Mercure Belém Boulevard 4 estrelas

Good: - Friendly staff - Breakfast - AC Bad: - Bathroom in dire need of renovations (small flies everywhere, bad smell, stains and mold all over, poorly regulated water pressure) - Room seems renovated at first glance, but many things already seem old, scratched, stained, etc. - Pool furniture disgusting and uninviting

Overall, we got a very cheap deal for 8 nights and for the price we paid, it was ok. However, there is still a lot they can improve on. We know Belem is not the most internationally oriented city. However, when booking a Mercure, you would expect the guest-facing team to speak English. Throughout the stay we met 3 receptionists with 75% English. The other team members 0, which made communication quite hard. We booked a Superior Room, as from reading other reviews, we could figure out these were quite recently renovated. Being a global company and French brand, you would expect a renovated room to have universal power sockets. Unfortunately, they did not. It was our first time in Brazil and we are from Europe. Our phone chargers fit in the power socket just fine, but the laptop charger did not. We never knew there was a difference. Strangely enough, the hotel only had adaptors from Brazil to Europe, not the other way around. Already quite annoyed, we decided to purchase one ourselves outside. Unfortunately, that also turned out to be an impossible task. Could not find it anywhere. Next day told reception we would look for it ourselves as well, but if they could please ask their purchaser to find an adaptor. We still did not find it ourselves, the hotel did not even bother to look. So, on the third day I got quite upset, as I was not able to work on my laptop. I asked the receptionist if I could speak to the manager. One lady came, we never were told her name or job title, but then the receptionist had to translate as even the manager did not speak English. We gave her the actual charger to keep with her so they could find a suitable adaptor. When returning in the evening there was an adaptor in the room with a handwritten note stating they found us the adaptor we need. NOT, it was the same one from Brazil to Europe. We actually gave the charger, and still we got an adaptor which does not fit. Of course, immediately we went down again. Then one guy from the Maintenance team looked at it and said he would sort something out. He came very happy to the room after 15 minutes. He actually melted the holes in the adaptor to make them bigger so our charger would fit. Melted!! Huge fire hazard, but ok it worked. Breakfast was in a meeting room due to renovation of the restaurant. That can happen, but there was absolutely no atmosphere created in the meeting room. At least play some background music! Although the variety of food at breakfast was not great, the quality of the items was good! Problem though is that there is no system for refilling empty items on the buffet. Especially scrambled eggs were often unavailable, as they would wait for it to be empty, then inform the kitchen to make more. There was also no registration at breakfast, so they would never know how many more people were still supposed to come for breakfast. Each day there were 2 different fresh juices, from fruits only known to Brazilians we guess. We did not like any of them. Can they not just offer one of a basic orange, mango, pineapple, passion fruit? There is also a sandwich maker on the buffet, so you can be creative yourself. Unfortunately, on several occasions I found it occupied by the waitress to prepare a sandwich she would eat herself back-of-house! Superior Room is refurbished up to high standards. Unfortunately, there are no power plugs near the bed, which is what most people look for to charge their phones. The shower has very good (maybe a bit extreme) pressure. Rooms cleaning needed to be asked for. They do not see the 'make up my room' sign or light at the door. During cleaning they do not check if the bulk bathroom amenity containers are in need of a refill. After the 4th day we had no shampoo. Mentioned it to reception on a few occasions, was never refilled. WiFi was terrible. The speed was ok, but the signal keeps dropping every couple of minutes, in every part of the room. Tried to explain once at reception, but they did not understand. Swimming pool was nice, smaller than they make it look on the professional photographs, but ok. Great views from up there. Massage was also good, although we found it to be very expensive. To finish off, we had a terrible experience at the carpark. We decided to rent a car for 2 days. When entering the carpark at the hotel there is a sign that the cost for the car park is R$ 25 per day. We entered around 16:00 on Feb 6th. The next morning, around 10:00 on Feb 7th we wanted to leave. First we gave the ticket to the man, who then for unknown reasons sent someone with the ticket to the reception. It took quite a long time, so after waiting for at least 5 minutes I decided to just give a R$ 100 note to the cashier, which he did not accept. We needed to wait longer. We then decided to get into the car and drive the car up to the payment desk, where we still had to wait. Not willing to wait any longer for unknown reasons, we decided to leave the carpark, when we were stopped as we did not pay. We then again handed over the R$ 100 note. To our surprise we only received R$ 25 in change. Immediately we got out of the car again and pointed at the sign of R$ 25 per day. They somehow managed to convince me that when staying overnight, it counts as two days. That is already very weird in a hotel carpark, but ok, it could be. Still we overpaid. He claimed that because of that we stayed 3 nights, whereas in reality we only stayed 18 hours. After a long discussion he gave back another R$ 25. So after all we paid R$ 50 for 18 hours, whereas the sign states R$ 25 per day, while the cashier tried to scam us into paying R$ 75. When looking at alternatives in the city, there is not much. Those few hotels which might be a better option, are also significantly more expensive. As we said, for the price we paid, it was ok.

As a member of the ALL frequent guest program I saw that there are 2 Mercure properties in Belem do Para city and despite a negative experience with a Mercure establishment in another Brazilian city 3 years ago I wanted to experience a different one in a north east Brazilian city. Although I am satisfied with Mercure Belem Boulevard I am not keen on some weaknesses that should be corrected. Mercure Belem Boulevard being located in Umarizal, a newer area than where the Grand Mercure is located, defined my choice. The building of the Mercure Belem Boulevard lodge is very modern and is indeed a skyscraper in an area where several ones coexist. The swimming pool in the highest floor, the 30st, is imponent and provides an stunning view of the city. Breakfast is very good featuring many tropical fruits and with a wide variety of things. I was offered fried eggs and tapiocas more than once and that was great from one of the waiters. However, I found the Varanda restaurant with a pleasant ambiance to be expensive, for instance a long neck beer costing 12 BRL is high-priced compared with what is worth in other properties where I stayed in Brazil such a high-level Praia do Futuro hotel in which has an outlay of 6 BRL. Service was slow as for the New Year dinner it took more than 1 hour to have a burger served... Being expensive and slow service implies to be even more coslty for what it is. My check in was not fast, and the agent in charge seemed not too practical for that task. Room was really spacious with an excellent desk for working and the air conditioning makes the area highly pleasant. But frigobar was empty and just a caju chestnuts packet... Toilet seat was loose and unsteady. Business center located in the 3rd floor having a well-working desktop computer and comfortable armchairs requires air conditioning and some more lighting but it is quite adequate. I was surprised to see that the bar in the 3rd floor, which seems to be avant-garde, was closed during the 5 days of my stay. Points have not yet been credited to my ALL account for my food and beverage bill despite of my claim emailed to the reservation agent Glenda Souza. I am kindly asking her to have them credited.

Everything from the check-in to check-out was perfect. I have a lovely room upgrade (Gold member). The room was very clean. The hotel is well maintained. A nice breakfast. The bed was very comfortable. Slept great. Recommend.

Another average Mercure hotel. Good, ample rooms, with lots of space and a decent bed and bathroom. Probably needing a refurbish quite soon, it offers a good alternative for a business stay in Belem. Breakfast a little below the isual chain standard and a very slow check-in and check-out process, no matter if you are an Accor member or have booked in advance. Chain style.