Has anyone stayed here lately or have you heard about their guest policy as of recent times. Ive studies the boards a lot and it seems that they suspend their guest policy during carnivale and get a little more lenient at other times of the year?

Also - how far is it from help, and meia pataca?

Any (updated) advice would be appreciated

Thanks
MRK

Marriott is in Leme, a little too far from from Help if you want to walk. I know garota-friendly hotels are fast becoming a real comodity, but I would suggest you find another hotel. Paying $US 230 a night (like I did for a slightly upgraded suite) is way too much for Rio. The money's better spent elsewhere. I would start inquiring into the Orla is you want a higher grade hotel that's on the beach- and it's closer to Help.

The Marriott has just been discussed in Catocony's trip report, especially the last section.

BTW, Leme officially starts after Avenida Princessa Isabel, so the Marriott is officially in Copacabana.

Someone tell the travel guides that- cause I read that in one of them just recently (about being in Leme beach)

I think the general rule of thumb on the Marriott should be, unless you're staying there on business or using Marriott points or some other freebie award, the Marriott costs way too much per night to justify staying there for a mongering run. Unless, that is, money is of no concern to you.

A couple of non-mongering points on the Marriott:

1, The Japanese restaurant is one of the best in Rio so if you get a craving for sushi, that is the place to go.

2, The pool, spa and gym on the penthouse floor is pretty damned nice, with a great view of the mountains and of course the beach.

3, In the business center, which is way overpriced on most things, there is a United Airlines city ticket office. I honestly can't remember what else is down there but there are some tourist desks and I think maybe a rental car company. Very useful if you need to change some flights or need to get replacement tickets and everything.

4, The rooms are a little small, particularly since the hotel is only a couple of years old, but very nice. There is a digital safe and minibar/fridge, 25" TV with about 25 stations, of which 10 or so are English, one French and the rest Portuguese. There is also a combo radio/CD player/alarm instead of the regular alarm clock standard in US Marriott rooms.

5, For you upscale European types, there is a hose and drain next to the toilet for those of you who prefer to not use toilet paper.

6, I was on one of the concierge floors, so you had to have a room key to get up there. I'm not sure if that is the same for all of the floors or not; I think it is. This is very nice in case someone, like a stalker, comes inside in the middle of the day and wants to come knocking on your door while you're taking a nap or having a mid-day garota bunda call. You do not need a key to go back down to the lobby, which is nice if you want your garota to do the walk of shame by herself. However, I don't know if there is much in the way of security that way, i.e. they don't have to sign out and thus the front desk does not call up to get the all-clear before letting the girl leave. Note - my girl never signed in so I'm not sure what the procedure is in the cases where the garota has to sign in to enter the hotel. I don't know if the front desk keeps IDs and does the security call thing or not. Most likely not as that would be way to overt for a business hotel.

7, They have some folks out on the beach that handle beach chairs, towels and umbrellas for guests, and I think they are free (tip is needed).

Now, as far as geography, it is about dead center of the beach. It's a 1.5 block walk to Monte Carlo, about 4.5 blocks to Luomo, 6.5 blocks to Help/TA/Alcazar. It's about 10 minutes or so on foot and is a pleasent walk during the day and a short cab ride at night. It is 2 blocks from the Citibank ATM at Blockbuster and there are several cambios 1 block away on the street leading up to Blockbuster. Several drugstores are right behind the hotel, as is a pretty good Internet cafe. A variety of restaurants, including a couple of kilo places, a couple of Italian restaurants, some bakeries and a McDonalds, are all within two blocks.

Catocony:

Thanks again for the excellent information.

I always go the apartment route. However, on my last trip in July I accepted a VDB (bump) from AA so they agreed to put me up in the Marriott. I was a happy camper, another night in Rio and a chance to try the Marriott.

Catocony has summed up the hotel pretty well although despite being European I didn't test out the hose and drain.

I'll just add three points
- My impression is that, going up, all the guest floors are only accessible via the elevator using the room key. So, no psychos and yes the garota can leave by herself.

- Food and drinks in the hotel are nice but very pricey so I wouldn't eat there unless someone else was picking up the tab.

- I pulled a non-pro paulista from Balcony and returned to the hotel circa 5am. There were security guards in the lobby but no-one asked any Qs or for ID. Admittedly, she was wearing smart white slacks as opposed to Gang jeans/mini skirt so she didn't look GP material, but given the late hour I thought it was pretty good judgement by the hotel.

Great job Catocony! But you forgot one thing, the TV lounge. They have a great bar/TV lounge where they play american football, basketball and baseball for you to enjoy. They serve incredible hamburgers and drinks and they love to have people come down to watch the games.

Thumper, I watched most of my Rio television in the lounge at Luomo

You forgot one other important thing: there is a Plus/Star ATM on the 4th floor next to the bathroom. I used it everyday without problems-no need to walk down to Blockbuster.

ATM too? This sounds perfect.

Of course money is no object.

If only they had a definitive girl-friendly policy.