Has anyone stayed in the following Rio hotels: Pestana Rio Atlantico or Luxor Regente? Are they in a good location? Is the Copacabana Palace just SOOO much better and worth the price differential?

Has anyone stayed in the following BA hotels: Sheraton or Park Central Kempinski? Are they in a good location? Is the Alvear Palace just SOOO much better and worth the price differential?

PLEASE... need help in deciding. First time in both locations and really want to make sure I get the FULL experience. Thanks SO much for any advice.

The Sheraton is like a big American Convention hotel. Very nice by Buenos Aires standards but on the wrong side of a very busy hard to cross street than the majority of the BA attractions.

I suppose you are aware that your BA hotels are in very different categories? The Sheraton is much nicer than the Park Central.

The Rio Atlantica is a very nice hotel with a nice pool on top, great location, The Luxor regente is also but no pool really but nice hotel, Rio atlantica is a little better. The Copacabana palace being the best hotel in latin america is of course grand, you really donr need to stay there unless you have money to burn, the othe 2 hotels are good choices.

Just some background. The reason I was asking was that there were packages I was looking at for our trip, and category B included the Rio Atlantico and the Sheraton in BA; Category C included the Luxor Regente and the Park Central Kempinski and the A category was the Copacabana and Alvear Palace. The difference between the A category and the B category was $600pp ($1200) over a 7 night period. So I'm a little torn. I hear "ok" things about the Rio Atlantico but "boring" about the Sheraton in BA. I would love to save the $1200 but I DEFINITELY don't want to short change my vacation... who knows when I'll be back and I like to live each moment to its greatest!

I don't know anything about BA but it sounds like the Sheraton in BA is not as centrally located and does not have as much as the local flavor as you would like but it is a known quantity and you can be assured that it will be nice. Just like the Rio Sheraton, big convention hotel not as centrally located in Rio but as you know it is a Sheraton and it is very nice. For me $1200 is $171 a day and in Rio you can do a lot on $171 a day, that could be all your meals and more and in BA it would probably give you a lot more and even some taxi money to get yourself where you want to be. That's just my thought.

Just returned from Buenos Aires and Rio a few months ago. Here is some advice:

The quality of the hotels for the money in both cities is poor by American standards. Especially considering the strength of the US dollar today in those countries. Have you been to Paris or London and stayed at a so called 1 star European style hotel? These are quite common in both South American Cities. But in Buenos Aires and Rio they call the hotels that should be 1 star, a 3 or 4 star.

Unless you are in a 5 star unit most hotels in both cities are full of closet sized rooms, noisy window aircners and small very hard beds.

We tried to save money by going to a less expensive option as part of a package tour and made a terrible mistake. We bailed out of our budget hotel after a day and had to pay for an upgraded hotel out of our pocket.
We checked out countless hotels in Buenos Aires before finding a nice spot.

The Sheraton in Rio is nice but up a hill from the majority of the action.

Pick the more expensive option-in both cities - take my word for it!

Travdis, I don't know what hotels you stayed at in Rio you didn't mention it but I can assure roro that the Rio Atlantica is a top notch newer hotel and the Luxor regente is a very nice hotel too, these hotels are very nice no need at all for an american to turn their nose up at them. Of course the Copacabana palace is nice but it is too much money just for a bed and you are never in the room.

Yes-- there are some nice hotels in both cities but I was trying to help the orginal poster by telling him/her that to lower your expectations regarding hotel quality in both cities and to spend a little extra to get a nice spot if you want to enjoy your self and sleep!

I really do appreciate all of the input. Travdis, which hotel did you end up in BA? Again, I'm contending whether to go for Category B with the Sheraton or Category A with the Alvear Palace? I'm comfortable, based upon the other responses, that the Category B in Rio (the Rio Atlantico) is a good option... just not sure about BA yet. And unfortunately I can't mix and match options. Thanks again for all the responses.

Stayed in the Sheraton in both BA and Rio. This after trying to save money and reserving the terrible Waldorf Hotel in BA.

Sheraton is nice-- just a difficult walk across a busy road to the core part of town.

The Sheraton in BA is very nice. Yes, it is across a busy street but is not really out of the way....it is near Plaza San Martin and the downtown area.

The Alvear is an exceptional hotel in an exceptional location in the poshest section of Recoleta.

I would take the more expensive package. The Alvear Palace is one of my favorite hotels in the world and in a lovely location. As others have said both hotels in Rio are good, but again, the Copacabana Palace is old world charm and excellence and if this may be your only trip to BA and Rio go for the best. Over the years the money won't be a big deal and the memories will be priceless. SUsan

Thank you ALL soooo much for all the responses. I will DEFINITELY take all the advice into consideration. It all makes me really excited about my trip.

Just another side question... Easter in Rio and/or Buenoes Aires... anything excited going on down there? Any festivals? Or should I just avoid this timeframe and go the following week instead? Any insight?

In BA you may want to look into renting an apartment. I rented one in December '04 for a few days and it was awesome. Lots of space, top quality place. E-mail me if you are looking for a place I can tell you where I rented from. Also, in Rio stay away from Ipanema Plaza Hotel. e-mail me and I will give you the full details. Terrible experience there that was the worst of my life's travels around the world.

dave @ ipanemaplazahotel.net remove the spaces if you need to e-mail me.

DaveW

Dave, I can't believe all you went through in Rio... CRAZY.

Unfortunately, I've been hearing a lot of these types of stories that I'm starting to second guess this piece of the trip and wondering if I should substitute Rio for somewhere else.

Thanks for all the info. I saw you had the info on the apts on another posting, so I'll definitely reach out.

Unless you are planning future trips to South America, I would recommend going with the upscale hotels, particularly in BA. The Copacabana is old-world charm; service is a little slow at times, but it really is conveniently located and has a lot to offer. The Alvear Palace is simply the best hotel in the world as far as location, service (every room has a butler - you can call them for anything!), decor...and a breakfast/brunch spread that is wonderful. Highly recommend both.