The hotel is near Ipanema Beach in a secluded, quiet location. It is also adjacent to Rocinha, and a member of the staff took us on a tour, but we never felt unsafe (another reviewer said that s/he worried about this). A car and driver are available for excursions for the same price (or better) than a taxi, and the owners John and Elaine are very kind and helpful - Elaine helped us find tickets to the Sambadromo for the same day (during Carnaval) when everyone told us that was impossible! Lavish breakfast served on the terrace.

At the end of January I stayed 12 days at gavea tropical. I don't have words enough to describe this hidden pearl. they only have 6 very luxuoius rooms so it is very personal and they take care of whatever question you have. organised siteseeingtrips, restaurants, barbeque at the hotel, interesting places to go... a customer is realy" king "( in my case "queen " there :-) they also have an outdoor jacuzzi, sauna and you can have wonderfull massages as well. they also have bicycles so if you want to be a little active and explore the neighboorhoud by bike that 's also possible. it's a little hidden from the busy centre but by taxi, which they also arrange, you reach beach, centre in about 15 minutes so you can enjoy the best of both worlds. breakfast was also very personal and nice as well as lunch and dinner. All the rooms also have a kitchen so you also have the freedom to fix something yourself and there is a barbeque also available. I can go on and on about my stay there but just look at the pictures and convince yourself. I had a fantastic stay in the room I dreamed off , fantastic weather , fantastic food, extremely nice people, great shopping, lovely beach, spa, relax...what more could a girl dream of....defenitly A 10 !!!! And I defenitly will come again...hopefully soon

Felt more like a boutique bed & breakfast experience. The hotel owners and staff provided extremely friendly and personal service everyday. We liked being off the beach. It was a quick 10 minute cab ride to the beach so we were also able to experience being in a community outside of the tourist area. And with the staff recommendations we felt like we got a more native experience than a touristy one. There were security stands that we drove by on the way but they made us feel more secure and we never felt unsafe at any point. The owners arranged our new years plans and it was an absolutely unforgetable experience. We slept with the balcony doors open everynight and woke up with an incredible view. Breakfast was always waiting whether we got up at 9am or 2pm. Our experience at Gavea Tropical made our trip. We highly recommend it and will be back. Obrigado!

we had a wunderfull stay at at gavea tropicall very beautifull rooms,looking at christ the redeemer from out off my bed,just amazing,nice colonial breakfast,i really recomend this boutique hotel to everyone,the best way to stay in rio,we certainly will go back