I fully agree with Makanmata that it is not reasonable to judge a place based on long gone events.

The extent that people judge places by their recent past and not their present causes constant problems, not only for Rio, but for places like Riga, Moscow, Cracow and Gdansk which are wonderful safe places with excellent services today but thirty years ago were not at all pleasant. Imagine if I were to offer judgements about Dubai or Tehran today based on having lived in those places thirty years ago or more.

Many people judge Rio similarly, but use often experiences of more recent times to damn the entire places. In those areas that have MPP's operating even the favelas are fairly safe. Rocinha (close by the Intercontinental) has not yet had an MPP installed but there will been one fairly soon. Vidigal (near the Sheraton Leblon) also has not yet had an MPP but is planned for one soon. A month or so ago there was an invasion in the Intercontinental itself, but all indications are taht this was a last attempt to indimidate and that it is highly unlikely that such a thing will happen again.

Around major hotels in Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon (the Sheraton Leblon is not in Leblon but is near it) there have been no problems recently.

I personally have never had an attack in Rio (but have in New York and Saigon both many years ago) nor have any of my family members in the last decade.