My wife and I stayed at the InterContinetal, Sao Paolo for three nights Dec. 7th-10th, 2006. The hotel service is second to none, outstanding. Everyone at the front desk speaks English and they are willing to do whatever it takes.
It is in a excellent location for shopping and restaurants. The rooms are large and well decorated. Excellent rates for the quality and location.

A few tips:
(1) Never walk at night in Sao Paolo, always take a taxi.
(2) Take taxis with meters,much cheaper.
(3) Sao Paolo is the least pedestrian friendly city, drivers will not stop for you. Always use cross walks.
(4)Sao Paolo is top notch for shopping and Restaraunts, maybe even better than New York. With that said, this is all Sao Paolo has to offer. Don't go out of your way to visit unless you just want those two things. Not a tourist city in the least bit.
Jason- ATL, GA

I stayed here on business so i wasn't too concerned about the cost but if i had to use my own money i would have felt like this hotel was a little expensive for what it was. It was definitely clean & the front staff knew great English & the room was really spacious. But, while i was there the gym shut down and the staff couldn’t say when it would open again or why it shut down. Also, the pool is tiny and is surrounded by buildings. And, the amenities in the oitel are very expensive: dry cleaning and the restaurant in the hotel are US prices ( about 30 US dollars for a lunch buffet). If i go back to Sao Paulo i am going to try a different hotel.

I stayed in SP for a week and a half during Nov. The Intercontinental is in the beautiful jardins district, very safe and full of good restaurants and some fun bars...You can go walking around the district at night to go to a restaurant or a lounge and it is perfectly safe.

Parque Trianon and the art museum are just done the street, with interesting street markets on the weekend. You can walk to Parque do Ibirapuera for biking/jogging and hanging out there (although the walk is through the Brigadeiro district which is not picturesque, I never felt in any danger). You might want to cab it back though since the way back to the hotel from Ibirapuera is uphill....

The hotel staff are all multilingual. The receiption and concierge were responsive and helpful. A problem with internet connectivity was resolved by the hotel in 5 mins (the time it took them to send a uniformed electrician to my room to show me how to connect...).

The room and furniture were everything I would expect of a five star hotel. Room service was quick and everything was delivered as ordered (there is a really good paprika chicken dish on the room service menu and there were some good Brazilian wines and imports on the menu).

Check out was speedy and efficient and the Citibank is across the street....what more could I ask? I will stay there next time..

On the first night of my stay I woke up with about 5 bugs (looked like bedbugs) in the bed and some bites. Mgmt apologized and switched my room. Other than that the hotel was very nice.