Belmond Hotel das Cataratas

When you visit the Iguazu (Iguacu) Falls, the first decision that you must make is the location of your hotel: if it is in the Argentine side or the Brazilian side. There are different opinions of which side is better. If you choose the Brazilian side and you want a hotel in the National Park, the Belmond Hotel is the only choice. I had a business meeting for three days that was organized by Brazilian business partners. The main strengths of the hotel are: • Location. Located in front of the Falls, you can walk from the entrance of the hotel anytime you wish (even when the Park is close) and enjoy the view at different times in the day. • Nice Colonial Building, remodeled some years ago. • Friendly personnel; excellent attitude. Zero complaints. • Good buffet breakfast included in the price. • Convenient transfer from the Brazilian or Argentine airports. Tours are easy to coordinate in the Tour Desk. Some of the weaknesses of the hotel are: • High Price. The room was “Deluxe Room Forest/Garden Queen�. In simple words, it was a room with a queen bed with a garden view (that was not nice in our case). The size was modest by American standards (bed + small table + 2 chairs) and it was difficult to work with a laptop in a small round table. The group price plus taxes was 385 US dollars per day. The bath and cleanness was OK. • The room temperature was difficult to adjust. • The breakfast is served in a restaurant in a separate building. If it is raining, you should use an umbrella and get your shoes wet. • If you have dinner in the restaurant, be prepare for high prices, modest portions and poor food. Try not to eat meat. • Be alert. When you arrive, the reception desk charges your credit card with an amount that they say it is not an actual charge, but a sort of deposit. In the check-out, they make the adjustment. The story was different for my American bank, that charged me 2,000 dollars after the check-in. After emails and conversations with the reception desk the proper amount was finally charge. I had no time to enjoy the pool or the spa; consequently, I have no opinion on them. TIP: Pay the transfers and tours separately in the Tour Desk. Do not charge the expense to the Room account. You will save 15% in taxes.

A really good hotel in a fantastic location overlooking the Falls. Staff friendly and rooms very good. Nice pool area with good sun loungers. Overall an impressive looking hotel. While breakfasts and lunch options were good dinner was a disappointment probably as I was expecting so much more. The barbecue option was only average and generally not good value for money. The main dining room was not much better. Menu was rather limited and the food did not live up to 5 star status. A hotel like this really should do better. The main bar had a nice atmosphere but service was found to be very variable. Overall a good hotel but it did not live up to expectations. Despite these negative points the location is a major plus.

This hotel is located brilliantly for visiting the Falls and do as we did which was to get up early and walk down to the bottom. We were the only ones there whereas the day before in the afternoon we gave up walking down as it was so packed. The hotel is very nice, bedrooms good size as was the bathroom & there was plenty of space for luggage etc. The hotel pool was very nice, again good size and not busy. Food in the poolside restaurant was very tasty, we ate from the a la carte menu rather than the buffet. As with all Belmonds, not the cheapest but you do get what you pay for. We found the staff all very friendly and the service was excellent. Only criticism we had was that the bar had a pianist in it and with the hard floors it was very loud which meant you couldn't hold a conversation very well so we had our drinks on the front porch overlooking the falls.

Excellent experience, especially after having stayed at the disappointing Belmond Copacabana. Friendly staff, good service, good room, excellent food. And the location is fabulous - you stay inside the park, which means that before 0900 and after 1700 you have unique access to the waterfall. A real treat.

Visited on our honeymoon and felt very spoilt. Reception staff amazing, special thanks to Richard for tailoring to all our needs. Also big thanks for the drinks service at bar taroba, Rodrigo was amazing and on top of everything. Great view of the waterfall. Amazing food and drinks. Definitely a place to visit for prompt service and customer satisfaction.