Belmond Copacabana Palace

You cannot easily describe the service as service here - this feels more like a family, where every family member is asking you proactively what the can do for you or telling you proudly some hotel story or simply accompanying you in the lift so that you don't feel alone.

Nice old world style hotel. Service was very good, the pool was really nice. Restaurant was OK, very good breakfast, after that it was OK. Rooms were very nice, spacious, clean and comfortable. Location is right on Copacabana beach, that's a plus and minus. Rio is a place where your head has to be on a swivel. so nice to look at but the beach was not on our menu. Nice place to see Rio for a couple of days.

Best hotel in Rio. Service was impeccable. Food is great and Mee restaurant was best dinner we had on our two week visit in Brazil. We purpose picked this hotel for our last night which was a mistake. We should have spent three nights.

We were doing the Belmond Grand Tour Brazil, ie combining both Hotel das Cataratas in Iguazu and Copacabana Palace in Rio. We started in Iguazu and the flew to Rio. This was prime location for Rio and Copacabana Beach. The building is beautiful with much history. Our room wasn’t bad (but didn't compare favourably with Hotel das Cataratas), on the side of the hotel with a Juliet balcony overlooking the pool area and building renovations. There was little to no noise from the renovations. We had booked transport from the airport and an activity before arrival. We ended up having to pay for the transport directly to the driver rather than it being added to our hotel bill. This felt odd but apparently saved us tax. We had booked the Rio Highlights Tour, and the concierge had sent us a secure link for our credit card details so they could purchase tickets on our behalf. On arrival it was apparent that they had not booked the tickets. Also there had been a price increase for the cost of the guide in the short time since we supposedly had booked. Again, we were told that we should pay the guide directly and have the conversation about price with the guide. Not great! Also the concierge advised that VIP tickets were not necessary for Christ the Redeemer. This turned out to be a mistake as we queued for a long time. Our guide was ok, but not particularly talkative, seemed to enjoy talking more with the driver (in Portuguese). Breakfast was decent, but if you arrive at 6:30am they are not ready for menu orders. The room does not come equipped with a kettle nor tea cups. This turned into a slightly comical saga, where everyday we would request them and then we would return to our room and find that they had been removed..... so we just kept on requesting them! In hindsight we should have started our Belmond Grand Tour Brazil in Rio and then flown to Iguazu. In all honesty, the service and attention to detail was superior at Hotel das Cataratas, and we couldn't help but compare the two hotels and how we were treated. At Copacabana Palace we felt more like a number than a valued guest. Overall, this is a great location and the hotel itself is iconic. We would recommend the free hotel tour, not least to discover more of the hotel's history. There is a fantastic restaurant around the corner, Churrascaria Palace, where we had a wonderful experience. Despite all the safety warnings, we found that it was fine walking along Copacabana Beach and then onto Ipanema, just be sensible, don't wear jewellery or wave your mobile phone about!

We loved it, it is pricey for the area but the hotel and staff are amazing and you actually get what you pay for in this case. (in a positive way)