Hotel Residencial Juliz

I had the pleasure of staying in the Hotel Residential Juliz for a couple of nights in May 2012. The owner, Julio, is a very intelligent, thoughtful man and this is reflected in his hotel. The Hotel Residential Juliz is pretty basic accommodation, with a generally unpainted appearance. However everything works and is in good repair. It has free wi-fi and adequate bedding. The showers and locks work and the lights are bright enough to be able to do things in your room at night. Julio and his team are helpful, obliging and considerate. At one stage Julio was off site and he called me specially to answer a question and give me some advice about my proposed activities. There is evidence of continual improvement with ladders and things, so you may arrive to find the place beautifully painted. Above all of this, the price is right. The location is in the old part of Porto Alegre, with interesting winding streets and a variety of simple places to eat. It is very much a residential area, which, in Australia or America, would be well and truly gentrified by now. It is about 1 km walk to the Gasometro and a shorter walk to the Centro Historico. It is not that far to walk to most places of interest like the Public Market (shorter if you go over the hills). There is a good supermarket about 5 minutes walk away Since I speak Portuguese, I did not establish how well English is spoken here, but Julio responds promptly to email, so you can find that out easily. This place is not the Hilton Hotel, but I was comfortable and happy and my ratings are addressed fellow budget travellers.