Was astounded to find a place recommended by the New York Times, with a website as sleek as any I've seen, to have such utterly terrible accommodations. We stayed in the Vista Mar building, expecting something similar to the website. Not the case - more like a Motel 6 than a Oceanside resort. The pool had murky water, though the bar staff was friendly, and the breakfast spread (very expensive) was tasty. There was also a hotel Goat we named Stanley who minded his business and was entertaining. Don't pay for such expensive rooms - If you must be near Praia Mole, this is the closest, but there are much better places around Floripa.

Staying at this resort feels like travelling in back in time, and not particularly in a good way. I don't mind the way it looks in terms of design, it could be charming. I was not expecting a modern hotel in anyway. But the room has a stuffy moldy smell, the air con makes so much noise, and most of the bathroom fixtures seriously need to be replaced.

Not that there are that many great choices though if you want to be on or near Praia Mole. So what we did was just deal with it. Because Praia Mole is really great and this hotel's location is just so ideal. As much as you want to complain about the standard and upkeep of this hotel, you really do have to love that you can just walk across the street and go to this gorgeous and fun beach. Driving is a real pain in Florianopolis, traffic was always bad anywhere you go, but there's no other way of getting around, so not having to drive to get to the beach is a huge plus. If you stay on Praia Mole late enough, Bar Do Deca is especially fun when the sun is starting to set.

One very important piece of advice -- be extremely careful when you rent a car in Florianopolis. Pay more and go with a reputable company. We rented our car from Lino's Rent-A-Car and was cheated and scammed big time. We paid decent money to ensure we get a good car with air con, power steering, and enough space for all of us and our luggage. The car that we got when we arrived at the airport was a decrepit old car with no air con, 2 doors and was on the verge of falling apart. The kid who delivered at the airport said he couldn't do anything and for us to just take it now since it was late at night and call the company in the morning. When we called in the morning they were unwilling to do anything and brushed us off. When we returned the car on our last day we complained and the guy said they will refund us partially for giving us an inferior car to what we had booked. We never got that refund. What's worse is several months later I got ANOTHER charge on my credit card from them, even though we paid the whole amount during our trip and have not been back since then. The credit card company is now investigating them for false transaction. Don't rent your car from LINO'S!!

Sorry, I know that the above paragraph has nothing to do with the hotel, but I thought I should share my experience which could be useful to other people.

Eco means electricity in your room shuts off when you're not there. Dirty room, mildewed bathroom, buckets in the hallways (3 on one floor) when the rain came. Pool was cold and filled with debris, food in hotel restaurant barely edible (some staff was seriously sick with the cold and coughing non-stop), internet means 1 PC in the lobby and wireless if you sit close to the reception area. Location is good, though if you're renting a car as most people do in Floripa, a short drive is more than worth staying elsehere. My local guide confirmed that is the reputation this place has locally, also. Best thing about it was the spa on hotel property, operated by anohter owner.

very old, mould, no water in the shower, noisy fan, noisy air conditioning, the bed-linen did not fit in the bedsize, poor quality on breakfast products, dirty, room service does not exist and if you do not put a clear tag in your door asking for cleanse.. nobody will clean your room. And the price is not good....
If there are somebody to buy the hotel ... the location is excellent, you can see the sunrise and the sunset... the person only need to know how to administrate a hotel.