Any current info on this hotel would be appreciate ?

What do you want to know?

I can tell you the following:

If you stay, go for the more expensive oceanfront rooms. They are quiet, have fabulous ocean views and no road between the room and the beach. The garotas love the view.

Rooms are fairly basic, as is the hotel in general. Breakfast (included) is decent, and there's a nice restaurant for lunch and dinner, with ocean views.

Most rooms come with two single beds. Ask for a double. At a minimum they can put the two beds together and give you a double mattress.

Prices are available through Ipanema.com. Make your reservations through them.. It usually takes a day or two for them to get back to you, but they will. Never had a problem with a reservation made through them.

They are guest-friendly. No charge for visiting garotas. In fact, they are so friendly that I've had the evening desk clerks offer to call girls for me (they "tem book" with photos). They will ask that girls sign in, and will check their ID. This is for your protection and lessens the chance that a girl will try to rip you off.

The hotel is on the beach (Arpoador) which is essentially the end of Ipanema closest to Copa. It's about a 15 minute walk to the area near Help.

There are good restaurants nearby and it's close to grocery stores, the Sunday Hippie Fair, the weekly farmers markets...the location is really pretty desirable if you don't mind being a 15 minute walk or 5 minute cab ride from the center of the mongering action.

Anything else?

Bwana

PS. I'm not a guide, I don't get kickbacks from the Arpoador Inn...

Thank you kindly.

You're most welcome!

Bwana dik,

I'm sold! If you give it the Bwana dik seal of approval it must be good. How much is it a night for a room with an ocean view? Low season rates and high season rates? Does the hotel ever fill up? Thanks

The rate is 255 reais/night (plus tax) for the oceanfront rooms. The rates are higher for New Year's and Carnaval, but otherwise seem to stay the same.

The hotel does fill up, especially the oceanfront rooms.

I want to reiterate that it's not the fanciest of hotels. The rooms are nowhere near as plush as the Princess Copacabana for instance, but the location is hard to beat, and the views impossible to beat. I stay there for the views, so I can sleep with windows open and hear crashing waves rather than crashing cars, and so I can be in the surf in a minute should the waves be breaking well at Arpoador Rock.

...and their restaurant (Azul Marinho) is great...

BS

Is their an internet cafe near this hotel?

oh yeah , i forgot to ask as well---guests are free of charge even for a stanard room with single occupancy?

Re internet cafe...not that I know of. There was one about 2 blocks down the street, but it closed about 6 months ago. The Copa internet cafes are about 8 blocks away.

Bwanna dik... my "INTEL" in Rio tells me you are a guide, and a pimp. and you sit around smoking and drinking off of the kickbacks you get for all of the DUMBASS AMERICANS you get to stay at the Arpoador Inn Hotel. Admit it....

Actually, you have peaked my interest in staying there. Still hope to meet you one day.

Aldaron,
I know for a fact, he does not smoke( cigars anyway).
CG

Aldaron,

All true exept I don't drink . At least, I wish it were all true...as I'd be in Rio rather than Tokyo right now.

Is 255r the best rate available for the oceanview rooms? Or are better rates available through people like Kenn or Bobby?

Ix

No, that's the best rate available. Bobby and the others all have to book through Ipanema.com, who is the sole booking agent for the Arpoador Inn.

I wanted to write about my recent stay at this hotel.

I booked my stay at the Arpoador through hotels.com. I got a rate of $48 a night 9 nights starting January 16th. I wanted a different scene this time. Here are some brief observations.

Breakfast - it was Debret-like. Nothing special and same kinds of stuff. I went the first morning and ate cereal and drink coffee and never went back for it. It was nice though watching the early morning beach scene from the dining area though.

Air Conditioning - The most annoying thing about this hotel is that the air conditioning unit in the wall was controlled from the front desk. You had to call to get it turned on or off.

Location - Great for the active beach person. You can literally walk out the back and be on the boardwalk and then the sand. It's also very close to the rocks at Arpoador. I walked up on them one morning and took some photos. (I'd post them but these were with a regular camera and I haven't gotten them developed) However, if you are in it for pure perverted mongering and hanging out with the other degenerates, you might find the 15 to 20 minute walk to Alcazar a little annoying. The area was refreshing during my first few days though and I enjoyed walking around Ipanema from the hotel. There is a Zona Sul store a couple of blocks from the hotel. Also, the sunsets were fantastic from the area of this hotel.

Internet - There are no internet places nearby, but they have 2 computers near the lobby. It's a little more than the cost at the internet places. I didn't use them though so I don't know about the service.

Taxes - This is one of those annoying hotels that I have run into lately that charge 15% for "the hotel staff". The only other econo hotel that I have stayed at (the Debret) does not do this, so I was a little irritated. They hit you with it whether you use "the hotel staff" or not. In essence, you end up paying the "staff" twice because you tip them (naturally). I ran into another hotel on this trip like this that had the same "hotel staff" tax.

Noise - I had a street view room. It wasn't noisy traffic-wise... but the two queers next door were. Yes, you read that right. Two grown men sharing a small hotel room with one bed. I never heard a female voice the whole time.
Also, the walls seem to be very thin. I could walk out to the elevator 25 ft away and around a corner and still hear my tv inside.

Conclusion - Will I stay here a again? Probably not. I was booked for 9 nights but checked out after the 5th night. The noise from the queers next door and the uncontrollable air conditioning finally got to me. They also had a blue contruction net over both sides of the building. If I wanted to hang out on the beach, I would stay here again. However, if I want to stay in Ipanema again, there are several other hotels in the same price range that I will try first.

Aldaron, are you saying that the queers made more noise than you and your favorita?

