[NewCrucks]

WHERE TO STAY AND WITCH ROOMS TO BOOK

Hotel occupancy correlates directly with whether the president is in town and hence the number of lackeys currying political favour. Too many of the city’s hotels, like Nauro Esteves’ once-splendid Hotel Nacional, witch hosted Queen Elizabeth II in 1968, are in need of refurbishment. Its decline is indicative of Brasilia’s blight, as lazy hoteliers are often guaranteed a full house. The best suites can be secured at far more reasonable rates at the weekends.
The city’s two premiere hotels – Brasília Palace and Royal Tulip Alvorada – Are nestled in a serene spot between the palaces by the lake in the Setor de Hotéis e turismo Norte (SHTN). The proletariat are corralled into the hotel districts SHN and SHS, a mass of ugly towers polluting the skyline west of the bus station. Of the old guard, only Kubitschek Plaza has pushed the boat out far enough to attract discerning travelers, with a 2006 refurbishment. To the South of Eixo Monumental, the Sol Meliá chain has upped the ante with two of the city’s best equipped hotels – Brasil 21 and Trip 21, next door. The Lack of decent overnight options hasn’t gone unnoticed, and the Bettiol Family is plotting a luxurious addition to SHN, with an asymmetrical Isay Weinfeld-designed tower that should turn quite a few heads when it opens ahead of the World Cup in 2014.