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| BEBEDOURO, BRAZIL Name: Hotel Plaza Shopping Address: av. Allen Kardec 1451 Price: $36.50 Rating: Best Reviewed: 1999 Review: Excellent hotel (the best that this city of 73,000 has to offer) located a good distance from the bus terminal by taxi ($3 - fair price!), on the edge of the downtown area (never did find it) and situated in a modern shopping mall complex (as the name implies). Rooms are comfortable, very spacious and come with color tv with remote control (some cable channels), air conditioning and a frigo bar. Amenities include a volley ball court, a soft ball court and a swimming pool. Helpful staff. Highly recommended! Price includes breakfast. BELO HORIZONTE, BRAZIL Name: Hotel Continental Address: Price: $14 Rating: Best Value Reviewed: 1992 Review: Very reasonably priced two star hotel located in the downtown area. Rooms are clean and comfortable. If you want a tv in the room it will cost you approximately $1.21 extra. The hotel will change money for you but at a poor rate. Overall, the hotel is recommended. Price includes breakfast. BENTO GONCALVES, BRAZIL Name: Hotel Vinocap Address: rua Br. do Rio Branco 245 Price: $40 Rating: Honorable Mention Reviewed: 1996 Review: Very good hotel located a few blocks from the bus terminal and a block from the downtown area. Rooms are clean, small and come with color tv (many channels) and a well-stocked frigo bar. What makes this hotel truly special, however, is that some of the rooms (mine included) have the added advantage of having a balcony overlooking the city. I was fortunate enough to have a room on the 7th floor with a spectatular aerial view of the city spread out beneath me. Very breathtaking. Trying to save money? And who isn’t these days? There are rooms available for $29 without the bathroom in it. Feeling cramped? There are more expensive rooms available that are more spacious than the one I chose. Very much recommended! Price includes very good breakfast. BIRIGUI, BRAZIL Name: Arco Verde Hotel Address: rua Sandades 796 Price: $19.50 Rating: Mediocre Reviewed: 1999 Review: Good hotel (two of the best that this city of 85,000 has to offer, the other is the Birigui Palace Hotel) located a short distance from the bus terminal by taxi ($4 - too high!) and approximately three blocks from the downtown area. Rooms are spacious, spotless and come with color tv, air conditioning and a frigo bar. Can be recommended. Price includes breakfast. BOA ESPERANCA, BRAZIL Name: Atlanta Hotel Address: Joao Julio Faria 146 Price: $16 Rating: Best Value Reviewed: 1996 Review: Very good and pleasant hotel located within walking distance from the bus terminal and one block from the downtown area. Rooms are fairly spacious, spotless and come with color tv with remote control and a fan. Rooms that also include a frigo barr are $18 a night. The hotel has a small porch to sit and people watch. Family run. A very good value. Highly recommended! Price includes breakfast. FOOTNOTE: I have been highly critical of cab drivers who overcharge for short rides. It seems to be rampant in most of South American countries and not just Brazil. It is always common practice for myself (when the cab doesn’t have a meter in it) to ask how much the fare will be before stepping into a cab. Sometimes I have to take the cab anyway since I’m a stranger in the city and don’t speak the language fluently but at least when I ask what the fare will be in advance there are no hidden “surprises” at the end of my journey. Upon arriving at the bus terminal I showed the cab driver the name of my hotel and asked him in my best Portuguese what the fare will be and he gestured to me that I could easily walk the distance and gave me directions to my hotel. I eventually found the hotel and it was, indeed, very nearby. It doesn’t happen very often but it’s refreshing to find an honest cab driver in one of these South American cities when it would have been just as easy for him to drive me the short distance to my hotel and hike up the fare in the process (as some other cab drivers might). BOCONO, VENEZUELA Name: Hotel Colonial Address: Price: $9 Rating: Worst Reviewed: 1997 Review: In this rather ordinary city of 40,000 the hotel choices go from bad to worse. That seems to be it - to try to pick the least shabby looking one. At any rate, don’t select the Hotel Bocono because judging from the appearance from the outside it could be a traveler’s nightmare. Instead, try the above mentioned hotel which seems to be the lesser of the two evils and a little bit less dilapidated looking. Anyway, rooms are clean, small, shabby looking (paint peeling) and don’t come with really anything. Not recommended! Advisary: Nothing is really in Bocono so skip this town altogether. BOTUCATU, BRAZIL Name: Botucatu Hotel Address: rua Amando de Barros 497 Price: $21 Rating: Mediocre Reviewed: 1996 Review: Okay hotel located several blocks from the bus terminal and right on the main shopping street along with the other impressive hotels. Rooms are basic, clean, fairly spacious and that’s about it. Rooms without a private bathroom in it are only $12.50 a night. Rooms that also include tv and fan are $25.50 a night and if you want air conditioning expect to pay $29.50 a night. A little high in price, perhaps, for what you actually get but still recommended. Price includes breakfast. Drawback: No curtains on the windows. BROTAS, BRAZIL Name: Pousada Caminho das Aguas Address: av. Mario Pinotti 260 Price: $22.50 Rating: Honorable Mention Reviewed: 1999 Review: Very good hotel located several blocks from the bus terminal in one direction and the downtown area in the other direction. Rooms are comfortable, spacious, spotless and come with color tv with remote control, fan and a frigo bar. Run by a young married couple. Very highly recommended! Price includes breakfast. BRUSQUE, BRAZIL Name: Hotel Gracher Address: av. Consul Carlos Renaux 56 Price: $32 Rating: Honorable Mention Reviewed: 1998 Review: Very good three star hotel located a good distance from the bus terminal by taxi ($3.50 - fair price!) and on the main shopping street of the downtown area. Rooms are spacious, comfortable and come with color tv with remote control, air conditioning and a well-stocked frigo bar. If you are fortunate enough to get a room on one of the upper floors (I was on the 6th), you’ll get an aerial view of the city. Helpful and attentive staff. I wholeheartedly recommend this hotel as being a superb choice when visiting this city. BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA Name: Grand King Hotel Address: Price: $64 Rating: Best Reviewed: 1991 Review: Truly an excellent hotel located right in the main theatre district. Rooms are spotless, spacious and include color tv and air conditioning. Highly Recommended! BURITAMA, BRAZIL Name: Hotel Buritama Address: Price: $8.50 Rating: Mediocre Reviewed: 1999 Review: Okay hotel (certainly nothing to write home about) located a good distance from the bus terminal by taxi ($3- fair price!) and in the downtown (what very little downtown there is) area. Rooms are adequately sized, spotless and come with color tv and a ceiling fan. Price includes breakfast. |
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