schley

May give this hotel a try in mid october. any idea when the lounge will be renovated?

What floors for plats are renovated? all club floor rooms or?

george 3

My daughter in-law and son stayed in the Barra Sheraton some months ago and enjoyed it. I don't mind Americanized in the immediate vicinity or for accomodations, in fact I prefer it. We stayed in the Intercontinental in Sao Paulo mainly for convenience to the metro (my son and daughter in-law live in Itaquera near Itaquera - Corinthinans metro station) which I highly recommend as very Americanized, and very five star. Getting back to point, I've read that Rocinha has been "stabilized" via eviction of the drug lords that ruled that favela. However, if the Rio hotel is not "near anything", I'd rather stay in a more built up area.

Thanks for the commentary!

ajnaro

The area surrounding the Sheraton Rio certainly is 'built up' -- just nothing that would be of any interest to a visitor, such as restaurants, shops, markets, etc.

schley

Rio or Brazil in general isn't home to alot of chain hotels. Rio in particular doesn't have many chains of any kind. They have independent hotels everywhere. Actually I think the best value if renting an apartment which I have done my previous two stays in ipanema. Better value IMO and gets you into a very nice neighborhood with cafes, stores, walking to beach etc.

george 3

I'm in Rio now and staying at the Barra. It's my first time in Rio and we wanted to stay low key. Next time we will stay at the Sofitel or the JW Marriott as I'm accumulating points. Further, the Sheraton Barra will be re-flagged tomorrow 12/31. The staff does not know which brand as of today. Maintenance is so so because I have had to have a de-humidifier in my room. On the club Floor (6th floor). Good service there by staff, but breakfast in the cafe off the lobby is nice too. So with reflagging we won't be here again. Grand Hyatt under construction further south but probably not open until 2015.

As far as the Sheraton Rio, I wouldn't stay there. Looks great from the outside but the beach not so good. Walking distance to Leblon? Try running. Bad road and nearby smaller favela isn't encouraging. We drove in a cab past the Rocinha favela. It may have been "pacified", but it's for residents only. I wouldn't go there and really who has business there. As a tourist the misery of these areas is nothing to see.

NDDomer86

Despite the rising popularity of "Slum Tourism", I don't believe that ajnaro was suggesting that one should make a visit to Rocinha favela (despite it indeed being a very popular tourist destination, a practice which I don't necessarily agree with ), but rather stating that the pacification of it has led to a general increase in safety of the area, and transiting to/from the more popular parts of Cidade de Rio.

Assuming you are here for NYE and Reveillon, I would highly suggest the Sofitel (where I am currently staying) as it has excellent buffets and parties looking out over the Fireworks on Copacabana (saving one from having to deal with the crowds and masses on the beach itself).

george 3

We actually were at a restaurant a block from the Copacabana Palace Hotel which afforded easy access to the fireworks and beach. Kind of a long walk back to the bus, but the arranger had some security for us. We loved it. Restaurant so-so, but it's not what we were there for.

ajnaro

Yes, that is exactly what I meant to say.

Actually any of the many hotels on Copacabana beach would do, depending on your budget. There is also the possibility of reserving a table at one of the sidewalk cafés anywhere along Avenida Atlântica in Copacabana. Or just go out in the streets, with nothing but a small amount of change, a credit card you can easily replace, and a very cheap camera. You have to love crowds and getting close to the local population, though. If you prefer staying aloof, and are prepared to spend quite a bit, the view from one of the front rooms at the Copacabana Palace Hotel would be ideal. There are many cheaper alternatives near-by.

NDDomer86

Indeed, but I was referencing the previous statement regarding staying with a chain hotel (as the Sofitel is much nicer than the JW Marriott).

As for the local population, I love them, but if I want to deal with crowds I'll stay in Sampa City

tmeyer

the snacks for Dinner in the lounge.

The Hotel is still in the middle of renovations. Lobby area and lower floors are affected most. Hammering noise all day long.

Lounge is now open on 26th floor. Great Braekfast at restaurant on 26th floor. Substandard catering for evening service. (just cold sandwiches and cannapees).

Evening service did not happen a single time during my stay (there used to be some chocolate and fresh towels about a month ago)

Not one single day a newspaper was delivered in the morning to my room.

Renovations are done mostly on the surface. The first room I got had massive mold and water leaking in. Was changed to another room swiftly however.

Staff is great, but value for money - that is more a Rio thing, than specific to Sheraton - is not great.

