Help Please!! Cannot decide between The Copacabana Palace, Marriot, Le Meridien or Sofitel Rio Palace. Cannot get much information on the Marriot. I am leaning towards the Copacabana. Any help would be appreciated.

What differentials the Marriott Hotel will be offering to beat the competition? <BR><BR> Hotel clients want a place where they feel comfortable. A cozy place, that's what we want to offer. In addition, there is our business center for the business travelers. Our business center is not typical. It's more like a college library. When you are in college, usually you can study in your room or dormitory or you can go to the library and have access to other resources. Our business center will offer workstations, Internet access, printers, a convenience store where our clients will be able to buy stationery, business cards, etc. In addition to that, we'll also have a currency exchange facility, a car rental booth, a printing shop office and an airline office all located at the business center. <BR>

After 6 years of living and working in tourism in Rio, I came to appreciate the Caesar Park Hotel as my first choice. Location is everything in Rio - and the Caesar Park sits on Ipanema Beach and just 2 blocks from Rua Visconde de Piraja, Ipanema's best shopping street. There are also great restaurants and all the other areas of Rio are easily accessed by way of the Lagoa on one side, the tunnel going over to Sao Conrado and Barra on the other and of course Copacabana on the other side. Perfect location.<BR>Have fun! jill

Out of all those hotels I have only stayed at the Rio Palace and that was in the early 80's. I have been in all the hotels for one reason or another through the years and recently. The mariott is brand new, its beautiful and has a little pool on the roof as the others do except for the Copacabana Palace which has more of a full size pool. The Copacabana Palace is a magnificant hotel with old world european charm. Most people on this board I am sure will recommend it. But all those hotels are fine hotels and you couldn't go wrong with any one of them. Of course they are all in Copacabana in different locations which could be a deciding factor. The Rio Palce and the Meridian on opposite ends and the Copacabana Palace and Marriott more or less in the middle. You can walk to Ipanenma from the Sofitel Rio Palace, its very close. It would be a much longer walk from the Meridian but I have done it if you like to walk. They say the beach in front of the Copacabana Palce is a gay hangout. In front of the Meridian there may be girls on the programma on the beach. Good Luck on your choice.

My alltime favorite hotel and the nicest in Latin America is the Copacabana Palace. With the devaluated Brazilian currency, if you can afford it, you should stay there. It has such tradition, sitting by the gorgeous eternity pool you can see every famous person in Brazil and from around the world walk by! I love the pool suites in the annex building which have terraces overlooking the ocean and lots of space. In fact it is hard to get motivated to leave the hotel and the pool area when you can just hang around there and drink caipirinhas. Generally that is what we do with guests from abroad and only tour the city at sunset and in the evening. If this doesn't fit your budget, the Le Meridien is nice with a nice staff, a small outdoor pool area with a view but with windows that don't open in the rooms and that is shame. That hotel and the Marriott and the Caeser Park all seem like anywhere on earth on the inside. Very Americanized and Hilton-like. The Copacabana Palace is historic and different. Really try to go there!!!! We took 11 friends from the US the day after our wedding (I am married to a Brazilian) and spent the weekend there at the hotel and everyone agreed it was the most fun weekend ever.

Copacabana Palace, no doubt. It's a legend!

Thank you all so much. All of your input as been very helpful in making a decision. The winner is The Copacabana Palace! Their rates are in US dollars, so no great deal because of currency devaluation, however I was able to get a special package that I feel is a savings. Many thanks again!

This is a laugh but I just booked my hotel in Rio for November. The Hotel Debret has a package promotion for 7 days for their front room suite with the best million dollar view for $46 a night double with breakfast. Not as nice as the Copacabana Palace I assure you but I am there. And I may even have dinner at Cipriani's in the Copacabana Palace because now I can afford it. Oh and that price includes taxes and I got it right off their website.

Nice you got such a cheap package but the Debret, like you said, has nothing to do with the Copacabana Palace. It's not even ocean front.

