kip1124

Hello everyone,

I would like help in deciding which Rio hotel to stay in. Here are some details.

• Staying August of 2018
• Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold
• Traveling solo, not much of a beach person

It's my 1st time in Rio, staying for 6 days and interested in doing tours to see major sites. I will try to relax on a beach maybe 1 or 2 days max. I would like to book hotel stays using points, and I have enough for JW Marriott Copacabana or Hilton Barra da Tijuca. I do not have enough points for Hilton Copacabana.
Do you think it will be workable to stay in Hilton Barra and do sightseeing and enjoy myself? I understand there's traffic going into Ipanema and Copa, but I hear Uber works well, and I'm willing to take subway if necessary. Hilton Barra is a new-ish hotel, and I'm expecting Diamond status will go a long way. JW Marriott seems like it's showing age, although location is much more convenient. Not sure Marriott Gold will get room upgrades, although lounge access will be nice.

Thank you so much in advance!

Esmjb

Workable yes. Desirable??? It seems like maximizing your hotel points is the key factor here and I can’t give any analysis about that. But if it were up to me I would never, ever stay in barra.

KDS777

What Esmjb said.

I've done it unfortunately, and it's just like staying in Miami for me........yuck.

FWIW the Marriott in Copa is less than 10 years old, I actually watched it get built, as I hang out at the bar next door so I don't know what other hotel the OP is talking about. Almost all of the beach front hotels in Copa are excellent. You should try to stay in the Posto 3-4 area where the Marriott is.

kip1124

Thank you so much for your input. Sounds like Marriott is clearly the right choice.

KDS777

You should PM the user called ChocolateFactory as he just spent this NYE in the Marriott.

C010T3

Actually, the Marriott opened in 2001. It was last renovated in 2008.

KDS777

The arrow pointing at the white neon lights is the old signage (since updated) for the restaurant/bar called "La Maison" at the corner of Avenida Altantica and Santa Clara......to the right is the California Othon Hotel (currently under renos) and just to the right of that where the second arrow is, you'll see the gap where the vacant lot is. That's where they put up the Marriott.

You're probably thinking of a different hotel at the rate they change names around there.

RafKa

The Hilton Barra is not even in Barra, and the one in Copa is in a somewhat seedy part of the neighbourhood.

I find the Marriott a bit overpriced for what it is... the Sheraton could be a better option, and it recently dropped to Cat. 4 (10,000 Starpoints = 30,000 MR points per night), although it is a resort property (albeit with lovely pools and views).

If you won't be using a pool, and don't care for the beach, I would suggest saving your points and staying at one of the many options from Accor (Mercure, Novotel) some of which are more spacious service apartment conversions and very reasonably priced.

C010T3

Was that directed at me? That is all very interesting indeed.

Do you see the corner building to the left of the Copacabana Palace on your picture? That is the building that got a glass façade before becoming the Windsor Excelsior, which opened in 1998. Do you see the glass façade? No.

What we can see is the bike lane. That means that the photo cannot have been taken before 1992. It was built in time for the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit.

So, I would put the period in which the photo could have been taken between 1992 and 1994.

I surely cannot precise when construction began, but it had already stopped in 1996, because Encol was already flirting with bankruptcy since 1995.

They managed to conclude the works at the Renaissance in São Paulo, but did not have the cash for Renaissance Rio, which ultimately became Marriott Copacabana after Marriott managed to negotiate with the creditors of Encol, when they took over the Renaissance Hotel Group.

Either way, take a look at the unfinished buiding in February 1997:
http://acervo.oglobo.globo.com/?serv...UISCOALHPXYJEQ

Esmjb

I stayed at the Marriott in 2004 or 2005.

boboqui

You may be able to maximize your miles if you follow the instructions on this post from dansdeals:

"All About Marriott’s Lucrative Miles+Nights Travel Packages; The Best Way To Spend Your Starpoints?"

https://www.dansdeals.com/more/all-a...nd-starpoints/

sobe_dude

Among the hotels discussed here the Marriott has the best location.
I'm also going to be in Rio during the first two weeks of August.
I've been there many times, and I prefer not to stay at the american chains when I go there. They tend to be overpriced and/or have lousy locations. I would not stay at the Hilton Barra if they paid me. It's in the middle of nowhere. The prices for this coming August are pretty reasonable, so I would rather choose a nice hotel with great location and save my points. But if you are concerned about the future of the SPG/Marriott points, and wanna burn them, then stay at the Marriott. Sheraton is a bit more isolated, and that's not what you are looking for.

MeVoy

I am very familiar with Rio, and Copacabana in particular. I would not consider anything in Barra, no matter the price. The Marriott is by far a much better choice than the Sheraton, which is in an isolated and inconvenient location away from everything. I am not sure why RafKa thinks the Hilton Copa is in a seedy location. I was by there just last night, and was surprised at how that entire area (the Lido) has livened up over the last little while. But then I remember it from the days when the Meridien (now Hilton) was closed and a blight on the area. The Marriott was renovated a few years ago, and is in a very central and convenient location in Copacabana; the OP won't go wrong staying there.

boboqui

KDS777

There have been bullets flying around RIo for the 13 years that I have been travelling there over 45 trips. Having said that, I've also been to Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, and Washington DC many a time as well. I felt more scared there, than I ever did at first in Rio. Crime in 2009 was statistically worse than it is now, and from what I remember back then, it seemed the same as it always has been from day one.

I have the favelas of Cantagalo, Pavao Pavaozinho and Tabajares (the entrance to which is 4 blocks from my condo) where I live in Copacabana ....etc......and I'm going back again in 6 weeks time for about a month. Seen the military and extensive PM presence on the streets many a time. Watched a PM blow away a thief on the calcadao in Copacabana at midnight one evening from my seat in La Maison.

I've no concerns whatsoever on my end. Seriously.