My experience didn’t begin so great. I came to Brazil to celebrate my 30th birthday. First, idk if they’re security guards or valet but the guys standing outside the entrance are not friendly. No help with bags and were giving me a death stare each day of my stay. Initially within the first hour I just wasn’t impressed with the hotel. Service, food, and room was meh. While I waited on my first upgraded room I went to the Gero restaurant. Food was bland. I took two bites and left the rest. Waste of $40 USD. I paid about $1,600 USD plus 57,000 AMEX points for 3 days and within the first hour of check in I knew it wasn’t worth the price tag. I went downstairs and asked if I checked out early would I be charged a fee and if not I was going to Hotel Emiliano (stayed there in São Paulo and it was AMAZING!!). The guy called his manager over ( I think Victor? Vincent) and the manager offered me a suite and asked for a second chance. That’s when the REAL experience kicked in! Upon check in, I was originally upgraded since I booked via AMEX Fine Hotels and Resorts. The first room was near an elevator which I didn’t like being near the elevator and there was nothing special about the room to make the price tag worth it. Then after speaking with them about checking out, the manager upgraded me again, this time to a suite and it was great! When I entered the room there were a gift of chocolates, 3 different juices prepared and even had hot bath water prepared with candles lit. The next day on my birthday I was supposed to have a massage but they couldn’t honor it because I wanted 90 minutes and it was almost time to close and that wasn’t communicated to me beforehand. I was bummed and went to my room to sit on the balcony. There was a knock on the door and I think his name is Michael from guest relations and his partner surprised me with balloons, a gift, Brigadeiros, and a special happy birthday note. That made up for the spa mishap. That was the type of experience I was looking for start to finish. It was unfortunate I had to want to check out in order to get that quality of service but it was an amazing turnaround experience overall! I’ll probably try hotel Emiliano and Fairmont first if I ever come back but I’d definitely stay at Fasano again. Big thanks to the guest relations team for an amazing 30th birthday celebration!! Other general notes on my hotel experience: Food - Food is bland. Nothing special at all. Definitely tastes like hotel/resort food. I had some stuffed ravioli which tasted just like Chef Boyardee out of a can. - Birthday brownie in my room was horrible but I appreciated the nice gesture. - The breakfast buffet is limited. Nothing extravagant. Just general breads, meats, and cheeses. Didn’t see any apples, oranges, or grapes. Just strawberries, watermelon, and pineapple and some type of fruit salad bowl. There’s other items there as well but don’t expect a full blown buffet like you’d see at a resort. - Pancakes are flat and tasteless. - Waffles are hard and tastes like funnel cakes at a state fair in America - One night I ordered a cheeseburger, well done, with fries. First bite and the entire burger was extremely pink inside so I had them come pick it up. I didn’t even want them to remake it. The fries were good, though! Service - Gero restaurant service isn’t that great. I noticed each day they would take my order and leave. I would constantly see them walking around to other tables checking on other diners but hardly ever came back to my table. I guess it’s because I couldn’t speak Portuguese because it seemed like they definitely gave preference to those folks. Maybe this is a Brazilian thing because I also experienced that at other food locations. - Elevators are SLOW! Be prepared to stand at the elevator for up to 5 minutes or more waiting. Apparently they’re aware of the issue because they have a sign near the elevator sharing they’re doing some renovations to it and the service elevator is available for use. Also, you have to use your key card to get to the spa and swimming pool floors. Only can get to lobby without needing the keycard. - The turndown service on my last night was subpar compared to the second night. Whoever that lady was did an amazing job!! The lady that serviced my room the final night barely cleaned, didn’t refresh drinks or remove the small trash. Also didn’t leave the menu for ordering breakfast in the morning and having it delivered. - Pool had pretty good service. Came by and fixed towels on the chairs and took my order. Other than them picking up the dish, they never came by again - I forget his name but the concierge guy was really nice and helpful. All the guest relations people did an amazing job surprising and celebrating my birthday. Thank you!!! Room - The hotel halls are dark. I actually liked the design of it. Really unique, never seen anything like it in all of my travels. It takes a little while to get used to it but really nice. - The suite was great. Two tvs, 1.5 bathrooms, couch, dining table, working desk. Towel warmer in bathroom. Large balcony. - I’m extremely noise sensitive and the rooms were about as quiet as a hotel can be. The balcony doors prevent most* sound coming through the room. Not enough noise to disturb my sleep which was great. - Weather was amazing and I could sit on the balcony any time of day without getting too hot! Location - The hotel location is great! I’m the kind of person that likes to witness all the action but not be in the middle of the crowds. My balcony gave me perfect views of the city, beach, ocean, and mountains. I was able to people watch in peace and in the comfort of my own room. Amenities - Overall the spa is pretty good. It’s not a full day spa which is a downer but great overall. The guy that helped me during my check in didn’t seem that nice but helpful nonetheless. - I had an Ayurvedic massage. I was hesitant about it at first when it was explained to me as pushing and pulling arms and legs and being done on the floor. So thankful I chose to do that massage rather than the normal deep tissue massage that I usually choose. The Ayurvedic massage was great. The masseuse was AMAZING!! Really great job working out all the pain.…