Location: 3 Comfort: 3 Cleanliness: 3 Restaurant Food: 5 Service: 5 Prices: 3 Grounds / Landscaping: 5+ Amenities: 5 Fitness area: 4 Room Décor: 3 I stayed here at Rancho Silvestre for 10 days. It is not easy to find, but is a few acres of peace and natural beauty in a secure place and probably the nicest hotel in the area. There is strong security as only customers or employees are allowed in the property. As you go through the gate the reception building is on the left. Coffee and tea as well as cool water are always available there. You can't help but immediately notice the breathtaking landscaping: gorgeous tall trees with ferns and bromeliads along the branches, flowering shrubs, beautiful orchids affixed to tree trunks, etc. Everything is meticulously maintained. This is their best feature. This is not a traditional hotel but an all-inclusive, rather rustic retreat center. They feature a number of cabins as well as a couple of multi-level hotel style buildings with private rooms. Each room has a mini bar and a variety of snacks available at an extra charge. The flat screen TV is medium sized, and channel selection is limited. WiFi is free but slow. I have a US T-Mobile phone and had an adequate signal. The beds are not super comfortable but are adequate. This is not the Hyatt Regency. Keep in mind this is "rustic". (Even the tap water looks like it has rust or something in it that makes it cloudy and discolored; definitely do NOT drink it.) Remember the beautiful view out your window and balcony! There is AC if you need it. No outside food or drinks are allowed on the property. The on site restaurant has an expansive buffet for every meal. During rainy season I recommend taking an umbrella as depending on where your room is located it could be quite a walk to the restaurant. The buffet has great salads, hot dishes, meats and desserts. Definitely better than most American buffets. The servers are very attentive. There is even a patio area in front of the restaurant with a coffee bar where you can get cappuccino or espresso. The facilities seem endless and go on to feature a number of indoor conference / meeting rooms for business or church retreats. Some are quite large. There is one huge covered area for very large banquets or parties. The restaurant does catering for these events with a small army of workers. While I was there several large companies held retreats for their employees with training and team building activities. There is a large sports field, a beautiful and large indoor and an outdoor swimming pool, a huge fitness/workout building which is well supplied with all sorts of equipment. Each night you can go bowling at their private bowling alley or play pool, ping pong, or other indoor games. Most of my time there it was very peaceful. However there were a couple of nights large groups and private parties came in and had loud music, dancing, drinking, etc. They were pretty good about ending the parties at a reasonable hour but you could still hear revelers talking, laughing and wandering around till the wee hours. I used a portable speaker connected to my phone which has a WhiteNoise app to help get to sleep those nights. Should you get restless, it's easy to get an Uber to take you into town to go shopping at the artisan bazaar where there are blocks and blocks of shops and booths selling all kind of local art, handcrafts, and souvenirs. Embu das Artes is very touristy. I'm surprised there are not more hotel options. Most of the shoppers come from nearby São Paulo, but you will find many foreign tourists from all over. Because there is a shortage of good hotels, prices run high. Expect to pay around $200 per night, but keep in mind it includes all your meals and multitudinous on-site activities. Until a better option is available, I would stay there again. I have stayed at two other places: a similar rustic hotel with chalets and a bed and breakfast. Hotel Rancho Silvestre was my favorite of the three. read more

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