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Hotels in Rio

jamesm

By jamesm,
in Oceania Cruises

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StanandJim

StanandJim

Posted
Posted
We are planning to stay over a few days in Rio after the TA crossing on Insignia in Nov/Dec. Any recommendations?

 

We love the Caesar Park Ipanema, because you're in the heart of everything you want to be near in Rio (Ipanema beach, Sugar Loaf, Downtown), yet with the 24 hour Valet, you'll feel free to come and go. caesarparkrio.jpg Although Ipanema is a public beach, Caesar Park staff will appear there to get you settled in a prime lounge chair, adjust your umbrella, fetch towels and cocktails, should you desire them, or even schedule your afternoon massage

 

You can rent both a car and a cellphone onsite, and although we did not love the hotel restaurants, the room service, in fact, all the service is impeccable.

 

Although you'll be there in fairly high season, spring for a suite if you can swing it.....they are straight out of an MGM movie.

 

 

Oh, and don't miss the Rooftop pool, it is surreal. Particularly nice for a secluded after dinner drink.

 

251186_POOL_01_J.jpg

 

Hope this helped-

Have a great cruise!

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DD

DD

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Posted

We stayed at the Sofitel in Dec 2008. It was ok. The rooms were rather spartan and in need of an update. I have read that some of the rooms have been updated, but we certainly didn't get one of those! The location was great, the lobby is pretty, the breakfast is good, and the staff was friendly. Would I stay there again? Probably not -- I just wasn't impressed by it primarily because of our room.

 

When we were planning our trip, our guide recommended a guest house. I'm normally not a B&B-type person, so I wasn't open to his suggestion ahead of time, but if I went back, I'd definitely choose this guest house over the Sofitel. The owner, Marta, was wonderful and her house is beautiful. You can look at her place at rioguesthouse.com Because she was friends with our guide (Rafael Torres Lopes), she invited us, as his guests, to a party at her friend's home.

 

This is one of those "why didn't I trust the guide" things for me. We're really picky about where we stay, and we normally don't like guest houses or bed & breakfasts, or anything other that upscale hotels. The Sofitel, in no way shape or form, was upscale based on our experience. Marta's guesthouse was MUCH nicer and newer looking, in my opinion. I really wish we had stayed there. Not only was it nicer, it would have been so cool to stay in an actual home with these amazing windows that overlook the beach. Plus, it would have been a significantly better value than the hotel.

 

We also toured the Copacabana Palace. While the location is wonderful, the lobby will not impress you. We were like, "That's it??" Truthfully, the property is showing her age. I'd choose the Copacabana Palace over the Sofitel, but it's also considerably higher in price.

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tak2

tak2

Posted
Posted
We stayed at the Sofitel in Dec 2008. It was ok. The rooms were rather spartan and in need of an update. I have read that some of the rooms have been updated, but we certainly didn't get one of those! .

 

I must have gotten one of those renovated rooms! Yes, it did look new. It was just a standard room, but I was totally impressed. It had at least 2 110 volt North American plugs plus 5 220 volt plugs. 7 lights in bedroom, and another 7 in the bathroom. Nice big shower with both raindrop shower head and another hand held shower head. ( no bath tub ) After Oceania's bathroom, this was a significant improvement , even though I was already in a renovated( bathroom) PH cabin. My cruise was Insignia Lisbon to Rio, Nov 2008.

Design of the Sofitel standard room was very smart and functional. I hope in a few months' time, all the rooms will be of equal quality. I gave my room a 5 star.

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Aussie Gal

Aussie Gal

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We stayed at the Sofitel back in January, 2006 and both times we had great rooms. The first time we didn't have a view but looked over the back street but the second time we had a large front corner with a view over the beach.

 

We loved having breakfast each morning overlooking Copacabana Beach and the breakfast was wonderful.

 

If we ever returned to Rio we would stay there again as it was in a great posiiton with excellent staff.

 

Jennie

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paulista1950

paulista1950

Posted
Posted

looking for:

 

http://www.accorhotels.com.br/guiahoteis/mercure/hotel_main.asp?cd_hotel=65

 

http://www.accorhotels.com.br/guiahoteis/MERCURE/hotel_main.asp?cd_hotel=232

 

Those are two Mercures the 4 star brand of Accor chain, and their location are both very good. The first one in Leblon and the second in Arpoador, right between Ipanema and Copacabana

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  • 5 weeks later...
photorere

photorere

Posted
Posted

We just spent two nights in Rio (off the Insignia) at the Hotel Praia Ipanemia for $185 a night plus tax...it included breakfast. All the rooms have balconies and a beach view. Although it was not as fancy as Caesar Park (4 blocks away), it was clean and we enjoyed our stay. We had friends who stayed at Caesar Park so we walked back and forth to them...they said our hotel was in a quieter location and the beach less crowded. The main shopping street was 2 blocks away. They have chairs and umbrellas on the beach for free and we were off the ship and at the hotel by 10 am and were permitted to check into our rooms. They stored our luggage the afternoon of our late flight and we had their airport shuttle service pick us up. It cost $6 american each. We also had friends who stayed at the Sofitel. Copacabana was crowded, a lot of noise, and dirty looking people walking around. We only took taxi's at night and even then we walked from Caesar Park back to our hotel at 10 pm, and only passed a few people. We also took the local bus during the day if we were meeting friends in Copacabana. Cheap and easy. Hope my take is helpful.

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  • 2 weeks later...
gtragitt

gtragitt

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I really like the Ceasar Park in Ipanema, but I generally stay at the Sheraton. The Sheraton is a better overall value.

 

Be sure to eat at Satyricon in Ipanema. For lunch try Kilograma or

Fellini's.

 

Ipanema is safer than Copacabana.

 

Try the Acai juice at Polis Sucos with guarana.

 

Porcao is the best Churrascaria in Ipanema.

 

Capriciosa has the best wood fired pizza in Ipanema, but it is not open for lunch.

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debsjc Great Review Rare

debsjc

Posted
Posted

We stayed at the Ceasar Park in Ipanema just 3 weeks ago, and really liked it.

 

They have got some light construction work going on at the moment, but our room was located on the other side of the hotel, and we didn't hear any noise.

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demo

demo

Posted
Posted

Hello,

 

we just returned from our Insignia Cruise (Rio - Valparaiso) and we stayed 3 nights in Rio Othon Palace (not classic!!) direct at teh Copa. The junior suites have a wunderfull balkony direct to the Copa. we would recommen it.

 

Regards

Dennis

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