Introduction
First off, I should mention that this review might have more photos than the others. The reason is simple — the Presidential Suite is just very large. What else makes this “room” special, you’ll find out in this review. It also happens to be the 150th review on the blog, so taking a little extra time to browse through all the photos is perfectly justified.
Location
The Hilton Sao Paulo Morumbi isn’t actually that far from the airport — at least in terms of kilometers, and by Brazilian standards (it’s about 42 kilometers). That said, depending on the time of day, it can take considerably longer to get there. For us it ended up being just over an hour; our Uber driver took an alternate route to avoid the traffic.
Check-In
Not particularly fast, though the room was already ready quite early in the morning and the staff practically insisted on escorting us up. The lobby has a very welcoming feel with a variety of seating options. The small kiosk is a nice touch — you can pick up drinks and light snacks there.
Room
The first minor issue was that the friendly staff member couldn’t find the room. The explanation was straightforward though: it has no room number, and perhaps it isn’t booked all that often.
Entrance Area
The largest part of the suite is taken up by the living room, with the bar and the study directly adjoining it.
Bedroom
To the left, past the bathroom, you’ll find the dressing room and then the bedroom.
The bedroom itself also has an extra couch for relaxing, positioned right behind the TV, as well as a writing desk. All in all, the room is extraordinarily spacious. The age of the suite does show when you go looking for power outlets, though it’s generally not a problem to find one in the various rooms. :-)
Dressing Room
More than enough space here — not just for storing luggage, but also a safe and everything else you might need. Plenty of wardrobe storage too, of course.
Bathroom
There are actually two bathrooms (either the large one on the left or the one on the right). The main bathroom is fitted with a whirlpool, shower, and so on. There’s also more than enough in the way of amenities — shampoo and the like. They may have gone a little overboard here, but that’s just my humble opinion.
Study
Bar
I’ll be completely honest: having your own bar in the room is genuinely great. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to enjoy here since everything had been cleared out due to Covid. That things can be done much better was demonstrated by the Hyatt next door — that review is coming soon.
Dining Room
The dining room is really impressive — the large table with its chairs makes quite a statement. A small side note: we made a game of trying to sit in every single chair in the “room.” It wasn’t as easy as it sounds, but we managed it.
Kitchen
A great concept in principle, but again everything had been cleared out due to Covid, leaving only the refrigerator usable. At the Hyatt (review here: /en/grand-hyatt-sao-paulo/) there were absolutely no issues with a fully equipped kitchen. It’s a shame the Hilton is the exception here. To top it off, there’s an electric kettle standing in for what should really be a proper coffee machine — which feels borderline unacceptable at this level.
Lounge
Access to the lounge is included either through Hilton status or by virtue of the room category. Breakfast is served here in the mornings, and throughout the day you can help yourself to drinks and coffee.
In the evening, a buffet is set up that can easily serve as a full dinner. During happy hour, alcoholic drinks are also available — cocktails can be ordered, though they aren’t proactively offered. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves here, but the selection is genuinely good.
Amenities / Recreation
On the top floor there’s a gym as well as a pool. Adjacent to these is a spa area, and the prices there are perfectly reasonable by international standards.
Breakfast
It was quite busy here, and I always try to take photos without other guests in them. In short: the breakfast was very good and extensive, though the sheer size of the hotel becomes apparent in the morning when so many guests are milling about.
Check-Out
We had been confirmed for a late check-out, but our room keys were suddenly deactivated. That could have been handled better and left a bit of an odd aftertaste. The bill itself was correct, though — and we weren’t charged for the glasses, which was appreciated.
Verdict
All in all it was a lovely experience, though you can tell the hardware is showing its age here and there. Sure, we were able to book the room at a fairly reasonable rate, but even so it’s hard to justify — setting aside the pure square footage. Perhaps it’s also a matter of high expectations, but unfortunately those were only partially met. A review of another room at the property is coming up soon, and that one was really quite impressive.
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