rio de janiero hotels
 

I have heard that RIO is dirty and crime filled. I will be there March2 & 3 in 2011. What luxury hotels would you recommend In Ipanema as I understand that it is the preferred area?

unfortunate
 

It is unfortunate that this is the impression that you have of this fantastic city. I recommend doing some homework in advance and not trust what you "hear"

As the original post does not contain any hotel deals, let's continue this discussion in the South America forum.

--jpdx, Hotel Deals Moderator

Your premise confuses me. You've heard the city is plagued with crime and filth, and want suggestins for hotels? Why? You need to overnight there before or after a cruise?

Not sure of your definition of "luxury." Or your budget. You'll find lots of hotels, but not spacious resorts. I personally like Ipanema a bit more than Copacbana, since it's usually a bit quieter (if you're a male in your 20s, I might switch that). There are lots of nice hotels in Ipanema. Check Tripadvisor.comand other sites. I'd probably recommend places right on the beach road. I like the Praia Ipanema, but there are also others. I think the Sheraton is a bit isolated form the rest of Ipanema but if you're just going there for a place to sleep, it'd be fine.

I don't know your definition of luxury but the nicest hotels are probably:

Copacabana Palace- the grande dame of Rio hotels and has a superb Italian restaurant Cipriani, a great pool and a delightful location. Surprise, it's in Copacabana.

JW Marriott- further in Copacabana, small, and quite nice for a Marriott. The Executive Lounge has great views and there's a wonderful rooftop pool.

Sofitel- at the end of Copacabana across from Copacabana Fort. It has a great French restaurant, Le Pre Catalan.

Fasano- a couple minutes walk from the Sofitel but just barely in Ipanema. It also has an eponymous restaurant. It is the most expensive and newest of the lot.

Just now those are the primary hotels considered to be luxurious in Rio between Copacabana and Ipanema. There are many, many more and also a number of wonderful boutique hotels, several of which are in Santa Teresa, a very colorful neighborhood that has a tram which is a tourist attraction of it's own. Santa teresa is quite far from the other areas but is very popular with people who know Rio quite well.

Rio is going through major efforts to clean up the crime, with good success, car thefts have dropped over 63% in the last week, for example. During March, if present trends continue you'll have much less crime than you've heard about.

Unless you are a celebrity and/or are lucky, you will get a small and musty smelling room if you stay at this hotel. The hotel is quite old. Not all of the hotel has been remodeled. The daily rates are outrageous for what you get. On the other hand, Madonna stayed there and was given a suite in the remodeled section of the hotel.

I have stayed at this hotel. I agree, it is quite nice. It is just across the street from the beach. The restaurant serves excellent food.

I have never been to this hotel and cannot comment on it.

When this hotel opened a few years ago, it was possible to get a decent room for about $400.00 U.S. dollars each day. However, since Rio has so few luxury hotels, the daily rates for this hotel have increased to around $1,000 - $1,100 for a basic room. In my opinion, it is a rip off for what you get.

However, crime is still rampant. There are shoot outs between the favela drug vendors and the Rio police. This is almost a daily occurrence.

If you are careful where you walk during the day, you will probably be fine. Walking in Rio at night is not a good idea if you are alone. Even when you are with friends, it can be dangerous.

I have been lucky in not getting mugged during my many trips to Rio. Then, I am cautious about where I go.

Good luck and enjoy Rio.
-

The "daily" shootouts are almost entirely in the favelas (slums), which are in many locations throughout the city. No guarantees, but if you are sticking to the popular tourist areas, such as Copacabana, Ipanema and Urca (Pao de Açucar), your biggest crime problem is likely to be a pickpocket. When I'm there I don't carry more money than I can afford to lose, and am careful about carrying (or at least showing) my digital camera (similar prcautions are wise in many places). The police try to keep the tourists safe. Don't be paranoid, just cautious. Enjoy your trip.

Rio is neither dirty nor filled with rampant crime. Rio is one of the world's most civilized and cosmopolitan cities.

In actual fact, Rio is far cleaner than almost any city in the United States or Europe, and is amongst the most well maintained cities anywhere. Rio is kept scrupulously clean -- as clean as any city of 10 million people can be --by a very efficient sanitation department, which does an excellent job keeping the streets and beaches pristine. Although it hovers around 100 Degrees F all summer, one rarely encounters unpleasant smells, the sort of which are commonplace in large North American or European cities. Cariocas -- and Brazilians generally -- are fastidious about hygiene, and given your misconceptions, you will no doubt be pleasantly surprised at how clean Rio is.

The crime issue is a legitimate concern, but Rio is not at all filled with rampant crime. Although the illegal drug trade has created a lot of violent crime in the favelas -- which are now being brought back into police control -- the south of Rio where most tourists will spend their time has a crime rate that is more or less comparable to many large North American cities. One should use the same level of vigilance as would have been appropriate in pre-Guiliani era New York -- don't flash cash or valuables, don't walk in dark unpopulated areas at night, etc. -- and you will be fine.

Cariocas are also known for an eternal sense of optimism. I would choose to live nowhere else. Still, Makanmata may be one of the more optimistic ones among us who choose to live in Rio.

