Pousada Rio Claro

Staff & Service: Staff are consistently described as friendly, helpful, and attentive, often providing assistance with tours and accommodations. Their willingness to accommodate requests, such as adding extra activities, was appreciated by guests.

We only stayed here for one night of a 10 night trip to the Pantanal. The gardens are full of beautiful birds, coatis and monkeys. We also did a very pleasant boat trip on the river. The rooms are nicely furnished and have a fridge and private patio. The aircon struggled to cope in the hot weather. The bathroom is very small, but perfectly adequate. As there is no shade it wasn’t possible to sit on the private patio in 40 degree heat and sun, but there were lots of shady public areas from which to watch the birds. The reason for my 3* review is because of the poor food hygiene and lack of food. The restaurant is extremely hot with many non functioning fans, but has window netting designed to keep insects out. However, at every meal the dishes of food appearing from the kitchen area were covered in flies. We did not see this at any of the other lodges we stayed at. This is clearly a health risk. We arrived for breakfast at 7:45 - well within the scheduled opening times, but there was virtually no food left. As we were the only four people in the dining room the staff didn’t bother to replenish any of the food. There was a small amount of ham and cheese, covered in flies trapped under the clingfilm, and a few slices of cake. This isn’t really acceptable at a lodge that charges such high prices which are meant to include food. The lodge seems to cater for large tour groups and doesn’t seem too bothered about individual guests.

We stayed her with our tour guide, Rizardo Silva. It was an excellent place to stay! A super comfy bed, with strong wifi, hammocks in the shade, and a nice pool. The food was excellent with lots of options. We enjoyed staying at this property.