robertwP6839MX
Google
My husband and I went to Ouro Preto for my 30th birthday, and chose the Pouso do Chico Rei as we love historic houses and had always heard about this one. Unfortunately, it was not the experience we were hoping for.||Positives first:|- Excellent location in the city centre, close to the Praça Tiradentes.|- The house is beautiful and atmospheric, with antique furniture and paintings - if you get to actually stay in that part (see below). The cupboard painted by Guignard, etc, are well-known.|- OK breakfast with jabuticaba jam, coffee and various fruits/cheeses/breads, served by a friendly staff member.|- Seems cheaper than other pousadas in the city centre.|- The room was quiet and we slept well on the whole. There was some city noise in the distance but it quietened down relatively early.|- We arrived at the pousada very early (9 am) because of our coach and we could already leave our bags in the room.||The (significant) downsides:|- We were put in room 9, which is not inside the house but in what seems to be a converted outbuilding behind the house, beside the swimming pool. I see that previous guests have also complained about this room on Trip Advisor, and I wish that we had seen these reviews beforehand – it seems like drawing the short straw to be put in there. This room is simply not up to the standards of the rest of the house, with random (non-antique) furniture that looks tired and worn – see attached photos. It’s the small things, like the lack of bedside lamps, an empty curtain rail above the window, a light on the wall that doesn’t work and a large TV with a mess of cables beside it. We love old houses and furniture and were really looking forward to staying in a room with taste and character, but room 9 has neither.|- The door for room 9 did not lock – or rather, the key only worked when locking it from the inside. That basically meant that we were leaving our room unlocked whenever we went out. Fortunately, we didn’t bring any valuables with us, but it was very disconcerting to leave our room unlocked, no matter how secure the property may be. We asked the owner about the lock on our first evening, and he admitted that he was aware of the problem. This was not resolved the whole time we were there. A secure room is the minimum to expect at a hotel/b&b.|- Besides that door, the connecting double doors to the en-suite were also inadequate – one did not have any hinges (see photo) and the other did not close properly. Not great for privacy, and I doubt the en-suite bedrooms in the main house have this problem. The owner acknowledged that this was an issue, but didn’t take the time to fix it.|- The room doesn't have Wi-Fi access as it's too far from the main house.|- The pillows were not particularly comfortable.||On the whole, it was very disappointing, especially as it was my birthday, I had paid far in advance and the pousada has a reputation for being characterful and cosy. No doubt the bedrooms in the main house, and the communal areas, are in keeping with this, but room 9 was underwhelming. (We did ask to change rooms, but none with private bathrooms were available.) I think if you’re interested in staying at the Pouso do Chico Rei, ask to be put in one of the rooms within the house, which seem cosier and prettier. Our room really didn’t live up to the expectations conveyed by the pousada’s Instagram. The owners need to bring room 9 up to the same standards of the others to justify charging the same price, or they should charge less for it – room 9 is simply inappropriate for paying guests. The other guests paid the same as us but for nicer rooms. If we had stayed in a nicer room, we would even consider staying at the Chico Rei again, but this experience changed our minds.
