We stayed at this hotel at the beginning of our Latin American tour. Tripadvisor is our favourite website to draw on opinions about hotels and we got very concerned about no reviews of this hotel on the website. So honestly we were expecting the worst.

Luckily our worst expectations did not materialise, but neither did the best. An honest opinion about Clarion Europa is that it is a solid 3 star hotel. We are experienced travellers who like their comforts and in our opinion 4 stars is a stretch.

The rooms are clean, air conditioned, with probably the best beds for a good night sleep (we managed a few 12 hour sleeps!). But they are also small and the bathroom in our room was particularly tiny.

The hotel location is not in Jardin (as the name may suggest), but in Itaim. These days, however, Itaim is a much nicer neighbourhood of Sao Paolo and hotel is close to some very nice restaurants and bars. Enjoy simple breakfast at the hotel (if it's part of your package), but at night most certainly go out to eat!

Sao Paolo is not safe these days, but neighbourhood around the hotel is very upmarket and you can comfortably walk around. If you're into shopping, Iguatemi is very close by, but we found it expensive (and we are from London!). Frei Caneca is a nice alternative, but if you're travelling around Latin America leave shopping until Buenos Aires - shopper's paradise!

Hotel staff was very helpful, but be prepared that English is very limited anywhere in Brazil and do invest in a phrase book, you will be surprised how much it will help.

Hotel facilties, however, could do with an upgrade. The swimming pool is heated even in 31C heat! It was like swimming in a soup. The spa is open at very peculiar hours and the treatments are on the expensive side. The gym is small and the pictures of it on the website are not realistic.

Overall, we were satisfied with our stay for the price we paid (USD100 a night incl. breakfast). If you are after something special, this hotel is not for you.