Novotel

A solid choice in SJdC. I’ve heard it is the best hotel in town, and I don’t doubt it. That being said, for a city with so many international business travelers that work in high paying industries, SJdC really lacks truly amazing hotels. But the Novotel is very solid.
The hotel set up my airport pickup and it was perfect. R$ 240 directly to the driver, and I was at the hotel in an hour on the Saturday morning (it took 2 hours to get back on a rainy Friday night, but for the same price). I arrived several hours before check-​in, but got right up to my room. The place was filled with local families enjoying the pool. Seems as though that’s how the weekends work here — lots of locals enjoying what I heard is the best pool in own (it really is quite nice). On Sundays, it switches to mostly international business travelers.
All of the staff that I interacted with were very friendly. Most spoke English quite well, some spoke none at all. They pointed me towards restaurants and bars, called taxis for me, and were always smiling.
My room was basic but comfortable and clean. It overlooked the pool, which was nice, and was quiet even with all of the noise at the pool. The WiFi was free and usually good, but REALLY slowed down on the weeknights to the point that it was inoperable at some times.
The breakfast was good but not great. It filled you up, but nothing was wonderful by any means. I had dinner a couple of times and got mixed results — hamburger and club sandwich were not great but okay; Picanha was quite delicious.
The location of the hotel is okay… there isn’t a ton around for food or drink, but if you’re willing to walk it’s 10 minutes to the mall or 20 minutes to some good bars and restaurants. They say to take a taxi when it’s dark, which I did. During the day, I did a lot of walking and even jogging and never once felt fearful of my surroundings. Everyone in SJdC is so friendly, even to those who speak zero Portuguese like myself.
Will certainly stay here on my next trip!