The Regina Hotel used to be one of the famous luxury Rio hotels, that declined in status, and then was renovated to bring it up to more modern standards. The results are satisfactory, but there were still a number of unchanged quirks left for the guest to figure out. Overhead lights and air conditioner turn on by inserting a keycard by the door. However, the reading lights are only controlled by an old-fashioned panel near the headboard with buttons that you push. And the only way to turn the AC *off* and keeping the lights on requires using buttons on that same old-fashioned panel.
The remodel was nicely done, the hotel staff friendly, and the breakfasts were abundant with everything from great fresh fruit (mango, papaya) to eggs, cereal and cold cuts.
By Rio standards, the hotel was relatively inexpensive, a block from the Catete metro stop. But not a good place for a solo female to walk after 10 PM at night.

Stayed here during Rio Carnival a good clean but basic hotel. The staff are friendly and helpful. Most of the reception staff speak english. Very good location 2 mins from metro which takes you anywhere, quick and easy! The breakfast was one of the best we sampled during our tour of South America.

The hotel is conveniently close to the beach (about 5 mins walk), the domestic terminal (about 10 mins drive) and again 5 mins walk from a lot of shops and restaurants. The first impression is very good, the reception area is clean, spacious and staff will speak English. It does tend to get a bit chaotic, especially in the morning or afternoon, but everything will be sorted out in time.

The hallways smell, probably because of some cleaning liquid, but rooms are OK and fitted with airconditioning. Rooms are clean and bathroom is fine as well. Rooms are noisy though, the hotels telephone system is very loud (and can be heard from a other rooms) and some other noises (like the elevator) are loud and clear in your room, add a nosiy airconditioning and you should bring earplugs to get a 5-star sleep quality.

The breakfastbuffet is very nice, lots of choice of fresh fruit, fruit juices, bread and cereal and a limited choice of hot foods. A great choice (included with bookings through booking.com) for the morning. The a-la-carte menu for the evening is of less quality unfortunately. The ordered tenderloin seemed to be a Chuck Steak and the rest of the food was not to good either. Strangest thing was the restaurant advertised all day for a R$25 (incl drinks&dessert) buffet but it is only available on certain days (not mentioned earlier).

Still the hotel is a good choice, especially since free (and fast) wireless internet is included and service overall is good. Do not book your tours with the hotel though, the tours are heavily overpriced (like in most hotels), you can get much better deals online or on the street.

A lot of the staff were rude, helping us as little as possible. Some of the staff were wonderful - there was one porter that helped us a lot, and the guy in the restaurant was really friendly. But others completely ignored us - we asked for help with our luggage, and the porter told us to go and ask at the desk. Nobody (except for the guy in the cafe) said 'Thanks for staying here, hope you'll stay again' or anything like that.

The room was OK - the bed was comfortable, and the air conditioning worked. There were lots of plug sockets, a working safe and the bathroom was very clean. However, there was a bad smell from the bathroom most of the time - like sewage backing up the pipe. We had to keep the door closed to block the smell from the bedroom.

The area itself was fairly quiet, so most of the time we were able to sleep. However, a service phone outside our room rang every single morning from about 7am, every few minutes. If it was picked up (which sometimes it wasn't - the phone just rang and rang) then it was followed by a loud conversation. All in all, it was impossible to sleep past 7am any day we were there (we stayed there 5 days).

The breakfast was great, and we enjoyed it. Dinner was OK, if a little expensive (R$25 per person) given there wasn't that much variety, especially for desserts. However, the staff in the restaurant were at least friendly and helpful, unlike most of the reception staff.

In summary, it felt like staying in a private room at a youth hostel, instead of a hotel.