Yeah, around $500.00 U.S. dollars a day. It is elegant but not worth the money. There is a "sister" hotel (Fasano) in Sao Paulo. It is also about the same price and more.

And that price is for one of the smaller "inner courtyard" rooms (325 sq feet and no view), without breakfast (breakfast inclusive is close to $600 USD). Room with ocean views are 325 to 430 sq feet and are around $880 USD. These are very high prices, especially for Brazil, and I agree with the above, not worth it. The hotel is quite a scene, though the restaurant is excellent. The Sao Paulo property is much better.

While we love Rio, and have traveled there a number of times, unfortunately of all the world's major tourist cities it seems that Rio has one of the worst price/quality/choice ratios for good hotel rooms. And, add to that a relatively small number of luxe rooms and a huge demand (domestic and international) and there isn't much choice. Plus, the beachfront, where you want to be, has been all developed long ago, thus there is little available space to build anything new and hotels are slow to renovate, likely because they are not forced to do so due to little competitive pressure.

Looking at the Rio hotel scene now, the only two really "deluxe" or "luxury" hotels there are the Copacabana Palace and now the Fasano. Both have some issues. The Copa is in Copacabana and the Fasano gets very mixed reviews for service while there rooms and food are very expensive for what you get. Stepping down one level many of the four star hotels are simply old and haven't been refurbished in many years. It is frustrating whenever we look for accomodations in the city. Apparently, what you must do is simply accept you will over pay for what you get, focus on the city, the beach, the people and the food and have a great time.

There are three chain hotels worth considering:

The Sofitel is located at the end of Copacabana beach and has an excellent restaurant, good rooms and good faciltiies.

The JW Marriott is in mid-Copacabana and is small, but otherwise typical JWM. Don't eat there except for breakfast.

The Intercontinental is in Sao Conrado, on the beach, and slightly tattered but convenient to everything there, including a shopping center with several good restaurants. Still, you'll travel from there to get anywhere.

Rio is one of the most expensive cities in the Americas, and hotel rates reflect that. No hotel is "good value" but you can get decent deals.

There are some very nice and slightly less expensive boutique hotels located mostly in Santa Teresa in the mountains above the central part of the city.

Otherwise the hotels are mostly mediocre or blatant ripoffs like the Fasano.

And I don't think it's going to get any better in the future with the World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016!

I've stayed at the Caesar Park in Ipanema for the last 10 years ... it is not a luxury property, despite what they may try to claim, but it is ideally situated and I know the hotel and its generally excellent staff inside and out. They have tried to refurbish the property several times, but it's always been a half-hearted effort (whether it be the lobby/bar areas or the "club" rooms) ... I'm not sure how serious the Mexican group Posadas is about this property, though I guess they have no reason to do things much differently as the hotel's occupancy rate is usually quite high (lots of business travelers, lots of tourists, lots of weekend visitors).

I've always thought someone should by the Sol Ipanema and do something really extravagant with the property - but they have a major problem with small common areas, parking, etc.

Are you familiar with Casa Beleza? I'll be staying there in July.

Not forgetting the ex-Meridien, taken over by that Spanish Group whose name escapes me - I don't know if it ever actually opened under their brand, but bickering with the pension fund owners has left it abandoned and forlorn in one of the best positions in Rio for what must be 2 years now.

Surely, the World Cup and Olympics cannot pass by without this hotel being refurbished and reopened

Iberostar was the chain I couldn't recall

Casa Beleza is one of the Santa teresa B&B's (pousada, here). It is very pretty and the owners manage it well; it's also very good value for the money. Good choice!

the ex-Meridien (in Leme, next to Copacabana, but not on the beach) was to become an Iberostar but that deal fell through. It is now vacant but there are rumors it will be refurbished and reopen under some brand or another within another year or so. It was a nice property; I hope it returns.

Anyone have any thoughts on the Windsor properties in town?

We stayed at the Marriott in Copacabana last month and like it a lot. I booked on Otel.com for less than $200 US per day, including tax, fees, and breakfast. Location is great.

Does anyone else know more details about this?

I've stayed at the Windsor Plaza and felt it was nice. The rooms don't match up to the quality/furnishings in the lobby but they were decent size and in good shape. They did not compare to the rooms at the Sherator Barra but that's in a diff price range.

I used to stay at Excelsior or Plaza when I was in Rio, before I moved here. They are nice hotels, staff was always helpful and price was ok.

The former Le Meridien was bought by Windsor in May 2009, after some two years of failed negotiations between Iberostar and a Brazilian pension fund. Unfortunately, I could not find any recent news about its renovation.

QUOTE=carvalh2;13325583]Rent an Apt. You can get a apt in Arpoador (thats right between Ipanema and Copacabana) for very cheap. A 3 bedroom penthouse with jacuzzy is around 500 bucks a night.

I used http://www.gringomanagement.com/ You can put a deposit with a CC which is better than using paypal (more secure), and they have some awesome apts.[/QUOTE]

Thanks so much for the suggestion!
Tried to contact Gringo Management and no reply. Also, tried 2 other apartment rental agencies that had good reviews and they all have a 5 night min. We are only going to be there 3 nights, so no go on that front. Looks like we are back to the drawing board.

Thanks so much!
We just booked the Amazon Village. It is very rustic which is actually what we were looking for but is a little close to Manaus for my liking. We got a great deal by working directly with the lodge vs a tour company.

As far as Rio, would love some help. Hitting a ton of dead ends. The "nicer" hotels don't allow triples and we would love to avoid getting 3 rooms. We are just not planning on spending enough time in them. Would love to be in nice beach area with lots of bars/restaurants/shops. Will check out some of the hotels mentioned in this thread. But if there are any additional suggestions, I assure you they will be well received.