Pousadas, Apartments, & Flats
Where to Stay in Salvador and Beyond: Bahia Hotel & Apartment Concerns
Special Note: Carnival Rooms still available at...
 Hotel Encanto de Itapoan |
This is a friendly guesthouse -- Hotel Encanto de Itapoan -- built around not only beaches, but music as well. The establishment is owned and run by the Rochas, an English/Brazilian couple who understand both Salvador and its culture well and who will happily share this knowledge with their guests. The music connection is the Brazilian half of the couple, a guitar player who specializes in bossa nova: Listen to Bia Rocha sing her father's composition Dama da Noite.
Encanto de Itapoan is a Lonely Planet Top 5 Author
Pick!
Encanto de Itapoan is rated number 1 in the Trip Advisor Popularity Index! Click above for the reviews!
Independent reviews per above in Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor!
Telephone us at: 55 (Brazil) 71 (Salvador) 3285-3605
E-Mail us at: itapoan@bahia-online.net
A logical concern of most people coming to Salvador is which area to stay in, and (setting Carnival aside) this consideration usually comes down to some kind of a choice involving Salvador's Centro Histórico and/or beaches . In this section I include a compendium of the complete range of lodging available in Salvador, and several places and people have been highlighted.
The big hotels tend to be strung out along the orla (Atlantic seafront). Then you've got smaller hotels in Barra and Porto da Barra, others (generally less expensive) scattered along the principal thoroughfare of Avenida Sete de Setembro (shortened to "Avenida Sete" by the locals), and still others (usually inexpensive) in and around Pelourinho. If you're shopping for the bottom end of the spectrum in this area you have to be careful; some of these hotels are "by the hour" with all that that entails.
There are also pousadas (guesthouses, or bed & breakfasts) in Barra, Pelourinho, and Santo Antônio (and other places as well, to be sure), and hostels (albergues) which are for the most part located in Pelourinho (though a lot of the "pousadas" in Barra are hostels as well).
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Furnished Apartments
in Salvador |
In addition to pousadas (guesthouses) it's possible to rent furnished short-term apartments. Two Americans who handle such are:
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The City's Cobbled
Colonial Center |
Salvador's Centro Histórico is a nexus encompassing the conjoined areas of Pelourinho, Carmo, and Santo Antônio.
 Immaculate is important! |
English artist Charles Butler has established a guesthouse in this area
with the unlikely name of "Hotel
Redfish" (from peixe vermelho, locally caught and served on Bahia's beaches), conveniently located within strolling distance of Pelourinho and its entertainment, restaurants and bars.
The (silently) air-conditioned rooms (they have ceiling fans as well) are spacious and the beds are king-size, the top-floor rooms letting onto roomy terraces with views and the second-floor rooms giving onto balconies overlooking the street below.
Cool stone floors, wireless internet access in all rooms (no charge), civilized and comfortable...even the bathrooms are well-appointed and roomy.
The Big Brazilian Breakfast, including fresh fruits and juices, is (one might say) almost something to write home about!
In Bahia, Brazil!
Available for groups, for Carnival 2009...more info here!
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Pousada Baluarte est une jolie maison
d'hôte situé dans le tranquille quartier de Santo-Antonio
en plein coeur du centre historique, a deux pas du "Pelourinho", quartier
ou vous trouverez tout type d'animations, restaurants, piano-bar, boutiques,
internet-café, téatre, show de musique, de capoeira...,
et toute la beautée de l'architecture coloniale.
The Baluarte is an excellent family-type establishment located in the
Centro Histórico and owned and operated by Frenchman Jean-Paul
and his Brazilian wife Zelina. Jean-Paul is a master craftsman who
has personally handled all the work on the house. Zelina likewise
prepares the homestyle Brazilian breakfasts, and every pillow and cushion
in the place was made by her hand!
A cool place to stay in Pelourinho, Salvador's Centro Histórico!
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Salvador's
Tropical Beaches |
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 Farol de Itapoan |
Salvador's "north pole" is comprised of the great beaches (meaning vast stretches of nearly-white palm-lined sand) within Salvador's metropolitan area: Itapoan, Stella Maris, and Flamengo. These beaches start at the Farol (Lighthouse) de Itapoan and move northward, away from the city.
Hotel Encanto de Itapoan |
The beach area has a friendly guesthouse -- Hotel Encanto de Itapoan -- built around not only beaches, but music as well. The establishment is owned and run by the Rochas, an English/Brazilian couple who understand both Salvador and its culture well and who will happily share this knowledge with their guests. The music connection is the Brazilian half of the couple, a guitar player who specializes in bossa nova: Listen to Bia Rocha sing her father's composition Dama da Noite.
Encanto de Itapoan is a Lonely Planet Top 5 Author
Pick!
Encanto de Itapoan is rated number 1 in the Trip Advisor Popularity Index! Click above for the reviews!
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Salvador Bahia
Hotel Reservations |
Daniel Blumenthal (from the San Francisco bay area) also handles hotel reservations here in Salvador:
Salvador's
hotels may be booked via Daniel Blumenthal's service, should one care
to utilize it.
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Bahia Lodging: Further Listings |
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Rio de Janeiro |
A Room with a View
(And what a view it is!*)
Going to Rio? Want to stay in the same place where Quincy Jones, Alan Parker, George Martin (who recorded a part of Rhythm of Life here), and Stephen Frears have all stayed (among numerous other artists of various stripes)? And you're not a millionaire director, producer, or musician (or even if you are)? Well go to Bob Nadkarni's Maze Inn! Double rooms are 100 Brazilian reais per night (like, 40 euros).
Host/Raconteur/Good Guy Bob Nadkarni
Is there a catch? Yes, there is...a very interesting one: The Maze Inn is situated in a favela. This, however, is a very safe favela (Tavares Bastos, in the area of Catete, minutes away from Lapa), and in that the guesthouse is located at the top of a very big hill it has a spectacular view over Rio that absolutely no other lodging establishment in the city has (soon to be seen in a scene -- shot right in the guesthouse -- from the upcoming Incredible Hulk 2). This is a place like no other in the world!
* From the hanging-out area...not from the rooms themselves.
** Disclaimer: Bob does not pay me for this blurb, although he plied me with free beer and caipirinhas when I was there.
