It's not a hotel. Hotels have facilities. "Hotel" Studio do Carmo has no facilities expected of a hotel. It's a pousada (B&B) or a posh hostel - but not a hotel - and it should be listed in TripAdvisor's B&Bs/Inns section, not Hotels.
That aside, it's charming in a rustic kinda way. The staff are great, they all speak English, and as a gay couple we were made very welcome.
The room we were in ("our best room", apparently) looked really nice, it has open windows and a ceiling fan, but you can close them and turn on the aircon. The place was invaded with ants - the table was covered with them and I kept getting bitten, as was the bathroom, and I was particularly distressed by a jumping spider that made its way onto the bed. The wooden floors could do with better cleaning, too - my black socks would quickly grey with dust from them.
There is no hot water, and the shower is lukewarm at best. Bathroom products are sparse and of poor quality.
Breakfast is very good, served in your room. See the attached picture. The tapioca "beiju" are outstanding.
There are some weird house rules, like you can't bring drinks from outside into your room, "no sexual tourists", and (rather amusingly) there's a price list for anything that you steal.
So in summary, is this "the best solution" (as so many other reviews "coincidentally" suggest)? It's OK, if you don't mind the wildlife, but don't expect some top-class hotel - it's just a well-maintained and rather overpriced B&B.
- Studio Do Carmo Salvador
- Studio Do Carmo Hotel
