Equatorial Palace Hotel

The Equatorial (or Equatorial Palce) Hotel is in the process of renovation. The result:

+ Restaurant 1900 -- closed.
+ Piano Bar -- closed.
+ Top Grill -- closed.
+ Top Bar -- closed.

Only the coffee house, grandiloquently called Victoria Regia, was open. It's a bust. The dinner menu included just four items: beef, roasted or grilled, and fish, grilled or fried.

My room was dark. The lighting was so bad I needed a flashlight to read at night. The furnishings were tattered. The room air conditioner was so loud I had trouble sleeping. The bathroom offered little bars of soap and nothing else -- not even a vial of shampoo.

Though I'd pre-paid for five (5) nights, I chedked out after just two (2) and moved to the HIlton. My Amazon Star Tours guide was not surprised. Some people, he said, check in, go to their rooms, and immediately check out.

To add to my discontent, it took over half-an-hour to check out. I didn't ask for a refund. The desk clerks simply couldn't find a record of my having checked in.

Unique Quality: There is nothing to recommend about this hotel. Even its location is undesirable. It's a good 30-minute hike from the city centre -- and there's nothing nearby of interest to a tourist.

I'm told the place is frequented mostly by business travelers.

Unique Quality: Has a wondeful view, beside the breakfast and a pool on the 'terrace' (where you can eat a delicious barbacue), the hotel also provides you a restaurant where you can eat any kind of food and also on saturdays and sundays, you can eat on the buffet.

Directions: It's on Braz de Aguiar, between Quintino Bocaiuva and Rui Barbosa. Corner of Quintino Bocaiuva, right next to Moderno School.