Minibar, in-room safe, desk, soundproofing
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Reviews of Gamboa Rio Hotel

3 out of 5
Gamboa Rio Hotel
Rua Alexandre Mackenzie, 122, Centro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Reviews

7.0

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 64 out of 336 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 123 out of 336 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 88 out of 336 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 35 out of 336 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 26 out of 336 reviews" "

7.6/10

Cleanliness

7.8/10

Staff & service

7.6/10

Amenities

7.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

6.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

Iraerson Pusceddu Aguiar

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very nice hotel
The hotel itself is fairly good. The location doesn't look nice at all. I do feel sorry for them. It is not a dangerous area, but it looks really bad
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2024
Response from Gamboa Rio Hotel team on Jan 18, 2024
Thank you for your review, Iraerson Pusceddu Aguiar. We are constantly striving to improve our services and facilities. Thank you for choosing Gamboa Rio as your accommodation.

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveler

Business traveler
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
I did not stay in the hotel. I did not checked in. The neighborhood is dangerous, scary, dirty. The hotel itself looks dirty, cheap and unsafe. Old building. I never ever could imagine that a place so bad would be available on Orbitz.com. Stay away. Nonrefundable. I lost the money I paid for 3 nights and I had to pay for another hotel. Last minute reservation, very expensive. But my safety was my priority.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice hotel, but bad area of town
The hotel was nice, great staff. The breakfast was good. Spotty wifi, but that seemed common all over. However, if you're going out a night, be careful. We were mugged at knife point just down the block. The area is questionable.

4/10 Poor

hb, b

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Terrible and not safe neighborhood
Excellent staff but terrible neighborhood. Is not worth the price paid because after 19:30 is not safe the walk around the neighborhood according to the front desk, better get an Uber. Do not get taxis in Rio because they will rip you off. The place looks like an old "motel" in the "Brazilian style" .

4/10 Poor

Jon C, SLC

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hotel is very dated

8/10 Good

Foodhoover, Banchory

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
A friendly place in a lively neighbourhood
So the taxi driver says "Are you sure this is the place?", as most Cariocas would not choose Gamboa as a base. Yes the surroundings are interesting, and the walk to and from Centro de Brasil can seem daunting, but it is no worse than many parts of many British or European cities and definitely better than several US cities I have visited. The staff are unfailingly helpful, the rooms clean but basic, the air con set at 17°C was a bit ott, and the breakfast buffet excellent, room service was basic but fine, again suiting the price point. This hotels' usp is its location, 10 mins walk to the museum of modern art and the spectacular museum of tomorrow, a 7 min walk to Presidente Vargas metro, the same to Centro de Brasil for the supervia, good local supermarket and fruit shop, as well as the usual chaos of street vendors, yes the area is a bit run down, and try to avoid rooms ending in 16 to 19 as they will be noisier as the busses back up in the peak times. Noise is relative, the lively nature of the area means there is always sound, be it music or traffic. I look forward to going back. PS this area is safer than most of the tourist areas, my bag snatch was in Lapa, in Gamboa, tourists are too rare to attract the rio ratboys!

6/10 Okay

Carroll, Rosedale MD

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Not convenient hotel to beaches and other events
it was ok. Too far from the events that I was interested in.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveler

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
WiFi is terrible No English Speaking Staff Rooms are very old Environment is extremely noisy and not a very safe.

6/10 Okay

stephan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Affordable
Hotel is clean and basic, no surprises. HOWEVER, not a good area at all!. Word to the wise, if you're a single traveler, don't speak the language and don't know your way around, this is not the place for you. Inside the hotel is safe, has a restaurant for food etc. but DO NOT go out in that neighborhood at night. Call a taxi to pick you up at the front door and make them drop you off there! If you don't speak the language you're going to have problems.

4/10 Poor

Nigel, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Room comfort
Not bad for price, safe, quiet not much to do
It was good reception nice but rooms quite old and air conditioning very loud and makes it hard to sleep at night. Wasn't that strong either and has old 1950s feel with hot tub next to bed. Nice quiet hotel not much around but museums but not as busy as copacobana. Quite safe too and can walk to harbour 15 mins. Ok but down is loud aircon

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great staff.
Great staff. Rough neighborhood

10/10 Excellent

doru

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

narelle, mooloolaba Australia.