Due to lack of alternatives and a generous upgrade I would still stay here again.

rtlaw

Actually, the Sheraton Rio offers a free "greyhound like" shuttle bus which runs from early in the morning until pretty late in the evening. It will drop you off at certain places in Leblon, Ipanema, Copacabana and even the shopping mall in Botafogo. You can also get off at another place on route and tell the driver you would like to be picked up at the same place (just be careful if you go early in the morning and don't come back until late and there is a different driver).

The Lounge for Starwood elites has excellent service. I stayed in the hotel for about a month and this was one of the reasons I loved the hotel so much. I also stayed in the Sheraton Barra and did not like it. The rooms are shabby and the lounge is tiny and the offerings pitiful (I couldn't get out of there fast enough!). It is also a very long and expensive ride from Barra to Copacabana during the rush hours. The only saving grace in Barra is the beautiful beach but the area is more of a residential area for upper class Brazilians and is not close to anything.

I picked the Sheraton Rio after plugging in all of the variables : (cost, safety, room quality, pool/beach quality, lounge access, proximity) and it came out the winner. I was considering the Copacabana Palace but the whole area surrounding it is "disgusting" and was notoriously dangerous until the government started putting 3 different types of police and military to patrol, many with automatic weapons.

If you want pictures of the Sheraton Rio, check them out at www.toscanoworldtrip.blogspot.com.

Unfortunately, Rio, for a very large cosmopolitan city coming into its own, has a surprisingly poor selection of hotels for the most part, which may hurt them as host to this year's World's Cup and the Olympics in 2 years.

claes059

[QUOTE=rtlaw;22292231]
The Lounge for Starwood elites has excellent service.

Did you make any pictures of the new lounge???

I do know the old lounge very well and I am eager to see the new one on the high floor.

rtlaw

I have not been to the new lounge-it had not opened yet. I also happened to like the old lounge-most for the service- Agnaldo, Raphael and Marcello are among the best lounge employees (in terms of personality and willingness to help in any way possible) that I have ever encountered in any lounge and I have stayed at many of the world's best hotels- IF ONLY THE SHERATON RIO WERE AS GOOD AS THEM!

Rock Harders

Checked in and out of here four times in a span of 2 1/2 weeks recently while I was in the Rio de Janeiro area. During the longest (5 night stay) I used C+P and was upgraded to room 1906 which was a very nice renovated suite with a kitchenette, two TV's, and pull-out sofa bed. During the three other 1-night stays I was also upgraded to various smaller suites (sans kitchenette) and rooms. The club lounge on 26th floor is very nice; nespresso machine, wine and beer, fruit selection and good appetizers including delicious ceviche. Breakfast is also served on the 26th floor but in a different venue than the club lounge; fruit spread, nespresso machine, good smoked salmon, made to order eggs. The pool area is relaxing and a great area to relax and catch some rays, and the wifi (overall wifi is slow and cuts off from time to time) works poolside. The ocean in front of the hotel is heavily polluted. Overall excellent platinum treatment and a good deal (for Rio de Janeiro) using C+P at 6k/ $95 per night.

mnscout

Stayed at this hotel for three days in June on points. I'm a Gold.

Here is the short version.

1. The exterior is plain and ugly, the interiors are fine.
2. Requested and was granted early check in.
3. Was put in a renovated oceanfront room on a lower floor. The room was tiny, but very nicely appointed with a balcony.
4. The hotel is squeezed between the favela and the ocean. The securtity around the hotel was massive; no safety concerns whatsoever. The views from and around the hotel are nothing, I repeat, nothing short of astonishing!
5. The beach is NOT a swimming beach, but that is true for all Rio beaches. I didn't notice any pollution, but the waves will kill you if you are not careful. I personally like the waves, but they can be downright scary.
6. The traffic is a .....! Can take 1-1.5 hour to get to Copacabana. Taxi or bus doesn't matter in that 2-lane nightmare.
7. Free shuttles ride every second hour and they are fine, but they failed to pick us up for the ride back two days in a row despite the reservations. I complained and got free access to the lounge for the remainder of our stay, speaking of which...
7. The lounge is fantastic, the breakfast was great, and the views are to die (or kill) for! If you are not platinum, do what you have to do to get the access, it's that good! Unfortunately, we were watching games in town, so couldn't sample the happy hours.

The long story with plenty of pics is here: Photo Review: Sheraton Rio Hotel and Resort