as much fun. I would go mid week if you can as most gay venues aren’t open Mondays. There was one sauna there I liked a lot called Mezzaninu, not sure if it is still open. Favorite bar was Mixx 54 which had boys upstairs.

[+ Axiom2001]

Additional information regarding the aforementioned hotels in Porto Allegre can be gleaned from http://www.maleescortreview.com as well as from http://www.gaytravelbrazil.com. One traveler who has gone to POA often mentioned the Mercure Beverly Hills and the Mercure. ?. -- sorry I cannot remember the name of the second hotel. He has had only positive things to write as well as the writers here about this particular hotel as well as two others!