Hi - I have a reservation at the Fairmont Copacabana but just found out that there will be construction work going on during our stay so am planning to cancel. I am considering the Miramar, Portobay or Hilton Copacabana instead. I also like the look of The Janeiro (though that is a lot more expensive). Does anyone have any thoughts on these hotels or have any other recommendations? We are 2 adults and 2 teens. Thanks.

I stayed at The Janeiro in December with MrsCrumbs and we enjoyed our stay there. The beach area they had set up across the street was easy to access and the hotel's employees working there were very friendly. Upon checking out, we asked the hotel to hang onto our stuff for a few hours as we enjoyed the beach before heading to the airport and of course, they did this. Where they went above and beyond was offering us access to a pair of large single user bathrooms on a floor that was shared with some other facilities so that we could change and freshen up after being at the beach.

The hotel room we had was pretty nice and certainly adequate for our needs. We liked the location, especially being a block away from the Antero de Quental / Leblon MetroRio station. Leblon was nice and we never had any hairy moments walking to or from the hotel, even late at night. There were lots of restaurants on Ataulfo de Paiva, especially when you headed west and got closer to the intersection with Rua Dias Ferreira.


Queen Bed, The Room


Bathroom


View from our Room

Not sure about the Hilton Copacabana but there is a thread about the hotel over at Hilton Honors forum.

I'm a transplanted Canadian who has lived in Copacabana for years. Since I own an apartment here I have no first hand experience based on staying in these properties, so, I can only comment on the locations.

The Janeiro is located in Leblon, which is the wealthiest area of Rio IMHO, and holds the most expensive real estate per m2 in the city. Everything there on any street is 2-3X the price of where I live.....food, drinks, shopping, etc. A beachfront penthouse there just sold for 44 million last week.

The Miramar in Copa is on a road that leads directly to the entrance of the Pavao-Pavaozinho favela. This means it is sitting on the direct pathway for the residents of this community to the beach. I dress like a carioca, look like one now, and talk like one, so, I don't really stick out as tourist, ergo, I'd be OK with it. Something to consider, as you may not feel that way.

Portobay and The Hilton are in the far end in an area of Copa called Leme. I'd stay in the Hilton as it is the more central of the 2, if Copa is where you end up.

Most people and restaurants/bars tend to congregate between Posto 3 and 6 in Copa........and in Leblon and Ipanema they area little more spread out. If you stay in Leme be prepared to walk a bit. From Portobay to the Fairmont is 4 km for example. UBER and taxi's are plentiful as well.

DO NOT USE CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS with individuals selling drinks/food/gifts on the beach from carts, or on the sidewalk......CASH ONLY !!!! It is OK to use plastic at restaurants, bars however, on or off the beach, as well as stores.

Enjoy your trip !!!

Thank you this is really helpful. Janeiro looks great! I am less convinced by the Hilton as it doesn't seem to be in a safe area.

It wasn't on your list but allow me to put in a plug for the Emiliano. It's gorgeous, has excellent food, and an amazing view from the rooftop, but what puts them over the top is the service. To keep it brief, I had an urgent medical issue that required immediate attention while I was staying there. I don't speak Portuguese, so one of the concierges took me to a hospital in a taxi and stayed with me the entire time to translate for me. Meanwhile, my daughter, 8 at the time, was tended to by the staff, making sure that she got breakfast and anything else she needed while I was out dealing with the unfortunate issue. Here she is enjoying the rooftop pool. Just make sure to book a view room as most of the interior rooms have a view only of the next building.

This looks great! Thank you.

Just for visual perspective, the red arrow indicates the HIlton Hotel. Portobay is further off to the right of it down the beach.

Thank you. From what I am reading online, the location closer to Ipanema is a better/safer area than the area where Hilton and Portobay are located.

IMHO anywhere from Posto 3 towards Ipanema is where the majority of the tourism activity is. From the Marriot hotel towards the Fairmont. There are police everywhere as a result, and frankly, as Copacabana is a middle class barrio, the street crime (petty theft, etc) tends to manifest itself where the money is. In other words, the quieter and wealthier residential areas of Ipanema and Leblon. Having said that, I've travelled to 50 countries and lived in 4 long term, and I can testify that you have petty theft and crime in many other large cities around the world. For example, in 2025 it was reported to the police in London UK that something like 115,000 cellular phones had been stolen from people in the street. Well, here in Rio that figure was 57,000 last year..............there have been 5 people murdered over drug deals within a 5 block radius of my downtown condo in Calgary, Canada, where I moved from, yet no one has been killed within 5 blocks of my condo in Copacabana in decades.

If it was like you read online I'd have been robbed or killed by now many times over. There are some 15MM people in greater Rio de Janeiro when you count all the suburban outlying locations, so, when you read things online they tend to be very over exaggerated, and do not take into account the actual size of city itself, which covers an area of 1,200 square kilometers.......and it is situated in Rio de Janeiro state to add to the confusion. Quite often the two are indistinguishable in media reporting. Practice situational awareness and do the usual things you'd do anywhere else in the world and you'll be fine. Almost 9MM tourists came here in 2025.