by sdhancock
The location is excellent, walking distance to many, many restaurants (both high budget & very low budget], pharmacies & general shopping. For upscale dining Figueira (the fig tree) has a 250 year old fig tree growing through the resaurant. There are many more upscale restaurants less than a $10US cab ride away.
For low-end eating, walk down Rua Augusta [a recent all-I-could-stand lunch cost me $4 US].
For the adult male, Rua Augusta has many American Bars, Sauna Mistas & similar establishments, about a 10 minute walk towards the downtown area [come out the front of the hotel, turn right on Alameda Santos, go to the first street (r. Augusta) & turn left. If you turn right down the hill you'll enter the more upscale shopping districts. Also for the adult male - the Renaissance is very guest friendly, as are most hotels in SP.
If you can get upgraded to the club floor, there are several ethernet connections for your laptop [N/C], free breakfast, free snacks at dinner, a happy hour in the evening, nice sweets in the afternoon & great views of the otherwise non-picturesque city.
If you can get upgraded to a junior suite, you'll have substantially more room & a picture window above the bath tub. The standard rooms with two double beds are a little cramped & there's no easy chair to enjoy the TV from.
Although the area is reportedly very dicey at night I had no problems. But I also left my wallet, passport & most of my money in the in-room safe just in case.
One VERY LARGE caveat: DO NOT use the hotel phone for ANY calls. A recent call to the US that lasted 10 - 12 minutes cost R$330 or about $181 US. A local call can easily cost you $10 or $20 US. And a recent laundry job [4 prs socks, 3 shirts, one pr pants] was R$118.00 or about $65US. Yes, this will cause me much grief on my expense report..
Finally, the cost for the room can vary like the wind. my last trip was about $240 US, the first $190 US and my next trip (next week) is $160US per night [with AAA discount].
