We travelled to Botanique 6 months after it entered the Six Senses network, and boy was it underwhelming. The prices were steep - on par or above with the best resorts in South America (including Explora, Txai, etc.), so our expectations were high. Getting there was easy and the setting was outstanding: beautiful views of the mountains, very graceful architecture (especially in the main house) and villas entrenched deep into the Brazilian forest. The farm-to-table concept of the restaurant was also interesting, so - as good foodies - our interest was piqued. However, during the four days of our stay it became clear that there is still much work to be done for Botanique to reach the level of hotels on comparable rates, or its Six Senses peers. - The wine list is uninteresting and of an unacceptable dearth for a hotel of this standing. A couple dozen international labels (many of which found in US supermarkets) and a few Brazilian wines. All of them outrageously overpriced for US standards and far above the prices we saw in other Brazilian restaurants. - Heating issues. The villa we stayed at had three large rooms: a bedroom, a bathroom/tub area and a living room. All of them had windows with horrible sealing: you could feel the cold wind blowing in the middle of any of the rooms. Worse, the only working heating system was in the bedroom, which meant that with temperatures in the 30-40s (below 10 celsius) the other rooms were freezing. - Fireplace disaster. Trying to light up the fireplace in the living room was a disaster. The exhaust system was poorly conceived, so the entire villa was filled with smoke in seconds. The hotel staff told us that there was a specific way to light it up to minimize smoke, but even after they set it up themselves, we were still left within a cloud of smelly smoke. - Privacy issues. My wife and I prefer to minimize how often hotel staff enters our room, so we usually leave the “Do not disturb” sign on the door during our stay. At Botanique, this was disregarded not one, not two, but three times. Such behavior is completely unacceptable in simpler hotels, let alone in a facility of this price range. - Other details that a hotel of this standing should not let slip: Spa pool with paint peeling off its walls, very poor offering of outdoor activity (1 trail only), very shallow room service menu, very inflexible meal times (especially breakfast - which only started at 8), etc. etc. It’s a pity that a hotel in such an amazing venue does not have the service or the facilities to match. For those prices, you can stay at much better resorts in Argentina, Chile, or even Brazil.
自動翻訳