Novotel Rio de Janeiro Leme

We booked this hotel in Nov at an inflated price of $1500 USD for 4 nights assuming there'd be rooftop access on NYE since the hotel website didn't call out a ticketed event for that night. When we arrived, the staff told us it was in fact a ticketed event for an additional $300 USD. Perhaps our oversight but we scowered the website before booking at such a high price and it wasn't there. The manager was very helpful in accommodating a cancellation if needed, ultimately we were too tired to pack and unpack again and waste another day in transit so we stayed and bought the tickets. Check in is 2pm. We arrived at 1pm and they said they had a room for us. It wasn't ready so we went to the pool where again, service was wonderful. Front desk gave us a tour of 2 rooms to choose from which was great, but then msgd me and said they'd have a diff room ready at 2:30. We went down at 3pm and the room changed yet again and the new room still wasn't ready. We got a room with no apologies at 4pm. The room was standard. Strong cleaning smell but decent. The shower hose didn't stay in place. The shower drain did not work at all - we had to kick the water to the corner each time for it to drain or pools of water stayed until the next day. The sink also didn't drain. The toilet stopped flushing. We had a plate with one chocolate on it from NYE which by the next day was covered in ants. We are very tidy girls and give some grace for older hotels to have some flaws, but the experience for the price we paid made us appreciate the airbnbs we'd stayed at before checking in here. Location is great, gym and pool are great, but not worth the $ for NYE or Carnival.

Hotel was situated in Leme area very near the Leme Fort. For some reason, the hotel does not have a sheltered porch for alighting, but this seems to be a common thing across many hotels in the area. It is a quieter area compared to copacabana, which is honestly just nearby. Doesn’t feel unsafe at night and the receptionist is generally helpful. However room turn over service is quite inconsistent. Some days only the bed is made and there doesn’t seem to be any new towels added, but overall it’s a pleasant experience.

Hotel impecable. Ubicación muy buena a una sola calle de la Playa de Leme. Desayuno espectacular y servicio de restaurante todo el día. La habitación estaba genial. Mi único pero lo lentos que funcionan los ascensores