When you see the hotel from the outside it looks kind of old and dated, who cares how it looks in the outside when the inside is really comfortable. The lobby has the feel of a beach hotel, the rooms have been fully remodeled, comfortable with beautiful views. The hotel is up on a cliff over looking the sea with incredible views of Salvador and the ocean. Breakfast was good, plenty of fruit, breads and a variety of ham, cheese and warm foods. Dinner buffet in restaurants was good as well, service was very good. Internet is wireless throughout the hotel, doesn't always work well in the rooms but they have cables you can borrow to improve your connection, very decent charge for Internet. I have stayed in other hotels in Salvador and I would recommend this one over others.

You will want one of the deluxe rooms as those are the ones that have been refurbished and are on a higher floor. Think about getting a room facing west if you want to catch the sunset, which is spectacular. Be aware that the balconies are not really more than french windows with a ledge outside - you can step out but there is not room to bring a chair and sit down. This is a shame as the view is the main thing going for this hotel. Also be aware that there is no beach, but the pool area is ok and has a great seaview. If you don't wish to eat at the hotel you will need to take a taxi somewhere else, as the property is pretty isolated. The evening buffet was ok but you can certainly get a better meal elsewhere. By some quirk the windows of the restaurant turn into mirrors in the evening and you cannot see out. This produced the effect of sitting in a basement; again strange given the location of the hotel which is all about seaviews!

I was here on business this week for a three night stay. the breakfast views in the panoramic restaurant on the top floor were breathtaking. The food was varied and also good quality in hot and cold. I did avoid fresh fruit as I had not seen it prepared but others ate it and were fine. The cooked food cheeses and meats were good. the a la carte menu in the downstairs restaurant was faultless - as the local wine was good too (although we had not tried brazillian wine before). The hotel food is a little pricey but not much different to elsewhere, and to be honest the only gain from eating outside the hotel was mingling with locals and the colour of Bahia. the standard of english was mostly excellent and they indulged our attempts at Portuguese. the hotel was clean, comfortable, service efficient and the room views picture windows and balconies fantastic. the pool area was a little small, but there did not seem to be too many guests that were using it at any one time so it was never crowded. safe depost boxes in rooms, so documents were safely stored. all in all we had a great time and I would happily return to Salvador and the Pestana for a longer stay. the transfer to airport is about 40 mins as the traffic day and night is busy, but the hotel offer a shuttle bus by prior booking and is much cheaper than using the taxis.