As I booked quite late in the year, this was one of the only hotels in Rio with availability on New Year's eve. Due to the fact that it was not central or near the famous beached, I did not know what to expect. However, my first impression of the hotel was very good (except for the reception staff), and we further discovered nearby Barra beach, which is very nice for swimming and a bonus, being relatively close to this hotel. Just make sure you ask someone how to get there!

The good: the hotel has got a very nice swimming pool & jacuzzi; the rooms are clean and of a decent size, good shower, very good breakfast.

The bad: I experienced the reception staff as unfriendly and not very helpful. English is also a problem. Due to the fact that it is out to the west of Rio, it is not near any of the main attractions, so be prepared to spend some money on taxis. Only one computer was working when we were there - internet usage is cheap, but not free.

All in all a pleasant experience.

The only helpful person in the hotel was Leonardo, the reservations manager. He speaks well english and remember me all the time. The rest at the reception is useless, no idea about eating recommendations or about their job. During Check-In I get charged for 3 nights instead of blocking or reserving the amount.
If you need to print something, they ask for your pen-drive, and they will handle the printing.
My room was a suite and quite big with king size bed, wardrobe, tables, chairs, a couch and an armchair - everything in bright colors. Btw. there is a little kitchen unit, but without any dishes, knifes, forks or what else you will need to eat at your room. Probably they don't have a concept for the kitchen. Only the fridge would be enough, not all the empty cupbords.
Soundisolation is awful. The floor is made of tiles, that means you can hear if someone around you is moving a chair or table. In germany we have felt stickers, which we put at the end of the legs of chairs to avoid damages or noise. These little things would be really helpful also here. But the walkie-talkies of the room maids are boring as well.

The breakfast buffet had many choises, buns and rolls, toast, different kind of cheese, ham, and so on. Fresh fruits, but no mellowly all of them, I had better fruits here in Brazil. Fresh orange juice and other fruit juices. But the breaksfast room is cold like a fridge, probably I get sick in there. The restaurant of the hotel is in the same room, but the quality and taste of this food is far away from good. I never saw anybody eating there, I eat there twice, twice too much.
Better cross the street in front of the hotel, or use the trafficlights, and you will find a big selection in the open mall. From japanese, steaks, pizza, mexican, libanese (arabic) and so on. Prices are suitable for Brazil, you can eat pizza as long as you wish for 20 BRL.

I never walked to the beach, but 10 min are to less and 45 min is to long. I guess I could walk the distance within 25 min. But I used my car, which I had here. The pool is not so bad, but the sun will be there just untill 1pm.

I stayed here in for a week in June while at a conference in the Barra district. I was late in making my reservations, and by the time I booked my hotel, the conference hotel was fully booked, so I stayed here instead. I would not stay here again, but the experience was not completely awful, so I am giving the hotel two stars.

The good: other reviews have mentioned this as well, but the staff is truly great! Many are multilingual, and they are helpful at any time of the day or night. I found them to be responsive, helpful, and cheerful. Other good points: the breakfast is free and tasty, including a great selection of fresh fruits, as well as breads, cereals, eggs, cakes, and Brazilian dishes. Also, wi-fi is free in this hotel, which I found out is unusual in the Barra district. (The conference hotel offered neither free wi-fi nor free breakfast, so I was grateful for these benefits.) I had a suite, and it was very spacious, and came with a large balcony.

The bad: the room smelled like a moldy, musty basement that had been flooded! Other guests noted the odor in their rooms, as well, as it was quite strong. Besides the musty odor, cleanliness was an issue in this room—the floor felt sticky enough that I insisted on wearing shoes inside my room. The bedspread and shams were stained (ewww!) as were the bedsheets. I noticed that, while the maid service made my bed for me every day, they did not change the sheets for the whole week I was there. (I noticed because the stain never moved!) The toilet backed up while I was there. My reservation said that my room would come with a coffeemaker. That is accurate, but somewhat misleading, as my room did, indeed, have a coffeemaker, but no coffee! The hotel website states that it is a 10-minute walk to the beach. That is untrue—it is a 45 minute walk to the beach, and in fact, the staff discouraged me from walking to the beach, given the distance, and instead suggested I call a cab. (It is about a 10-minute cab ride to the beach.) The fitness center is adequate, but not very clean, and the 2 treadmills are fairly old. The water cooler in the fitness center stayed empty the entire time I was there. Also, there are no towels in the fitness center, so you have to bring one of the towels from your room. Noise was an issue in this hotel. The walls are not soundproofed, and the hallway noises echo in the rooms, which is really disturbing at 3am! If you have earplugs, that will not be as big of an issue for you, but you should plan for noise. The bed seemed old, and was not at all comfortable.

All in all, while I would not stay there again, and I would not recommend the place to my friends, I cannot give it only one star, because the staff were truly great, and the wi-fi and breakfast are convenient. However, the hotel needs a great deal of work before it merits anything more than two stars.

This is a very nice hotel located near CItta America and Downtown Shopping in Barra de Tijuca. If you are there for business, this is a great place to stay. If you are there for pleasure you are nowhere near the beach. All around nice place to stay and right on the main drag (Av. des Americas).