Chris, the Debret is most certainly ocean front, I stay there twice a year, you obviously were thinking of another hotel

You're absolutely right, sorry for the mistake Carioca. I was mistaken. In fact, I took a look at the hotel website and it has very good rates. I'm considering staying there on my next stay . Is it good?<BR>Thanks and sorry again.

Chris, I think and alot of regulars think that the Debret represents a tremendous value in Rio. For the promotional package rates with the exchange rates as they are at $46 a day double for that front million dollar view suite, it can't be beat. The staff is great and friendly, they have been there for years. The breakfast is great as long as you can get up by 10 am. The location can't be beat, right on Ave. Atlantica 2 blocks from the Othon Palace hotel and other important landmarks. My only complaint is that they don't have central air just the air conditioners in the window types because Im a light sleeper. Other than that as you know it's not the Copacabana Palace but at a fraction of the price it enjoys the same premium location.

Rio Through the Stomach <BR><BR>Brazilian food stands alone, quite a bit different from that served in the country's former motherland, Portugal, and tending more toward French. (In fact, chic Brazilians look eagerly to France for cultural and fashion leadership, not to comparatively dowdy Portugal, nor even to the trendy USA.) You can enjoy a huge buffet (all you can eat, lunch or dinner) for about $11 per person at the almost-chic Excelsior Hotel, next door on the beach to the ultra-hyped Copacabana Palace, the hotel that is also a national institution. (Everybody who was anybody stayed here, usually a long time ago.) But the cheapest lunch comes at a botequim (such as the Bracarense, mentioned earlier), a kind of deli with tables and chairs. A sample meal here might consist of a pork and pineapple sandwich, costing about $1.75, and a glass of beer. <BR><BR>

Some cousins of mine who didn't listen stayed at the Debret while we stayed at the Copacabana Palace. Boy were they miserable. What a fleabag with horrid beds and nasty people. I recently stayed at the Meridien and would recommend it highly, half the price of the Copa Palace but with a small pool with a view of the ocean, very nice staff and typical rooms but with views forever. The Marriott is new and totally Americanized. Sofitel Rio Palace is okay, on the opposite end of the beach from the Copacabana Palace and the Meridien. Nice views from their pool too.

HI - May I please recommend the Excelsior Hotel ON Copacabana beach? It is very chic, with a pool on the rooftop (can't beat the view man!), and the most delicious buffet breakfast. The staff is extremely competent and helpful. We actually stayed there twice, and because we were loyal, they gave us the best room in the place for only $90 (I'm talking sauna, whirlpool, two large rooms, corner view). WOW!!! OH, and don't eat at Cipriani's at Copacabana Palace, extremely expensive prices for mediocre food... Best food (very reasonable prices) at a gorgeous place: Barra Brasa. Can't wait to go back!!

Hey Stop before it's too late person, thanks for the tip on the Debret hotel. It's funny I have been staying there for years and haven't noticed your assessment. The people who work there in my opinion are the nicest friendliest helpful people I ever met. The hotel is not new but renovated and for $46 a day for a suite I guess after what you say I will have to consider the Copacabana palace at $300 a day. Good to see that seasoned travelers like you are jumping in here and offering such vital information

Maybe the Debret staff just hate homosexuals, aka my gay cousins. Since Rio is a big destination for gays, I think it is worth mentioning. I not only live in Brazil but have travelled the world non-stop for the last ten years. My husband and I have hosted more than 50 couples from the US and Europe in Brazil and all have loved our agendas and plans we made for them with the exception of the rotten Debret. I doubt most people on this forum would be naive enough to think that for $46 a night they are going to get anything but a fleabag, but since many are first time travellers to Brazil we have a vested interest in being sure that they like it enough to want to come back often and recommend it to their friends. If you are actually a carioca then you should be the first one steering people clear of that place. Shame on you.

Does anyone know anything about the Sheraton Towers in Rio? We are looking to book there and looking for some feedback on it?<BR>Thanks

It is right next to a big favela (slum) and I think you can do better. Stick to Ipanema or Copacabana.

Is the Sheraton a far walk from the local sites?