Manhattan Porto Alegre by Mercure

We visit Porto Alegre once or twice a year and usually stay in Laghetto Viverone but decided to try here for a change. We had booked an apartment with balcony a number of months before. However the day before we arrived (after the 24 hour cancelation policy ended) we received a message saying the hotel was under renovation and please excuse the noise. Found this very odd. We arrived and parked in the very small car park underneath the hotel. First impressions were not great, the lobby really looked like it needed updating. We had to wait a few minutes as our room wasn’t ready (it was already 3.30pm). Our room on the 7th floor and was very rough around the edges. There were cobwebs all over the ceiling and scratches and stains were very noticeable. The safe didn’t work, so we needed to call maintenance which came quickly and fixed it. The breakfast was fine. We walked to the pool to have a look but again the facility seemed very dated. The noise started at 9am the next morning but as we were already away it wasn’t a huge issue. It seems the hotel should really close for a few months and do this renovation as it’s badly needed and reopen once complete, without guests staying throughout as it’s leaving a bad impression. The location is certainly one of the best in the city.