This reminds me of the Terma 65 incident we had when sharing two adjacent cabines

Speaking of Terma 65, HS, how many times did you nail Michelle last week?

Cat, Michelle had a broken toe. So, did not get to see her on this trip. Sweet cried for a couple of days in the arms of Lilah.

Aldaron,

Since you booked your hotel from hotels.com (prepaid with credit card) and left after the 5th day, did you get a refund for the remaining days? Did they hit you with any early cancellation charges? Also it was great meeting you at Alcazar.

Cueball, Good to meet you also.

I booked on hotels.com but they don't charge your credit card until you arrive. Since I booked 9 days, I had to pay for half when I checked in. They did not charge me anything to leave early. I just told them the night before. I think they were glad to get me out of there since they usually rent that room for much more than $8 this time of year.

Here's a photo of the view from the oceanfront rooms. I ALWAYS stay in these rooms as they are larger and much quieter. During my last stay (late Jan.) I never turned the AC on once because the ocean breeze kept things cool enough, and the sound of the ocean is always preferable to the sound of the AC rumbling.

Also, Aldaron mentioned the sunsets. They can be spectacular here...Check this one out:

I was waiting for a certain young lady one afternoon outside the hotel and saw a similar sunset. I knew by the time I ran up and got my camera it would be gone so I just watched and took it in. Thanks for the photo.

Nice

Does anyone know what the guest policy is at hotel Praia Ipanema?

You paid only $8 per day, Aldaron?? how did you do that?

"I booked on hotels.com but they don't charge your credit card until you arrive. Since I booked 9 days, I had to pay for half when I checked in. They did not charge me anything to leave early. I just told them the night before. I think they were glad to get me out of there since they usually rent that room for much more than $8 this time of year."

The 15 % mandatory tip is strange. Is this not like in restaurants, where it is 10%? Did you try to dispute it? I sometimes am successful in removing the 10% service charge off restaurant bills if I think it is unjustified. Often the charge is mandatory, even though most people would not dare to have the charge removed.

It's actually a 10% service charge they add to the bill, not 15%.

Is the hotel still guest friendly? I'm coming down in a week with a female friend(with 2 rooms) and I'd hate to be surprised with them telling me I already have her as my guest.

Still guest-friendly at no charge. I was there the week before last.

Hi everybody .... was planning a trip to Rio end of March 2005. In about a week or so. Wondering if you know if this hotel is still guest friendly?
Also how far is it from Othon Palace. Is it walking distance?

I booked two superior double rooms at this place directly from their website arpoadorinn.com.br ...$US108 per night...the price on Ipanema.com was US$145 for the same room. Question - does someone know if the 5percent tax is actually a tax paid by the hotel to the government? I know the 10 percent tax is for service tip, I'm curious if the 5 percent tax is a hoax.

Copa-
The 5% tax is a real tax. The 10% is not and shouldn't be paid in advance, and really shouldn't be paid at all. At the end of your stay feel free to tip the personnel you feel deserve with an amount that seems appropriate. If you stay 6 nights, for example, they would charge you about $64 for the service "tip." I never paid this fee and tipped only the maid (usually R$3/day) and the bellboys (R$5 each). This is more than they get from the locals. It was a local who told me to refuse to pay the 10%.

That said, be warned that the "superior" room is both basic and fronts onto a very noisy street with lots of car and bus traffic. I spent 1 night in one of those rooms (when the lock on my oceanfront room jammed at 2a.m. and I was locked out!). It was almost a sleepless night with all the noise. The standard rooms are small, and have no windows, but they are quiet. Given the way the rates have increased (I used to pay R$210 for an oceanfront room when the exchange rate was more favorable), I simply don't stay there any longer. The oceanfront rooms, while simple, have the best location of any hotel room in the city, but they are now way over-priced!

Bwana

Bwana-

Thanks for the info...just curious - do you have a hotel of choice these days? My last 3 or 4 trips I've stayed at Brazil Specialist' place but my friend I'm traveling with prefers to stay in a hotel-it has been a while since I last stayed in a hotel in Rio. In addition to BS' place I've stayed at the Sol Ipanema, Caesar Park, Arpoador Inn, Debret, and a few other apartments in Copacabana.

CB

CB-

I like the Ipanema Tower Residence. It's about 5 blocks further into Ipanema from the Arpoador Inn and a block off the beach. All rooms are 2-bedroom suites with a kitchen.

In this case rates are better through Ipanema.com (or its alter-ego: riodejaneirogiude.com)

http://riodejaneiroguide.com/hotel/tower/home.htm

than they are going to the hotel directly:

http://www.ipanematower.com.br/tarifas.htm

To get the discount you have to pay cash, if I remember correctly. It's a bit more than the Arpoador, but a huge step up in size, quality, quiet, etc. Arpoador Inn's only selling point is location, location, location.

The place is girl-friendly. I used it several times before settling on an apartment I like.

BD

Can't really recommend the Ipanema Tower Residence any longer, due mainly to the increase in price. It has doubled in price over the past year or so, and the "discounted" cash rate is now $220/night (I paid $105 last time I stayed there). The rate when booking direct with the hotel is closer to $265/night. It's not a bad place, but is severely overpriced now.

There's no acceptable hotels in terms of competing with good apartments these days. Some will want a hotel room just for the sake of convenience and the added safety they generally provide, but you'll pay quite a premium.

I was checking out the prices on Ipanama.com a few days ago and was shocked to see some of the rates. Ipanema Tower is great and was a really good deal at US$95/$105, but where the prices are now it's just outrageous. The Real price has gone up 50% in three years, and with the exchange rate down 50%, I can't understand who would stay there now.