Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
In the interior of Minas Gerais, especially in the historic cities and state parks, there are two types of traditional accommodations for tourists: pousadas (inns), with simple rooms, and fazendas (Texan-ranch-style farms), which can be a fun option. Most hotels outside Belo Horizonte are small, lack English-speaking staff, and have few of the amenities common in American and European chains. In Belo Horizonte you can find large hotels and chain hotels equivalent to those found in U.S. cities that cater to the regular and business traveler. When you book, you'll likely be given a choice between an apartamento standard (standard room) and an apartamento de luxo (luxury room), which may be slightly larger, with air-conditioning and a nicer bathroom. Significant weekend discounts are common in Belo Horizonte.
Although it's just across from Caxambu's Parque das Águas, this luxury resort has its own rehabilitation pool and sauna as well as numerous sports amenities. Rooms are well equipped and have marble baths. Ask for a room facing the beautiful internal garden—the ones here are quieter.
This gracious fazenda is more like a private estate than a rural farm. Its carefully decorated rooms have bucolic views; at night the only sounds you hear are those of various animals roaming the countryside. Buffets of at least three regional dishes as well as salads and dessert are served on an all-inclusive basis.
The many activities at this hotel include boating on the lake, horsback riding, swimming in the thermal and regular pools, and playing tennis. If you're interested, the employees can even teach you how to milk a cow. The chalets fronting the lake can house up to five people. The hotel also has rooms for two or four people.
