Hotel Solar do Carmo

We stayed here in the last week of May (before the world cup rush). We were a family of three with a 1.5 year toddler. I would recommend the hotel as a safe, clean and comfortable place to stay with very friendly and knowledgeable staff; however, I wouldn't recommend it if you have trouble with stairs or are travelling with kids/elderly folks.||||Location - The location is short walk from Pelorinho, although the walk itself is somewhat challenging with its slopes and terrain (a Taxi ride to the historical city center would be ~10-15 Reals). We loved the local experiences we had, from the family music/picnic/sunday night out in the nearby church to the Tuesday night music festival. The staff warned us the streets aren't especially safe after 7 so we were careful not carry flashy or expensive things in general; that said, we didn't feel threatened or unsafe at any point in our stay.||||Staff - very friendly, speak fluent English, and took the time and effort to make sure we were comfortable and were able to experience Salvador the right way. Be sure to speak to the owners wife - she will set you on the right track , so much so that you may consider cancelling any tours you've booked.||||Food - Travelling with a child, we wanted to stay at a place which had an on site restaurant in case we had to stay in. The breakfast was a nice homely affair with lot of baked goods which set a good tone to the day - looking out over the water during breakfast wasnt a bad view either !Unfortunately the hotel has its restaurant closed during the off season (this isn't something on the website) so we had to fend for ourselves during the night. Luckily there are some small food vendors where you can buy sandwiches, rolls and other snacks and some really nice cafes further down the street. ||||Rooms/facilities - Most hotels in this area are basically glorified Bed and Breakfasts so we weren't expecting elevators or anything fancy. Solar do Carmo was undergoing construction when we visited so there was a bit out debris and construction noise on the outside but nothing that bothered us. They staff was nice enough to give us a bigger room than we booked, but honestly its still a tight fit with 2 large suitcases and a Pack N Play for the kid. The fixtures are old but clean; AC was a lifesaver in the heat (though you have to wrestle the old windows to close), and we did have trouble with the sliding door of our cupboard that kept falling off.

What a disastrous end to our wonderful holiday. We arrived late evening and upon arrival was told there was no restaurant at all and breakfast was served in the rooms. We went to our rooms (2 standard and one superior). I had booked a single and I would call it a family hostel standard room. The main room had 2 single beds a kitchen and dining table. It had not been cleaned with crisps and last guests items in room. I went into the bedroom and it looked ok at first until the bed was checked. The sheets were grey (not white). The bed was stained as were the pillows. The pillows also smelt of sweat. Disgusting. The second room just stank and the third and supposedly superior was large and had a balcony but was filthy. We had to scrape out the hair from the sink to enable the water to drain. See the pics, they speak for themselves. The area around this hotel is also very poor and would not recommend you stay around here. If you have booked this hotel and are expecting any more than a youth hotel standard (but not as clean) then I would cancel immediately.

We went to Salvador for the FIFA World Cup and even though the area the hotel is at isn't fancy or developed, it was still very pretty in a historical sense. The hotel itself doesn't seem like much from outside but inside is pretty nice for the price you pay. The exceptional thing however is the staff. Everyone is willing to go out of their way to make you as comfortable as possible. The owner's wife drew maps for us and detailed all the tourist attractions, as well as directions to the stadium where we had to watch the games. Any problem we had was attended to ASAP.||Breakfast was complimentary and my meat/egg eating friends were raving about it, however I had very limited options. On hearing this, they specially prepared dishes without eggs just for me! I must say this was the best service I have ever received at any hotel in my life and would recommend this place to everyone staying at Salvador.

We received a free upgrade to the penthouse room. This was a big room, with really good views on both sides of the hotel. Really cool. The room wasnt really clean and was a bit outdated. Too bad there was only one person At the reception who spoke english. Which made it hard to communicate. We got breakfast in our room. There wasnt much to choose from. We expected a buffet, that was a pity. Average location, it was on walking distance to the historical center. Good WiFi!

We arrived at the hotel late at night and was met by a very happy chap on reception! He carried our very heavy suitcases to the room for us, no mean feat on a winding staircase! He showed us to our room and told us to call him anytime if we needed anything, he was very helpful.||The room was very spacious and clean. The air conditioning wasn't vey good, barely changed the temperature of the room.||Breakfast was awful I have to say. I'm not a huge eater so am usually very easy to please, not the case here. Very little choice, and what was there was pretty awful. On the plus side, the view was lovely.||All the staff were very friendly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble for them.||The location is good, although the steep streets leading to it are not much fun. That said, it's a very long drive to the airport. It's ok for a base, for a night or two, wouldn't like to stay any longer.

Interesting location and staff in the rapidly upcoming Pelourinho ('historic') district. Not for the inexperienced traveller - the owner warns you of all the streets you should not enter at all, or not after dark. This really means taxis everywhere, except 10-6PM. The street side rooms could be quiet except for revellers, ones overlooking the bay has motorway noise except on the top floor. No lift, rather adventureous stairs - not for small children. Owner will carry your luggage. 4-star for the feel, 2.5 for general quality, 2 for breakfast and its service (untrained staff). Lower floors you'llbe wakened by loud chattering of cleaning staff.

We had a large room overlooking a noisy highway. The bed was comfortable. The bed post was filthy. The curtains and floor were filthy. The shower stall does not have a door so when you take a shower the bathroom floor gets all wet. We had a gecko, a cockroach and a centepede as visitors in our hotel room. It is located in area with few amenities. Very few restaurants and no stores. On Sunday night, there is one restaurant in the area with 6 tables. Breakfast is provided in hotel but there is no other food available. You must take a taxi at night to go anywhere. The front desk staff are friendly and speak English. They would not give us a receipt or invoice upon check out. I would not recommend this hotel.

Although for some reason this have high trip advisor rate the location is bad there is nothing around although the nice sea view they don't have elevator and all rooms are really high floors, breakfast is poor and A/C did not really worked. |Bad neighbor and cannot go anywhere without an escort or cab after dark, must mentioned that the staff was really friendly and the only reason I gave them 2 stars and not 1. Very old motel.

Great location, close to everything, but not in the busy part or the pelhournio. The walk in is good for burning off all of the caprehenias you consume though as it is quite hilly. The hotel itself is newer feeling with great art, but needs some maintainence and better cleaning. The picture of the pool on the website are beautiful, but in actuality it isn't made of tile, but a liner that needs repair. We stayed in 402 and had a bay view with a large terrace, but the room was on the smaller side. The bathroom was a fine size but there was a substantial amount of mold in the shower. For whatever reason, the floor of the room was quite dirty and if we took our shoes off even for a moment in the room, we had to wash our feet before getting into bed. The breakfast was quite good with many sweet baked goods, eggs to order etc. I would recommend the hotel, but hope that they work on their cleaning as well as the pool.