We stayed at the Mercure for three nights in September to sightsee in Salvador and to enjoy some pool-time. It's around a 30min drive from the airport and the same from the old town.
We booked a superior room with an ocean view and the view was the best part of the hotel. It's situated right on the coastline alongside the Ibis hotel and very close to the Pestana. You overlook the pool and the crashing surf from the room window. There are small beaches on either side but these were not especially inviting and empty when we were there. The pool area was nice with plenty of sunbeds but no drinks service or other amenities.
The hotel itself is typical Mercure. The room was small and brightly furnished - perfectly comfortable but nothing special. The reception staff were unwelcoming and apart from them, very little English was spoken. It was tough to even order a cup of tea in the bar one afternoon - our fault for not learning Portuguese but surprising nonetheless for a hotel serving the tourist trade if indeed that's what it intends to do? When we were there the hotel seemed to be mostly used by conference and meeting delegates. There was no tourist information on display and our request for information on tours seemed to meet almost with surprise.
Breakfast was quite good with a wide choice, but service was lethargic, tables were not always clean and you didn't really want to linger.
The hotel is in a strange area. It's quite busy, lots of traffic, and didn't feel 100% safe to us the first time we walked out looking for a restaurant - although we became more comfortable with it as the days passed. We ate dinner in the Pestana one night - they offered a good buffet for apx BrR45 per person - after a disappointing club sandwich in the Mercure on our first night we didn't want to eat there again.
We also took the complimentary 'Salvador Shopping' shuttle to a mall apx 30 mins away. There's enough shops there to fill a couple of hours of your time if that's your thing.
Overall there was nothing really bad about this hotel and for a couple of days it's probably fine. Next time I think I'd stay in the old town for more atmosphere - or head out to Costa de Saupe for a better choice of more upscale accommodation.