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good Hotel in good position
Hotel was clean, wonderful hot water. Great location close to Metro, buses, places of interest. Very friendly helpful staff. Great breakfast included.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The location is good, the room is clean, the staff is very nice, but they don't speak English.

8/10 Good

Amanda, Salford, Manchester - UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good hotel in centro...
Nice hotel in Rio, Centro. Shops nearby and buses going to Copacabana, etc. Food in restaurant was decent, but I didn't understand the breakfast (maybe a Brazilian thing). Rooms are very clean and tidy. Staff very helpful, and a problem I had with wifi was solved very quickly. Nobody speaks English, which didn't bother me too much as I can speak Spanish and they were happy to communicate with me in Spanish. Overall I was very happy I chose this hotel and I would stay here again. The only downside to the hotel was the exchange rate, which was @ 3.40R to £1. Normally its around 4.70R to £1. DO NOT EXCHANGE MONEY AT HOTEL.

6/10 Okay

Abdu

Disliked: Staff & service
Okay hotel, scary neighborhood
I only stayed here for one night. Arrived in the evening and left early morning. While the hotel itself is okay from a value for money point of view, the neighbourhood is very scary and seems a bit daunting. Also, a friend of mine wanted to come over and they did not allow him in, as they said I've booked a single and that they would charge for a double if someone even visits me for an hour or so ... that's the most nonsensical thing I've heard in all my travelling.

6/10 Okay

Francois, French Citizen

Lost two days paid with no refund
Revervation was for 4 nights. Flight was delayed 2 days. Expedia called three times and was not able to have the four days that were paid in advance extended even though hotel showed ailabiity. So two days were lost with no refund leaving 70 yr old blind traveler to find another hotel. Very inhospitable.

8/10 Good

Martin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

4/10 Poor

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

Eddie , So

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great value for money
Everything was great except the seedy streets in the vicinity.

6/10 Okay

christopher, Los angeles

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Not sure what to think...
Neighborhood is a little intimidating after dark. Is this a former "hourly" hotel?

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Room comfort
Terrible neighborhood
Scary neighborhood, the staff doesn't speak english. Which was fine by me. I'm fluent in Portuguese but I was tired of translating for them. The bed was terrible, had holes in it. The room was great other then the bed. Had a sauna, great shower. It is pretty close to a metro so that wasn't too bad either.

6/10 Okay

Bernadette, Auckland, New Zealand

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
The real Rio in Brazil
Worked well for the World Cup, when the town was booked out. Helpful staff,fresh fruit for breakfast, eggs cooked as you liked,interesting folk staying at Gamboa. Great walking distance to Lapa, St.Teresa,and Bota Foga when feeling fit and in daylight. However, sadly we had to really think about moving around at night! Mugged on the first night walking home from Lapa. We found taking a taxi essential after dark. Quite noisy, little insulation, people showering above our room and early start cleaning staff engaging in conversation were not toned down or reduced by room quality!!!! Real life. Again the Thursday,Friday, Saturday & Sunday night neighborhood parties in the street outside the hotel were all go, however the noise was part of the experience. Don't expect quiet nights. Real life. EXCELLENT Carioca Gamboa Club nearby - inside architecture made it a great choice and Hotel manager walked us there. Don't walk home alone. EXCELLENT restaurant experience across the road from Gamboa. Got to know your favourite 'tipple' and had it ready on arrival. EXCELLENT location to get to know the real people of Rio and their way of life away from the 'shopfront' of Copacabana and Ipanema.

4/10 Poor

Roger, Huntington Beach

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Ok, But Need To Modernize
Stayed here July 2014, so no one speaks or even wants to speak in foreign languages to assist their multi-cultural clientele. The hotel lacks creature comforts and it's wifi and technology is 1990s at best. Very had working cleaners and cooks, just the front end staff that should improve. It is as in a very dodgy or dicey part of Downtown, but close to Metro at Presidente Vargas.

10/10 Excellent

Michael K, San Diego

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hotel Centrally Located in Good Area
My stay at gamboa rio hotel was great. The hotel was very centrally located and the staff upgraded me to a room with a sauna and jacuzi at a very good rate from hotels.com. I was in Brazil for the world cup and spent 5 nights in Rio and my stay at the hotel was a 10 minute metro ride to the center of the city copacabana/ipanema beach areas. The staff is great and i would reccommend this hotel its very affordable.

