The Intercontinental is a very good business hotel in the very best part of Sao Paulo. I stayed two weeks on business, had several rooms and suites for guests, and made heavy use of the conference room facilities, business center, restaurant, bar and gym. My guests and I expected, and received, first rate service. The hotel staff is attentive, helpful and (mostly) multilingual.
The rooms are comfortably furnished and relatively quiet, with one minor caveat - - the Intercontinental is the hotel of choice for the crews of several international airlines (a bus drops off a load of pilots and flight attendants every morning); some of these folks can't possibly adjust to time changes and jet lag, and so there can be some television noise and room service deliveries at odd hours of the night. Only one of my guests commented about noise.

The work-out facilities are the best in town. There is a modest fee, well worth it.

Restaurant service is slow, but the food is quite good.
The Intercontinental isn't as new, and the rooms and conference facilities aren't as large or as nice, as the Hyatt's. But the Hyatt is a bit location-challenged, in that you need to take taxis to see or eat anything outside of the hotel. In contrast, the Intercontinental is in the middle of the best neighborhood in Sao Paulo, one in which even the relatively cautious can feel reasonably safe.
There are literally dozens of excellent restaurants within a short walking distance. [esp. La Caballeriza (Argentine steak-house, next door); Massimo (superb, remarkably beautiful, and rather expensive Italian, a few blocks up the street)]. The art museum, MASP, is also well worth a visit and just a short walk away (the Sunday antique fair on the plaza under the elevated museum building is also very worthwhile).

I´m still staying at the Intercontinental as I write this review. I was concerned with safety before I arrived in Brazil. The Jardin area is very safe and the hotel is in a good location to the museum and other shopping areas that are in walking distance. My husband and I walked around the neighborhood at night and felt very safe. The staff at the hotel speak English and Spanish and were very helpful with finding restaurants that are reasonablly priced. We stayed in the club floor which is the 16th floor and up. This includes hot buffet breakfast, access to the gym (which normally would have cost a fee) and access to the computers on the 17th floor. The rooms have good TV stations and is very clean. The food is very fresh and delicious.

Some of the malls are extremely expensive. Starting at $100 per item. We couldn´t buy anything there. The mall was big and if it´s affordable a great place to walk aroud. The restaurants in the mall were fabulous. The taxi to the mall is around $15 r (which is about $6 us) We went to a few discos that were very american. no brazillian music. Mostly disco tech/80´s music. The club w/ a couple of drinks came to $37us- be careful b/c you pay when you leave, not enter. Things add up b/c they give you a card that they stamp and you pay when you leave (inludes all your drinks etc)

Most buffet restaurants (Brazillian bbq´s do not include drinks as part of the price of the buffet).

Any hotel in the Jardin area is safe. (still like any city boston, ny, there are areas you do not want to go to at night). We didn´t experience anything b/c we were advised by the hotel the areas we can go too

I read alot of reviews before taking this trip and I think some of the information was over rated. We haven´t worn any jewelry or cameras. In poorer areas, it will bring attraction to you, but in the Jardin area you shouldn´t have a problem. I wish I brought my camera.

This was a great place to stay.
Enjoy Brazil.

The staff were all friendly and helpful. All of the desk staff and many of the bellmen and waiters speak very good English. I was upgraded for free to the club floors. These rooms include a nice breakfast buffet, internet and very nice cocktails and hors d'ouevres in the club lounge on 17. On Saturday, when there is no breakfast on 17, the regular breakfast buffet in the restaurant is included, instead. The rooms were lovely and well-maintained, mine even had a small balcony overlooking Alameda Santos. It's right across the street from the Citibank and not a far walk from the best shopping and dining in the city. It's one of the best hotel experiences I've ever had.

This hotel has location, value, and ammenities that stand out. The staff is friendly and helpful.