Hotel Duas Nações

The Duas Nações Residence, a bare-bones hotel with 57 rooms and some great views, sits at the bustling corner of Rua August and Rua da Victoria in the heart of Baixa. This place is about cheap rooms with a central location—and that's about it.

Rooms sport green and golden color schemes, along with thin carpets and standard hotel furnishings that have been bumped and scuffed over the years. Those facing the street have some great city views, especially on higher floors (ask ahead—many have small balconies). Some of these exterior rooms are quite small, so be prepared. Cable TV and telephones come in all rooms, and most private baths are equipped with tubs. (One bath that we saw had a comically narrow passageway leading between the tub and the toilet.)

Rooms do not have air conditioning or soundproofing. As the hotel is in the center of pedestrian-only Baixa, this could mean that hot summer nights with windows open will be loud. (Pack earplugs.) Furthermore, the rather dusty and dated condition of the hotel is not for finicky travelers.

A sun-drenched second-floor breakfast room next to a small TV lounge overlooks Rua Augusta. (We loved the gothic chandeliers.) Continental breakfast is included in the room rate.

Wi-Fi connection is available for free.