Oi JB. Yes, there might be a bit of truth to this. I was born a cynical New Yorker, but Rio has now enchanted my outlook and weltanschauung. Of course, like most places, it has its problems, but I think that these are vastly overstated in relation to the magnificance of this place. I am a New Yorker by birth, but a Carioca by choice -- I assume like you -- and there is no place I would rather be. The bonus is that Rio gets better and better with every passing day. Valeu!

Rio lodging
 

This is really just anecdotal evidence which I believe gives an incorrect impression of the safety situation in Rio. I know many people who moved out of Manhattan several years ago because of crime, but that does nothing to prove that Manhattan is unsafe today, and your brother moving 6 years ago does no more to prove that Rio is generally unsafe today. Moreover, while you have had two bad experiences in Rio, neither my family or myself has experienced any crime there -- but I was robbed at gunpoint in New York, and robbed at knifepoint once each in New York and Amsterdam (none of this happened recently) -- but none of this would shed light on the situation today. I have lived in many places around the world, and while I would not consider Rio the safest of these places, neither is it the least safe. Oddly, the cities in which I felt most and least safe are the exact same place -- New York City. Like New York changed (and I fear might be changing back again), so now is Rio changing, and the situation gets better everyday. While people living in the favelas still controlled by bandits face constant safety issues, people living and traveling in Zona Sul have a situation which is not much different in many other cities that are considered "safe." I would consider the safety situation in Rio to be not as good as New York, but no worse than Los Angeles, Paris or Miami, and certainly better than Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans, etc. Rio is not Singapore or Tokyo, and you should indeed be conscious of your surroundings, not flash cash or valuables, and most importantly not go to favelas controlled by the bandits.

Rio is surely one of the world's most spectacular cities -- some would say the most spectacular (and for me Hong Kong is the only other possible contender) -- and it would be an absolute pity for a traveller to miss it because of overblown security fears.

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.

Hey x1achilles,
Tell me a little more about Ipanema Tower. Do they have a restaurant of their own? Is breakfast included? How close are restaurants? Close enough/safe enough to walk to? My trip is 13 months away (pre-cruise), but I start planning early. Any info will be appreciated.

LOCATION is King in Rio.

And Central Atlantica Avenue, with a large balcony is king of them all! :)

Took these photos a few weeks back from Rio in a wonderful Junior Suite right in the centre Of Ave Atlantica, looking over Copacabana Beach.

Hotel was the Olinda Othon Classic - be mindful of the exact name - Othon is a large chain, with a ton of hotels in Rio - all with the word Othon in them.

To the left, they are setting up on the beach the world's largest NYE gathering (1 or 2 million people) and doing a fireworks test run, and next to it is an impromptu beach soccer match as can be seen.

This very room was $US5,000 for a minimum 3 night booking for NYE. Opposite the stage you see being built, at the Palace it is $US5,000 a night for ocean view suites. And sold out.

I somehow made friends with the Manager before we got here, as we had a messed up booking in July, so he did this very nice top floor Junior Suite for about the same cost a Holiday Inn type room would run. :)

email me if you need his name and contact to set up a deal. Not so sure you can book these Junior Suites on line, as they only have 2.

Remember just booking a hotel along Atlantica for a "bargain" price means ZIPPO, if you get allocated a side facing room or one facing the central courtyard, which of course most rooms do.

Only a few rooms have balconies, as near all Atlantica Hotels are very narrow.

BALCONY is king, and high level balcony as you can see is the ultimate .. remember Atlantica is not Miami Beach or Cancun ... most buildings are not more than 10 stories.

Nice breakfasts, and breakfast area and bar looks right onto Atlantica and beach. The in-room internet worked fine for us.

Staff all spoke great English during our 4 day stay .. even in Brazil tourist spots never assume that is the case, even in Hotels.

The luxury airport bus from GIG stops literally at the front door - cost was about $US4 per person - 6 reales as I recall. Ditto for the trip back to airport. Cab was about 10 -15 times that.

But you MUST pay cash in Reales for bus - odd for It'l arrrivals. Rio (and GRU) airports should both be dynamited of course but will not be, so the **ONLY** ATM at arrivals is a floor or 2 up, next to a Pharmacy. That no-one seems to know is there.

Central Atlantica is as safe as you'll ever be in Rio as a tourist. A ton of eating and drinking places within a minute or two walk.

I've stayed in Rio many times and always on Central Atlantica ... a few streets back I would not walk at night EVER. I do not like Ipanema or Leblon.

I live in Sydney which also has superb beaches, and have a waterfront harbour home. So to fly literally 15,000 miles to Rio, I am not going to "save" 25 bucks a night, and get stuck in a dingy inner Courtyard view room!

Americans need to get through their head that near EVERY hotel on Atlantica is 50 to 75 years old. Come expecting a Waldorf Astoria, or a gleaming new Hyatt Regency, and you'll luck out.

They are near all narrow frontage, and there are NOT Olympic Pools (or generally any pools!) half acre Gymnasiums, obese 'American size' Buffet breakfasts, Beauty Spa Salons, Michelin rated restaurants, or Golf courses as part of the deal as you'd find in Maui. You have the world's best beach across the road, so go swim and pump weights over there. :D

It is very much a property where if you contact the management up front, and pay a little more than the basic room if they have availability, you'll be absolutely delighted you did.

To sit on the balcony sipping a champagne watching the EVER changing Copacabana beachscape is endlessly fascinating. Early morning is vastly different to noon, and the evening changes totally again.


Glen
.