Originally Posted by FlyingRabbit
Hotel Intercontinental, although a nice hotel, is far from the beaches as well. There is a beach right in front of it (São Conrado) but it is polluted and you better not swim there. There is a mall nearby where you can go eat, but unless you want to go to this same mall every night you will need to get taxis for other places, and traffic jams are quite common in that neighbourhood (i.e., you might be taking 30 to 45 minutes to get to Ipanema or Copacabana depending on which time you leave).
If you want nice hotels near beaches and restaurants you might consider Ceasar Park in Ipanema or Marriot or Sofitel in Copacabana. Plenty of good restaurants within walking distance or a short taxi ride, and you will be across the street from the beach.
FR
I agree w/ FR on this. See here for some other recommendations:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...38#post3389438
You're also coming during the samba school rehearsals. These are events where the groups that give the samba parades during carnaval practice that year's samba. The two most popular are Mangueira (Friday nights) and Salgueiro (Saturday nights). These run from about 11PM to 4AM, and both are about a US$10 taxi ride from most hotels. Your hotel concierge can give you details.