6/10 Okay

Dick, LA

Liked: Cleanliness
Decent Hotel In Ghetto
The staff's reluctance to converse in anything but Portuguese is a constant cause for frustration with Spanish and English speaking customers. Goodness knows what that stuff they put out for breakfast is also.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Nice Hotel in a not so nice neighborhood
The hotel staff is nice and friendly. The rooms are clean but the neighborhood is dirty and far from any attraction. It is in the market area.

8/10 Good

RM, USA

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Great rooms
Nice hot tub & sauna in the rooms!

4/10 Poor

Giles, San Francisco, CA

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Basic place in gritty part of downtown Rio
used to be Hotel Amazonias, and some rooms have amazon themed giant bathtubs and saunas, but it's very old and tired, with broken knobs and switches. It's 10 minutes off Vargas on a dark side street that's not really good for walking at night. Taxi drivers know it as Amazonas. We stayed because it was the only place we could find, and it was basic, okay, nothing to recommend it other than it was available.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Room comfort
Odd room but ok for the price
We booked this room at the last minute and landed the honeymoon suite somehow. Suite had hot tub and sauna as well as a huge bathroom. The suite was dated though. Price was around 135 usd...

8/10 Good

Cat, Atlanta, Georgia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Far out but cool
My friends and I stayed during World Cup. The hotel is in a sketchy part of downtown but the hotel is completely safe with a 24 hour security guard. I saw families, older and younger couples from everywhere here. Not totally convenient to the Copacanaba and Ipanema area...but only a quick taxi, bus or metro train away. The staff went over and beyond to accommodate any request we had. There are a few that even speak English which helps a lot!

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

6/10 Okay

Shienny, Sydney

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Location is not so great
Close to (5-10 mins walk) a Metro station. The hotel is quite old, and they might just re-painted the walls. The room we stayed in, has ensuite Spa and Sauna, but we didnt use them. Location is not so great, we didnt feel safe to go out at night. The reception staff doesnt speak much English

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great sized rooms
Large and clean rooms. Friendly staff.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great for a couple of days
Went to the maracana using the metro great place. Staff is friendly and very helpful everyone comes to help you and guide you in the right direction very nice inside gear food and people

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

6/10 Okay

KC, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Basic
This hotel is good just if you need a place to sleep. It's not in a good location, the surrounding streets are pretty run down. Air conditioning and room facilities are fine. The women on the front desk were pretty rude and not very accommodating. There is abosolutely no flexibility with bookings. Breakfast is pretty basic- just fruit, meat and different breads. I wouldn't come back here unless I just needed a break from hostels for a night

6/10 Okay

Brian, Washington DC

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
You get what you pay for
Entry level hotel located in a urban, working class neighborhood. The staff was friendly but only a couple of them could speak English which can pose problems for anyone needing to or wanting to speak English. Some days no one was available who could speak English. The neighborhood was not very pleasant because of aesthetics and too much garbage on the streets but you can walk in relative safety to President Vargas Blvd (one of the main streets). Wi-fi worked well in the room. This was a very inexpensive hotel by Rio standards so if you are looking to save money and use it as a base of operations it may be worth your while.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Mattress had a sort of plastic covering, which made it very sweaty. Hotel staff were very friendly and helpful at all times, booking taxis, assisting with flight check-ins, and generally providing information.

8/10 Good

Stephen, Fort Wayne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
great deal for Rio stay
This is a really good deal for a stay in Rio. I stayed 2 nights and can't think of anything bad to say. Staff was friendly and helpful. Room was fine. Breakfast OK. This particular part of town isn't where I'd hang out, but it's only a couple of blocks to the subway. They have Wi-Fi in the room. A PC for guests to use in the lobby. 24hs reception. They were renovating the lobby area. Should look quite nice by the time you're reading this.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
adequate hotel in bad neighborhood
Room was fine, staff friendly. Lobby unfinished. Surrounding neighborhood less than optimal to say the least.

