We had a family trip booked for January 2022, but we had to postpone it when some members tested positive for COVID. It was VERY frustrating, but luckily we got a voucher from the hotel and took advantage of it this year. We had 14 adults and 6 children for 4 days of lots of sun, pool and beach. Good fun, right?
The hotel chosen for this first trip bringing Celo's family and mine together was Horseshoe Resort, in Búzios. We arrived on Thursday, January 12, 2023 and left there on Monday, the 16th, as we wanted to escape the weekend traffic to the Lakes Region.
I won't go into the details of each day, as it would be quite repetitive, so here's a quick summary:
The Hotel
The hotel where we stayed was the Horseshoe Resort, which is located on Ferradura Beach in Búzios. We booked 7 rooms and most of the rooms had half board, that is, breakfast and only 1 meal. If you want, they also have the option of All inclusive and just breakfast.
Our room was inside the building at the back of the hotel and was a good size with 2 king size beds, a small balcony, a minibar and a bathroom with a shower. The only thing I didn't like was the musty smell in the bathroom and the fact that the balcony door wasn't lockable.
The hotel is divided in half by a street and there are many pools spread out, some smaller and almost private, and others larger and more lively. We stayed in the larger pools which had bars and bathrooms nearby, of course.
This hotel is not on the beachfront, but you walk less than 5 minutes along a very quiet street, so we found it very peaceful to go to the beach with the kids.
The Beach
Búzios has several excellent beaches for diving, the main ones being Geribá, Ferradura and João Fernandes. Our hotel's beach was Ferradura, which is known for having few waves, short sand, restaurants only on the left side (looking out to sea), and mansions with very high walls that dominate the landscape.
Still, I think it's a great beach for swimming, especially during the week, since it gets really crowded on sunny weekends and there's hardly any space to sit on the sand. Just a warning: if you want to rent tents and chairs, set aside a good amount of money for them. We even saw tents that were free if the consumption was over 300 reais. 300 reais, guys!!! I thought it was surreal.
We went for a walk there every day and only one day we decided to sit down and enjoy the beach. We walked from the hotel to the Pink Beach, which is hidden after crossing some rocks on the right side, and we thought the view from there was really cool. It's a shame we didn't take our cell phones and didn't take any pictures.
There is an activity that is well known on this beach and that children and adults usually enjoy: dair food in the mouths of seagulls at the end of the day. We did this and loved it! Oh, and we also saw jet skiing, banana boat rides, and even more extreme versions of these rides happening in the sea there. Here's a tip if you want to enjoy something like that.
The Meals
Practically everyone in our family booked the Half Board option, meaning breakfast and just 1 meal to choose from (lunch or dinner).
As we knew that the The hotel offered daily recreation services for children and the children would have their lunches guaranteed. if they were with the “uncles”, we didn't worry about getting the All Inclusive package to save a little, right? Besides, we also opted for dinner, because our kids go to bed early and we knew that the combination of a car, traffic, a full restaurant, a hungry/sleepy child and exhausted parents wouldn't be good. So, this plan worked out really well for us.
We arrived at the restaurant as soon as it opened for dinner, and since it was a buffet, the kids were quickly eating and digesting their food so they could get a good night's sleep. Most nights we ate dinner separately from the rest of the family, but there was one really nice night when we were able to have dinner together and look at this wonderful table:
I found the dinner food to be very varied and tasty, especially on Saturday night. Every day there was soup, salads, pasta, pizza, bread, meat, chicken, fish and some seafood, as well as delicacies such as pastries, cheese bread, coxinha, etc. The dessert table was also very generous, to my delight. lol
Breakfast was also very complete, with lots of fruit, bread, cakes, yogurts and cold cuts, and there was also an option of eggs, crepes and tapioca à la carte at no additional cost. We always had a nice breakfast so we practically didn't need to eat lunch. Savings: we see that here!
Recreation
The hotel has a large and active entertainment team, with interesting activities every day at all times. Unfortunately (or fortunately), our children stayed with us and our cousins didn't want to go with the entertainment team. We all stayed together and made a huge mess.
Buzios
Since we had been to Búzios many times when we lived in Rio de Janeiro, we didn’t see any need to leave this super hotel. However, if you haven’t been to Búzios, be sure to stroll along the famous Rua das Pedras and visit other beaches.
If you want to know more about our tours in Búzios, see 4 days in Búzios (RJ) and Búzios and Arraial do Cabo in 4 days. Enjoy!
roani
In short: We had 4 wonderful days of sun and warmth with the people we love in a heavenly place. The best part is that I didn't have to worry about preparing food, tidying up toys, washing clothes or catching a virus at school. EVERYTHING I NEEDED! I want it again now <3
More photos of this delicious trip:
