Mercure Salvador Rio Vermelho

More than for its quiet location, this Mercure branch in so-called 'bohemian' district Rio Vermelho is a wise choice for those visiting Salvador on business, for fun or congresses or only to unplug themselves.||Taxi from the airport costs some 120 reais and one should count on about an hour to get to the hotel, depending on traffic.||The lobby is broad and welcoming, ready for groups, with well-trained receptionists and a gift shop to the right. By the way, purchasing there helps artisans directly and it's often cheaper than in Modelo Market or Pelourinho, for example.||The hotel is ageing and that's undeniable, renovation is needed urgently; nevertheless, the many flaws are compensated by caring and attentive staff in all departments.||This time I was granted with what they call a suite, which is a larger and indeed more comfortable room, yet it technically should not be sold as a suite itself, for it doesn't have three separate/individual chambers.||Breakfast is, in my view, one of the best in town and even more plentiful than in some 5* hotels. I always look forward to my first meal of the day there in every stay.||Salvador's first infinite pool is one of the best assets of the hotel, perfect for relaxation and for superb photos.||One should give a chance to their restaurant, Casarão, for a fancy dinner, the place deserves more publicity for its high quality.||All in all, aware of the structural undeniable problems related to ageing and proximity to the ocean, this Mercure remains my home outside home. Being greeted by name and with a smile from staff is most rewarding, I look forward to my return.

Ocean front hotel. Lovely view facing the Atlantic. The thing that makes this hotel memorable were the lovely staff. Everyone has a smile and greet you whenever you walk past. Nice area. Feels safe. Breakfast is ok, not great

Hotel is in a beautiful location close to amenities. The staff are warm and friendly and go above and beyond. I don’t speak Portuguese so it was really helpful that every time I went to the desk there was always at least one English speaker. I had the opportunity to stay in one of each of the room standards for one night each because the third party website that I used booked a standard room, a superior room and I was moved to a privilege room because I had issues with my superior room. The differences in the room are small. The standard rooms face the car park, the superior rooms face the sea, with the bed facing the walls and the privilege rooms face the sea with the bed also facing the sea. If you don’t care about the sea view then a standard room is completely fine. The rooms themselves are not particularly special. The hotel was renovated in 2018 so they are of a good standard but not particularly luxury at all. Even at the highest level. What the rooms lack in luxury the hotel makes up for with an infinity pool and private beach views. It is honestly very stunning and relaxing. The breakfast is of a good standard with loads of variety including fresh juice & smoothies made to order, eggs and tapioca made to order etc. The hotel is also attached to the ibis, which is run by the same company so you would probably get much of the same, including private beach access but without a pool & sea views if you stay at the ibis. I like to move around a lot when I travel, spending only a few nights in each hotel. I stayed in 5 different places during my Brazil trip and this was the best by far. If you happen to see a deal that works our cheaper without breakfast go for it. If you by breakfast when you arrive it is only £9. It worked out cheaper for me to do it this way. I saved almost £100.

Rooms are old and not very clean. Although it’s an international brand, almost nobody at the reception speaks english. We arrived at 2 am and although there was no one else at check in in front of us, it took the lady 40 minutes to check us in. Outrageous in the middle of the night! Not very friendly staff at reception. Basically the only good thing about the hotel is the pool and the view.

Typical Mercure hotel in a very nice neighbourhood of Salvador, Rio Vermelho, at walking distance from many bars and restaurants. The neighbourhood is safe to walk even at night, because it is where people go out. The hotel is a bit ageing, especially the rooms, they might need a refresh of style.

Gave us a room overlooking the (nasty) parking despite booking directly and with a members upgrade. Unfortunately, they were renovating very noisily the restaurant area as of 6.30am in the morning, so that didn't help to embellish the whole experience

Overall nice experience, far located from downtown over an aere with small restaurants nearby Retaurant at hotel didn't allow charge to the ronn (waitress were not able to expain why) Elevators are alwayr crowded and might be an issue wait to go up/down

Maintenance is falling short behind. Too many signs of wear and tear. Elevator buttons were broken, I complained but front desk just said: yeah it has been that way for a long time. Ac thermostat not working either. Corridors’ carpet with ugly stains and staff is not very friendly.

This hotel has gorgeous views. The rooms are clean, the bed was rock hard. Ouch. It's on a beach, but it's not recommended to go swimming. They do have a really pretty pool area overlooking the ocean, though, which is great. No indoor pool, but a gym is on site. The breakfast is great, with an omelet and smoothie station. Staff all seem to be able to communicate in English pretty efficiently. Overall very nice experience and would return in a heartbeat!

This had the potential to be a top notch hotel but lacked a few things. Spent several nights here, close to a small sandy beach and really scenic pool overlooking the ocean. As far as location, Rio Vermelho is a small neighbor with a limited area for walking. If you are planning to spend a lot of time downtown, the commute from this area isn't very close, especially during traffic time. If you are searching more for beach than city, hotels by Praia Forte are more notable. The hotel itself was nice. We got an ocean view which is really nice. I would not see the appeal of coming to this hotel otherwise. The room is separated a little strangely but that is to accommodate the bed facing the ocean. Behind it in the desk, place for luggage and nightstand that wraps around. The closet is open and has a few detachable hangers, a safe (that didn't work) and a fridge stocked with cold beverages. There's also a coffee pod maker, free water, a robe, flip flops and a stocked bathroom. The place was clean, crisp sheets, decent towels and plenty of amenities (shower cap, comb, toothbrush, razor, shampoo, soap, lotion). There's a hairdryer and makeup mirror built into the wall. They have a double roll toilet paper dispenser and a towel and hook (though they could use some more). The drain wasn't super quick in the shower but otherwise everything functioned fine. You can really hear the ocean even with the window closed. Luckily the windows are tinted so people at the pool can't see in and the sun isn't too over whelming. The blackout curtains help. Our window derailed and nearly fell off the braces so we couldn't really get fresh air. Buffet breakfast was decent with a selection of pastries, yogurt, fresh juices, tapioca counter (personalized made to order tapiocas but a long line), a nespresso machine, cereal, eggs and occasionally someone comes around to give a bag of 2 mini pão de queijos. Breakfast would be awesome if they had there system down. No one was consistently busing the tables so used dishes laid around on tables. No one was consistently setting out new utensils either so some times you had to ask for a coffee mug or spoon or plate. Sometimes they had live music or advertised it at the adjoining Ibis hotel. On Wednesday they had a performance by the pool which was loud (lasted past 10pm) but might have been put on by the convention going on in the hotel. As far as organizing tours to do, they require you to reserve the red Salvador bus with them (R$8 fee) but you can just as easily just get on the bus without it. We took another tour to Praia Forte and Guarajuba which cost us R$100 a piece but in town you can find the same deal for R$80. There's taxis conveniently out front but will charge you R$98 to the airport. Overall nice hotel, could be nicer if they worked out a few kinks.

This was my first international trip. So I don't know what I really expected. (Sorry Canada, you don't count) It was so hard to sleep with the windows open and the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks just outside your window. The ocean side pool with the swim up bar was full of water. Making it impossible to dry off. The breakfast had too many delicious choices. I'm just smiling remembering the time there. Free wifi. Money exchange in the hotel next door.

Great hotel nice amenities, staff speaks great English. Has a nice pool but no beach access all rock/coral. Food is good.