Hotel Bandeirantes

Very good for the price, great breakfast and people are nice but not always reliable

Hotel Bandeirantes is a great place if you intend to be out and about most of the time. If you sleep late, request rooms facing the back, since even on the last floor the front is noisy - the hotel faces one of the busiest avenues in Copacabana. You can always go to the pool on the top for the view. Also the water pressure in the shower is weak on top floors so you may want to stay below the 9th. The rooms are functional - no carpets which is great, TV and phone work but the internet and phone service are a bit expensive (they need money somehow !). I left a more complicate instruction at the front desk and it did not flow to the late night person but they were good in being sorry. I would recommend this hotel for the location, price and cleanliness.

Do not wear jewelry or display large cameras - it’s a big city with its share of crime. Public transportation is great - you can see Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and Downtown just catching the bus in front of the hotel or on the next main avenue. There is a Craft Fair every Sunday on a square in the beginning of Ipanema. You can take a walk there since they close both lanes of the beach front for traffic on Sundays.

nothing special, but okay

Good location. No special amenities. Wish they had internet service.

Only good thing about this place was the breakfast....

The hotel front desk was disorganised, always rude and no-one could speak English which is very disconcerning for the English traveller. They were not helpful at all and when we got mugged, and we asked them for help, they told us to go to the police. They only called the police for us when we begged them to help us. Initially they gave us room P6 which has the hoisiest air conditioner, and fridge. We couldn’t sleep with all that noise. When they moved us to another room, the aircon was only slightly less noisy and we were told that that was the norm. When we were waiting for our emergency money to arrive (took 48 hours) we asked the hotel if we could take a loan out on our room and pay them when the cash arrived, they point blank refused, so we went hungry for 3 days. As the title says, the only redeeming thing about the hotel was the breakfasts. There was enough variety. For us, breakfast was a time to fill up because they wouldn’t help us out with money so we had to make extra breadrolls for lunch and dinner. All in all, even though this place was cheaper than other places, I am not sure I would stay here again. I would rather pay a little more. even the hostel down the road was friendlier, more helpful, and had more atmosphere!

Traveler's tip

STAY SAFE IN RIO - don’t take big bags out. Only carry enough $$$ for the day. Don’t take bankcards unless you have to and them hide them in your pocket. Use an under shirt bag to hide tha tyou have a bag. Back up your photos everyday.Always watch for people loittering about