Surely not a top facility but better than average. Very good breakfast and dinner buffet. Pool and fitness area are OK but very busy. Difficult to work beside the pool because of the noise and too many people and children. Food and service at pool bar are OK. Register yourself as Starwood Preferred Guest upfront as it makes check in and out much faster. Rooms are quite big but smell like mildew, I just turned off the airco, fortunately it was not too hot outside.
Contrary to many reviews in tripadvisor, I found staff extremely helpful and friendly.

One of the worst facilities I have ever stayed at that claimed to be a hotel. I tried three rooms...all had trash under the furniture and smelled like mildew. The manager admitted that all the rooms smell like mildew presently due to an AC problem the staff is well aware of. No room service of any significance after midnight. Lobby looks great but the rooms have old carpet with stains and all the wood, tile, walls are scratched. The rates are high and the hotel is full...go figure!

Stayed at the Sheraton Barra from 12/26 to 1/1/2012. It is in Barra, the new part of Rio. Room size is above average and the property is very nice. Service, however, is far from that. Beach towels were unavailable, room service was just plain lousy. They managed to get a "standard" breakfast wrong - Twice! Surely not a good way to start the new year. As a frequent guest of Starwood properties, I can say this one is certainly below standards. I will think twice about coming back, and if you are looking for a place with good service, this is just not it.

The location of the Sheraton Barra was fantastic being across the street from the beach. Staff was extremely nice and helpful and the rooms were clean. Bed was comfortable and the shower was nice, although it did leak a bit onto the mat because the glass door didn't stay closed. Small issue.

What I did have issues with was the lack of irons, and no American-style electric plugs. I realize the irons might not be Brazilian standard, but I do expect a level of consistency when I stay with the Sheraton brand, and while irons don't top the list of amenities you think of, if they don't have one, it'll ruin your day full of business meetings.

I'm probably the victim of the transition to the Brazilian standard electrical plugs, but my colleagues all had American style plugs and all other hotels I've stayed at in Brazil have as well. It just made for a pain in the butt having to find an adapter, which I was eventually forced to borrow from one of my colleagues.

The hotel was very nice from every criteria I normally judge hotels on, but the lack of iron and ability to plug in any electronics left me feeling like they didn't keep my needs in mind.