GRAN HOTEL STELLA MARIS RESORT

The check process is very slow...they should have another desk with computers and staff for such a big hotel...with one desk for check-in and one for check-out. The first room they gave me had lots of black mold on shower walls...of course I complained and was transferred to another room. The internet has spotty coverage and every 2 days you have to go to reception and wait on line to get another access code...a very stupid system. The staff tries their best despite the limitations and rules imposed by the management. Breakfast is all you can eat buffet style of Brazilian breakfast favorites with a chef that prepares omelettes and Brazilian crepes to order. My only complaint is that the fruit juices are watered down. I did not eat lunch or dinner at the hotel, there are tons of options a few block away on the main street and even some beach shacks with food.

When we arrived on Saturday the hotel was full of guests from Bahia and nearby, I recommend arriving on Sunday if you want to have peace. Internet Wifi terrible. Bathroom towels with bad smell. No hot water in the bathroom before 6:00 am, I think they turn on the water heater later. Breakfast varied, tapioca and omelet made to order. It is necessary to ask everything because employees are not willing. The beach near the hotel is beauty but located in a dangerous zone, there are rocks and waves are violents.

Sunrise from the ocean - what a beautiful way to wake in the morning. Almost all of the rooms have balconies overlooking the pool and the ocean. If the old adage "Location, location, location!" is true Gran Hotel Stella Maris is on the edge of Paradise. The hotel rooms are clean and spacious. Maintenance seems to be ongoing to keep things newly painted and in good repair. The delicious breakfast buffet is 60' long and has seating for 400. The hotel staff could not be more accommodating and pleasant. (Internet was improved with a simple request to the staff.) Reasonably priced and offers more than some resorts that charge twice as much. But the beauty of this hotel is its proximity to the ocean and the fact that it is in Bahia. While most of the country was deluged with rains, we had warm, sunny blue skies everyday from mid-December until March. There was a constant sea breeze to keep the constant 30°C - 25°C temperatures comfortable. The beaches of Brasil are surely the nicest in the world, and Praia do Flamengo is one of the best I have seen. With soft, white sand it is clean and beautiful for long walks, popular but not too crowded. Small beach concessions offer everything for a wonderful day on the beach: aqua de coco, ice cream, fried cheese, fried fish, and acarajé, a local mainstay, all under a shade umbrella with chairs and table. The hotel is a short walk to cafés, restaurants, and a small supermarket. A good hotel with Location, location, location.

We were so excited about this trip, some of our friends had told us about the resort, but a part of the nice beach and friendly receptionist, Fabiana. The hotel is lacking in cleaning staff, the yards mare neglected and all the amenities are obsolete... It is pitiful that bad management had.

This is the third hotel that I stay in Salvador and the worst experience. The internet doesn't work, the room wasn't so clean, there're no towels. Terrible service in general. I did a lot of complains and nothing worked.