Best Western Sol Ipanema Hotel

, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Best Western Sol Ipanema Hotel

, Rio de Janeiro
4 star

Rooms: 90

320 Avenida Vieira Souto - Rio de Janeiro - 22420 000 - Brazil Hotel Website | 21 2 5252020
218 Traveller

Reviews - Best Western Sol Ipanema Hotel

2/10
Not what it is cracked up to be!
Submitted by: Travlnlite in 12/12/06
  • Age Group: 41 - 50
  • From: United States
  • Traveller type: Weekend Breaker
This hotel touts itself as a 4 star hotel - but I beg to differ. I stayed here in November 2006 -and would have moved after the first night if another hotel had been available. I would not recommend this hotel unless you really HAVE to be across the street from the beach. Although the room was ok - there are so many better hotels in the lovely Ipanema area –

Here is a list of a few from a string of inconveniences:
1) The restaurant is too small to accommodate everyone who (literally) dives in for their free breakfast. You may not get a seat on your first try – and they also stop serving breakfast one hour earlier than the Ipanema Plaza (10:00am instead of 11:00am) which is kind of tacky.
2) Although the staff is nice (they are Brazilian – and this is their nature) - but this hotel clearly does not focus on customer service nor training or paying for staffing as some of the higher end hotels. One afternoon it took 5 attempts to reach someone at the front desk - including their taking the lobby phone off the hook and hanging up on the caller 3 times!
- keep in mind this hotel claims to be 4 stars
3) Be sure to leave an extra 10 minutes to get to and from your room via the elevator. There are two elevators but one only operates for guests (the other is a service elevator). No matter how you cut it you are likely to get stuck waiting for a MILK RUN as the elevator must go to the top floor and hit every stop along the way before coming to you. I consistently had to wait at least 5 minutes for the elevator to arrive and then wait through the multiple stops to get up or down... very frustrating if you are working with a schedule of any kind!
Other small details that added to the overall negative experience of this hotel:
* The mini bar was not replenished in 5 days;
* The soap and shampoo are the lowest possible quality;
* The air conditioner is a unit (with labels only in Portuguese - good luck) instead of central air;
* They CHARGE a daily fee for the lock on the in-room 'safe' (I thought this one was just unbelievable);
* There are no bathtubs in this hotel at all (also unbelievable)
* There is no fitness area
* The hotel overall can really use a good refurbishing - from scratches on the walls and in the elevator to revamping tired upholstery

Overall, I was thoroughly unimpressed, especially since I stayed at the Ipanema Plaza just 2 months prior and it was wonderful.

So the location is the big selling point but not really enough to outweigh the rest –

Go to the Ipanema Plaza instead - the staff and hotel are simply outstanding.
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Top Local Tips for Rio de Janeiro

Best Western Sol Ipanema Chose this hotel if you want to spend a little more than budget type hotel because the location is superb.

Beautiful City of Rio Corcavado (Christ Statue) , Sugarloaf, Bendictine Monastary and general tour of city are a must to appreciate beautiful Rio. Porcao restaurant is superb...we went for lunch and they are also available for dinner...huge buffet including plenty of seafood selections plus bountiful meats (beef - various cuts, sausages, ribs, lamb, ostrich, etc) that are served at your table---meal cost was $33 USD and worth every penny. Also visited "The Girl from Inpanema" restaurant/bar...food was good, fairly priced...street bands made the visit more enjoyable. Attended a cultural show of dancing and song (name escapes me) that we booked at the Sol Impanema front desk...cost $75 USD...avoid the dinner and just book the show...show was excellent and who highly recommend to expeience a portion of Carnival. Also traveled to Petroplis located 1 hr from Rio...tour was OK (poor guide) but visiting the museum and learning about the original Portugese rulers was interesting..not interested in history...avoid.

Metro and buses in Rio We relied completely on the Metro and buses for our daytime transportation in Rio. They were safe, clean, and efficient. Although the underground portion of the Metro does not yet extend to Ipanema, you can take the air-conditioned Metro buses (with very limited stops) from Ipanema and Gavea to the Siqueira Campos station in Copacabana for the same price as a metro ticket alone. Using the buses is easy--get on in the front and pay the attendant at the turnstile--they will make change for you. Just use common sense and watch your bags when getting off.

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Other names for Best Western Sol Ipanema Hotel

  • sol ipanema
  • rio de janeiro best western
  • best western rio de janeiro
  • Address: 320 Avenida Vieira Souto - Rio de Janeiro - 22420 000 - Brazil
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