This is a big hotel with large rooms, our was a 70s style - not sure whether all the rooms are in this style - but I didn't mind it at all. With a very large bedroom and a large bathroom I welcomed its 70s feels, maybe a boutique hotel looks more contemporary, but I appreciated the space!

The location of the hotel is one of the main points we booked here, but I got to like the South American Copacabana for more reasons than its location alone. The staff (one member in particular in the reception and the girl at the bar) was helpful with finding out what to do in Rio, booked us on an excellent tour and were always available for anything we needed.

Breakfast was excellent with hot and cold food, pastries, juices and fresh fruit. I particularly liked getting a table with the view of the boxed-in garden. We also stayed for dinner at the restaurant on one occasion, as it was raining a lot, and really enjoyed my huge salad :-)

Right in front of the hotel I found a good barber/hairdresser's shop and popped in for a hair-cut - they too were great! There is also a bus stop right opposite the hotel, which we found very convenient when we went to Niteroi, for the Contemporary Art Museum, it only cost 5.50 Reales each (1 hour and 30 minutes journey), when a taxi would have cost quite a lot more than that. Again, just because of its location we saved some money too.

There is a pool on the top floor, but with the most fantastic and famous beaches in the world on the doorstep I am not ashamed of saying that I don't even know what this swimming pool looks like as we never went to see it!!

Spent eight nights after new-year in Rio and stayed at this hotel. Overall we were underwhelmed by this hotel. We say “underwhelmed” instead of “disappointed” or “unhappy” as we do have some appreciation of the price range and quality of hotels in Rio in general, and understand that January is high season. In any other cities this hotel would be quite sub-par given the price we paid.

When we first checked in we were given a room on the third floor. The room was dark and gloomy (felt a bit like a hospital room). Its only window opened out to the back of the building, a closed dirty and bare courtyard surrounded by nearby buildings. We felt a tad unsafe, and didn’t think we can deal with the poor lighting for a whole week. So we asked for another room, and the reception helpfully moved us to a room on the sixth floor. It was still facing the back of the building, but the lighting was greatly improved. While the furniture and the décor were unimpressive and out-of-date, the room was spacious and clean. Its lacking of a desk and a clock was a little odd. The bed (a king size bed made by pushing two single beds together, with a bump in the middle) was tolerable, but the pillows were pretty flat. We asked housekeeping for extra pillows were given extra. Bathroom was clean but did not have proper racks to hang towels, and the shower room was poorly designed so we always ended up with a mini-flood after showering. Flushing of toilet took a bit of persistence but otherwise okay. The wifi in our room was week and finicky.

Lighting seems to be a major issue in the hotel. The lights in the hallway were turned on by motion sensors, except they were always a few seconds delayed so it was always dark in the hallway. The poor lighting makes the already out-of-date décor look simply depressing.

But the hotel does have its strength. We found the location super convenient (2 min walk form Copacabana beach, 5 minute walk to Ipanema beach, subway station just around the corner, bus runs right in front of the hotel, etc) and we felt safe walking around the hotel even at 2 or 3am in the morning. The breakfast had great selection and is generous (though we would have preferred to be given the option to skip breakfast and receive a lower rate, as we stayed out very late in most evenings and would rather sleep in…). All the staff we interacted with were friendly and helpful, and the front desk staff all spoke pretty good English.

I have paid less in New York or London during the summer for much nicer hotels. But then this is Rio right after New Year, so we were not surprised. If I knew what I know now when I booked, I would have paid a little more (it would have cost about $100R extra per night) to stay at a more up-to-date/nicer hotel closer to the Ipanema beach. However, if this is the price range you are willing to go for, then this is a perfectly reasonable option.

This was an excellent hotel just 400 metres from copacobana, and 800 metres from iponema.
Well located on a principal bus route it's a sort ride from sugar loaf, or from the lagoon.
Excellent breakfasts, with plenty of juices and excellent fresh fruit.
There are plenty of restaurants around and about so no problems in finding somewhere to feed.
The roof top pool was excellent first thing and late afternoon but it can get very hot under a strong sun in the middle of the day.
Rooms were modern clean and air conditioned.
Bathrooms clean with excellent showers.
Staff were friendly and helpful.
No problems with this hotel it's good.
I would recommend it.

The hotel is greatly located you can reach by foot both the Ipanema beach and Copacabana beach. The rest is like a regular hotel, the only thing I would point out is the good and complete breakfast, it always includes fresh fruit and hot dishes and where you can also try a few thing of the traditional Brasilian food like: pao de queijo (cheese bread) and maracuya or açaí juice.