Great hotel! Great location. Nice staff. Terrific concierge. About what you would expect from a Renaissance Hotel in the USA. Comfortable and new. Stayed there mid February ’08. I would defiantly stay there again.

When I have visited Sao Paulo previously I have usually stayed at the Fasano Hotel - a luxury option in the Jardims area. On my most recent trip I decided to ring the changes and stay at the Renaissance Hotel, a little bit closer to the city centre. On balance I think I prefer the Fasano but only because its smaller size makes it a little more friendly and welcoming.

The Renaissance has all the facilities you would expect of a five star city-centre business hotel. Prior to my stay I was asked if I would like to book a pick up from the airport. This was worth its weight in gold....so good to be able to settle into a quiet air conditioned car after a delayed flight and the anarchy of the arrival process at GRU!

The least impressive aspect of the hotel is its reception area which is bustling but very dated (rather dowdy seventies style decor greatly in need of a workover). Also there is an inescapable feel of cabin crew rendezvous location about the lobby - no real problem but slightly galling if you are keen to escape the airport ambience! Everything else is just fine. Perhaps the most impressive aspect is the health club/spa facility - possibly the best I have come across in any hotel with an array of clean, well maintained exercise machines and free weights. The swimming pool is small - but there is one, which is not always the case in Sao Paulo hotels.

My only other comment is that this is an expensive hotel. When I came to check my bill on arriving back in the UK I was surprised to find it quite so inflated. Without being absolutely certain of the precise differential I would say that it was as expensive as The Fasano which is altogether a more stylish proposition. Beware of this.

That said, The Renaissance is centrally located, the staff are friendly and the gym facility is excellent. I will very probably give it another try.

i would have to agree with the last person who wrote this review. There's not much to do in Sao Paulo. We were on a couple's retreat and had some valuables stolen from the hotel. The hotel management did much of nothing to help us.

My decision to spend 3 nights in this miserable hotel was based on its reviews that I had read on trip advisor. I travel quite frequently and never take a final decision on a hotel without consulting trip advisor which is why I owe it to its readers to share my horrible experiences at the Renaissance.
1. Lack of peace : Believe it or not I had to change my room 3 times in the first two days itself. This was because of all kinds of noises at all times of the day and night on account of some repair works going on in the hotel. Needless to say that the sounds and noises left me with a serious dose of sleep deprivation and drove me to the point of insanity.
2. Concierge : I firmly believe that the soul of a hotel is the Concierge who also doubles up as a friend, philosopher and guide for a traveller/tourist who is new to the city. The Concierge service at the Renaissance was the WORST that I had ever had the misfortune of experiencing in my whole life. Never have I ever come accross such insolence and arrogance in any hotel. Figure this, on three occasions when I enquired about the Concierge on duty I was told that he/she would be available after 10 minutes, 30 minutes and don't know when. When I did manage to catch hold of one his arrogance and curt replies stunned me. Since I was in Sao Paulo on the 27,28,29 and 30th I needed HELP because the whole city was empty on account of the holidays. As an ignorant, clueless and helpless tourist you need the Concierge to help you with basic information on what you should be doing, what is the best place to have dinner, where to go in the night for partying etc, etc, etc. Thanks to the lack of direction from the Concierge desk I had a miserable time in Sao Paulo.
3. This is a funny one. I ordered one mango and one papaya for dinner on the 29th, I got a bill for 20 reais. Fine. When I ordered only one papaya on the 30th, guess what? I got a bill for 28 reais? Luckily I noticed this anomaly/joke and after a reprimand I was served a fresh bill of 15 reais.
4. No Orange Juice. The Renaissance has the dubious distinction of being the first five star hotel in the world where I have been refused a fresh orange juice. Since I was staying in the club room I had my breakfast on the club level eating area. I requested the stewardess for a fresh glass of orange juice, without ice. The chef presented himself and had the temerity to try and convince me to have the juice already kept in the buffet. I politely pointed out to him that I had a cold and could not possible have the chilled juice from the buffet and also that I only liked my juice freshly squeezed. I also told him that I did not mind paying for the juice seperately. He slinked away into the kitchen and then Lo and Behold served me the juice from the buffet actually HOPING that I would not notice the difference. Can you believe that? Orange juice!! what could possible be less complicated than that? If a five star hotel cannot serve freshly squeezed orange juice to a guest in the club level eatery it should rightfully shut down.
Dear friends there are many many lovely hotels in Sao Paulo. If I were you I would certainly stay elsewhere.