Just came from here with mixed experiences. My expectations were low and the hotel met them fine. The front desk service was excellent upon check-in, with a dedicated line for World of Hyatt members and they let me check in a bit early (while the rest of the counter was totally devoid of staff as hapless non-Hyatt guests were lined up at 2:00pm). The VIP Lounge was not open as far as I could tell.

The renovated room in the Ipanema Tower was decent. Everything was in working order. However, they didn't provide housekeeping. It was only a two-night stay, so I didn't mind, but it seemed odd and the front desk did not mention that it was on request only. There was, naturally, a tip envelope on the table that said to call extension XXXX if I needed anything from housekeeping. There was no laundry form in the room, so I tried to call this extension but got a message saying there was no such number. When I pressed the housekeeping button on the phone several times, it just rang and rang. The front desk later told me that the hotel does not have laundry service.

The breakfast benefit is pretty generous (meal and gratuity complimentary), but Hash House A Go Go is poor. Very overrated as the food was nothing special. I had a hash skillet one day and breakfast sandwich the next, which were minimally flavorful and lukewarm at best, with the home fries not crispy at all. Though they seem to have improved the offering from some other reports here: they said I could order any item on the menu, just no add-ons. Plus they brought coffee. However, the service was really surly. There is a separate entry line for Globalists, which seems to get inferior treatment. The first day, I was the only one in line but they said there'd be a 15-minute wait. It wasn't quite that long, though I waited for a further 10 minutes for the server to arrive after I was seated. The second day, they said we only have the counter (bar) available. Both of these days were on weekdays early in the morning and the place was pretty empty. It seems like they're going out of the way to downgrade the experience, which is a horrible look. Note to management: I am not an entitled DYKWIA; on the contrary, the only reason the Rio was on my radar at all was because of its association with Hyatt, so you should attribute all of the room, F&B, and gaming revenue you got from me to that.

The public areas at the hotel are dire. Many areas were closed, gaming tables and machines shut down, and I am not sure what they're doing with the whole floor on the Masquerade side starting with the escalators (which were mostly inoperable) from the parking. It's a football-field-sized space with a dark, abandoned, eerie feeling and no apparent work in progress. I guess they're planning a comprehensive renovation, but they arguably shouldn't be operating at all in the meantime. Still, for the price (room rate of around $70 with resort fee waived and 3,000 bonus points -- for some reason the Venetian and Palazzo were $1,000 on the nights), I have no major complaint.