4/10 Poor

kayacy, Denmark

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Noisy renovation and lack of cleaning.
The hotel is located in a shady area of Rio, but close to the main streets of the city. Staff doesn't speak English. The breakfast buffet is too small and there is no staff to clean up and refill when needed. They're renovating the building, so it's noisy (from early morning), dusty and unpleasant. The walls are thin and you can hear everything (people's TV, phone conversations and their morning alarms) We stayed 3 nights (2 full days) and every evening we returned to a room that had not been cleaned. The first time we got the staff to clean the room which they did, but the day after once again they seem to have forgotten to clean the room. The main problem is that they ask you to leave the towels in the sink, if you want new ones, which makes the towels wet, but in the end they don't come and replace these towels, which is why we needed to ask the reception to come and clean. The security box didn't work either, they promised to get it fixed soon as possible, but when we checked out 2 days later, they still haven't looked at it. The air-condition is noisy, not just the one in the room, but the other rooms as well.

10/10 Excellent

Danielle

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from Equipe Gamboa Rio Hotel on Jan 13, 2024
Prezado Srta Danielle. Ficamos gratos que gostaram de nossas acomodações, assim como o resto do hotel. Somos gratos pelas suas observações, pois nos permitem melhorar dia a dia para lhe oferecer um melhor serviço. Estamos a sua disposição em sua próxima visita ao Rio de Janeiro.Atenciosamente,

2/10 Terrible

Hellen

Traveled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from Equipe Gamboa Rio Hotel on Jan 13, 2024
Prezado Srta. Hellen. Agradecemos pelas suas observações, pois nos permitem melhorar dia a dia para lhe oferecer um melhor serviço. Estamos a sua disposição em sua próxima visita ao Rio de Janeiro.Atenciosamente,

2/10 Terrible

MILENA

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
REGIAO PRECARIZADA
O HOTEL ESTA EM UMA REGIÃO MUITO VULNERABILIZADA E ABANDONADA, ASSIM O HOTEL FICA COMO SE FOSSE UMA ILHA, EM UM LUGAR MUITO HOSTIL.O HOTEL, ATENDE O BASICO .NAO RECOMENDO PARA QUEM QUER CONFORTO E TRANQUILIDADE
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from Equipe Gamboa Rio Hotel on Jan 31, 2024
Obrigado por compartilhar sua opinião, Milena. Nosso hotel fica na região do Centro do Rio, a poucos metros da maioria de monumentos do Rio de Janeiro. Agradecemos seus comentários

6/10 Okay

Luaana

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from Equipe Gamboa Rio Hotel on Jan 13, 2024
Prezada Srta. Luanna. Ficamos gratos que gostaram de nossas acomodações, assim como o resto do hotel. Agradecemos suas observações pois ajudam a melhorar nosso serviço. Aguardamos sua próxima visita ao hotel.Atenciosamente,

8/10 Good

Maria

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from Equipe Gamboa Rio Hotel on Jan 13, 2024
Prezada Srta. Maria. Ficamos gratos que gostaram de nossas acomodações, assim como o resto do hotel. Agradecemos suas observações pois ajudam a melhorar nosso serviço. Aguardamos sua próxima visita ao hotel.Atenciosamente,

2/10 Terrible

Ingrid

Traveled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Local péssimo e sem segurança
Pior hotel que já fui ao Rio de Janeiro, falta de segurança ao entra não perguntam se está hospedado, os corredores fedendo a mofo inclusive o quarto, não tem cobertas nem guarda roupa, cama dura e lençol sujo, inclusive aparenta ser um quarto de motel, televisão não pegava e não teve serviço de quarto não recomendo esse hotel péssima qualidade pelo valor pago
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023
Response from Equipe Arosa Rio Hotel. on Nov 28, 2023
Olá Ingrid, obrigada por compartilhar sua experiência no Gamboa Rio. Lamentamos pelos inconvenientes que você enfrentou durante sua estadia. Vamos verificar a limpeza e a manutenção dos quartos. Agradecemos seus comentários.

8/10 Good

HURB

Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2023
Response from Equipe Gamboa Rio Hotel on Jan 13, 2024
Prezado. Ficamos gratos que gostaram de nossas acomodações, assim como o resto do hotel. Agradecemos suas observações pois ajudam a melhorar nosso serviço. Aguardamos sua próxima visita ao hotel.Atenciosamente,

8/10 Good

GILSON

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
A
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023
Response from Equipe Gamboa Rio Hotel on Sep 6, 2023
Gracias por tu reseña, Gilson. Nos alegra saber que tu experiencia en el Hotel Gamboa Rio fue amable. Esperamos que hayas disfrutado de tu estadía. ¡Esperamos verte pronto de nuevo!