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Review submitted by Peter from Washington, MO USA (Submitted: 20 Apr 2008)
Our family of 4 spent a week in this home in Buzios. The most difficult part of the entire trip was FINDING the house, as many local streets have no street signs. We spent 2 hours, and eventually went to the police station and ordered a taxi to follow to the house. Note to rentalsystems: improve directions to house.
Once we arrived we saw a pool that was green and in need of chlorine. It took about 4 days for the water to clear.
The best part of this rental house is its view. We enjoyed countless hours overlooking the Atlantic. Also, the proximity to beaches (Geriba!) was excellent.
The beds were quite hard, mosquitos enjoyed us thoroughly. Bring repellent.
The live-in help was only moderately helpful. Standard ammenities such as toilet paper or napkins were scarce.
Bottom line: The house with its view are worth the cost of the rental. Buzios is a great area with lots to do and see. For families looking for something other than all-inclusive hotels, this is a great alternative. It's a little bit rustic, but I think it was a great week for my family and me.
Owner reply:
Let me first say that finding a house in a new town in a new country for the first time is difficult for everybody. I have tried to leave as detailed explanation as possible on the Villarenters site. Included is also a road map AND the phone number to our house so that our staff can be contacted to help if any problems occur. I am sorry Peter,but I have to disagree.ALL streets in Buzios including the area where we have our house DO HAVE street names.
That the swiming pool was not 100% in order is of cource something we have to apologize for.The reason is that we are depending on water delivery to our house,and the van with water didnt arrive as promised. Sometime things takes a bit longer in Brasil than we are used to in Europe...
Regarding the beds,well what can I say ? some like them hard,some like them soft..they are all standard Brasilian made. When we have a house in Brasil,we have to accept what we get..anyway,we will look into the matter to see if anything can be improved...
.."The live-in help was only moderately helpful". ...well,once again,we apologize but we also have to add that our previous guest thought our maid did a fantastic job....I would also like to add that the house is ment to be self catered,there is no full service to be expected ..we have a maid who only do basic cleaning of the house...any exstra service can of cource be arranged directly with Isabel but will be an agreement between the guest and the maid....
..."Standard ammenities such as toilet paper or napkins were scarce.."..I am sorry Peter...big misunderstanding here....once again, it is only my house you rent.I dont offer a "all included" service....the food,drinks and also toilet paper&napkins (?) have to be bought by the guests themself..
if in doubt..ask me about this before you rent our house...
anyway,good to hear that the holiday was nice and YES the view IS stunning....
regards
Rune
Review submitted by nuala from london (Submitted: 14 Feb 2008)
Excellent villa with truly fantastic views, however,
Staff let go during our stay which caused distress to them and us as the service we received was second to none.
Owner reply:
Sometimes it is necessary to change staff at short notice when we (the owners) see the need to do so. In this case we had received several complaints on our staff for doing a bad job and being sloopy in their work.They were in their last week of their contract and it was un-avoidable that we had to change staff in the middle of a renting period.That the staff tried to make a good impression during their last days with us was of cource nice for our clients.
That this incident caused some distress to our guest NUALA is of cource not good,but we feel that to rate our house as "not recommended" due to this is quite unfair as the villa is just fantastic. We are also confused that she rate the Value: Excellent , Met expectations: Yes..and then "not recomended"..strange..!...anyway,welcome back anytime....
Review submitted by nathan from manhattan, nyc (Submitted: 6 Mar 2007)
buzios was an amazing place, the property is what my friends and i was in a perfect location, none of the hype of joao fernandez, excellent, excellent views of geriba and surrounding beaches. waking up to its views was a life changing experience. the sunsets here are amazing also, ive never seen such hues of blues, greens, and orange. i have amazing pics to prove it !
being at this villa, made me think of buying a place just like it in buzios !
i couldnt ask for anything more while i was there, sonia (house staff) was a magnificent cook, fabricio also was very informative and makes magnificent caiprahinas.
overall this property was everything and more. i had an amazing time here !
i would glady recommend it and already have to most people ive spoken to about buzios !
Review submitted by fiona from amsterdam (Submitted: 15 Jan 2007)
The photos do not do the views form this house justice it really is breathtaking. If you love nature and peace and quiet than this home is perfect.
The huge wrap around deck is gorgeous with great hamocks and pool. the BBQ area is perfect for out door dnners with a view. The lounge is great too with amazing tiled and beamed roof. the lower level where all the bedrooms are, look onto a lovely little lawn and tropical trees.
The owner is very very nice and helpful and will help out and offer advice on everything.
There are a couple who are caretakers who stay on the property and will help you with washing and cooking if you need it but they don't speak a word of english.
Mosquitos are a problem so yo'll need lots of creams / sprays. There is no air con but the fans do a pretty good job.
All in all this home is wonderful with amazing views across the hills and ocean and perfectly located (short drive) for all the fun and beaches in Buzios.
Owner reply:
I am always happy to receive a comment in order to improve my property but when it comes to the "wildlife" of Buzios,then there isnt much I can do.All I can say is that the mosquitos can be a small problem during the months november until end of january,the rest of the year,nothing...Some guests can feel that it is a problem,others don*t...there is a cool breeze on the hill so you dont get too many of those "visitors".....
Review submitted by Elise from UK (Submitted: 4 May 2006)
Buzios is a beautiful place, relaxed, nice beaches and good restaurants and this is the place to stay. Rooms are simple and basic but have everything you need including a really well equipped kithcen plus HiFi and DVD player in the lounge. The pool is a good size with plenty of space to sunbathe and the BBQ is great for dinner at sunset. The view is amazing - no photo can do it justice and whilst you'll need a beach buggy to get around (quite fun), you may find it difficult to leave such a beautiful setting. There are some nice hotels but if you want your own space (and lots of it), peace and quiet, privacy and the best view in Buzios for less than the rate we would have paid for a hotel then stay here. The owner is also very helpful for anything you might need prior to your arrival and staying here was one of the highlights of our trip.
Review submitted by Jeff from San Diego (Submitted: 14 Feb 2006)
I am a U.S. citizen and my wife is a Brazilian citizen and we've been going to Buzios for years and would consider the nightly sunset views from this property to be one of the 3 best we've seen throughout all of the region. While the home is not a US$3/4 million - US$1 million property that you might find at Ferradura Beach (praia), you are also not paying Ferradura Beach prices either - - so the overall value is very good. Here you are a quick couple of minutes drive to both Ferradurinha Beach and Geriba Beach (although just a bit long to walk) - - but you sit on one of the highest points in the area - - so views are sweeping.