“Solid choice”

We spent three nights here in December 2007. We are a couple in our early 30s. While this hotel is not cheap -- Rio is no brgain -- we got good value for our money at the Ipanema Plaza. The neighbourhood felt safe and Ipanema has an incredible urban beach -- just on short block from the hotel! The hotel itself came as advertised. Tidy, clean, relatively modern and while certainly not spacious, nothing felt cramped. We had reserved a room with an ocean view, but the only one avalable was on the 17th floor -- one floor below loud rooftop parties that go late into the night, we were warned on check-in. The receptionist offered us the option an upgrade to a superior class of room with no view instead of the noisy 17th floor. We gladkly accepted. Breakfast was a nice buffet -- nothing spectacular, but good. I was expecting better coffee, though. Note that breakfast is no longer served on the rooftop terrace. However, there is a bar and a small swimminng poool on the roof that seem quite nice.

“Oasis”

I was very happy with the room which we got. There are a few good food places right around the hotel within 1 block. Comfy, good view of the city. Nice pool on top, not heated to my experience. Sauna was ok. The front desk was ready to offer various city tours upon asking them. I would stay here again. I may be biased, because my room was upgraded, but the price may be kind of high, but you get a safe hotel in one of the better areas of town close to one of the best beaches in town.

“Perfect location”

The description says "one block from Ipanema beach" but in fact it's closer than that - the hotel entrance is half way up the block. The front desk staff were helpful: we arrived early and they went above and beyond to have a room ready for us quickly (and 2 hours before check-in time). Location? Perfect - Copacabana, Leblon and Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon all in walking distance - as well as some of the best restaurants, eateries and juice bars. Clean room with windows that open and a larger than usual bed; nice rooftop pool. Fantastic breakfast buffet. The mini bar drinks are pricey, but aren't they all - and anyway who needs them; Zona Sul (local supermarket) is nearby and sells everything you could want (including achoholic drinks) so we stocked up the mini-bar fridge with our own drinks and snacks. Very clean, safe area of town. Would highly recommend and will almost certainly stay here again.

“My Clear Choice for Ipanema”

Room was clean and spacious, comfortably and tastefully furnished. I particularly enjoyed the down pillows as I don't sleep well on foam. The location is superb. The staff was friendly and helpful, including all of housekeeping, the front desk (provided very good information), and the restaurant staff - all of this held true for a five-night stay. Breakfast buffet was plentiful with considerable variety and good quality, with well-timed removal of used dishes. (The only negative for the breakfast buffet was the "powdered" scrambled eggs, but fried eggs were also available, on request, at no charge.) We only had dinner at the hotel one evening, but it was very good and well-priced; indeed, it was easily good enough to make me question my usual stance regarding hotel dining rooms. Also, the rooftop pool provides gorgeous views. I would definitely stay there again as my first choice for Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro. Use the hotel's "fixed-price" private taxis for airport rides, otherwise, use the readily available yellow cabs.

“Would recommend to anyone traveling to Rio”

Enjoyed our stay, staff was friendly, helpful and informative. The hotel location was great and close to some of the best restaurants. Must try the traditional dish on Saturdays you'll not be disappointed. Taxi's always available to and from the hotel and not expensive, recommend using yellow taxi's over private taxi's. Ipanema beach is beautiful but be aware that if you use hotel provided beach chair & umbrella there is a charge for each day of use. Found it faster & easier to exchange money at places other than banks with the same exchange rate. First class service & location.

“Excellent choice of hotel.”

Very comfortable, clean, accommodating service, near beach. Very good breakfast.

“Great hotel in Ipanema!”

I stayed 3 nights in Ipanema. The Ipanema Plaza was a nice, central location. I would have loved a view of the beach, but not the end of the world. The hotel was centrally located, and the staff were very good -as a single female traveller, I felt very safe. I asked for flexibility with my dates and departure, and they were very accomodating. The room was very nice -comfortable king bed and feather pillows -air conditioning -great bathroom with strong shower. The roof top pool was excellent. Breakfast at Chez Pierre was wonderful. All in all, I'd stay here again and recommend it to anyone going to Rio. Internet charges were a bit high, but only a minor issue. I also didn't like the "no visitor" policy -but I disregarded it and didn't have a problem having friends over. My room key kept blanking out and I had to re-set it many times, which was an inconvenience -but again, not a show stopper. Great hotel.

“Great location and excellent service”

Excellent location to Ipanema Beach, bars and restaurants. Service excellent and helpful staff on the front desk. Deluxe room was a good size and very modern.

“Great service, great location, and safe!”

We booked a hotel in Copacabana, but after reading reviews and talking to people we were convinced that Ipanema Beach was safer and cleaner. This turned out to be true and we are so glad we switched hotels to Ipanema Plaza. Their English speaking concierge desk helped us on many occasions. The restaurant served a very nice free breakfast. The rooftop pool was fantastic and the beach service was convenient. They serve a mean Caipi at all the hotel bars. The room was quite nice (junior suite), spacious, but the A/C could have been stronger. The in-room safe was free and convenient...I bought a small lock-box for $20 at Staples and it fit inside the safe also. Some services were free (like a storage room after check-out the first day). Others, like local phone calls, had a fee. Most charges were modest, except a bucket of ice. Mini-fridge was small, but large enough for snacks and sodas. The hotel offered tours (at a higher markup). We took one that we couldn't find cheaper elsewhere and were very satisfied. Their car service to the airport was R$56 ($28 USD)...safe, convenient and moderate price. We took yellow cabs around the city. Overall, I think this was a very safe, clean, convenient, and centrally located place to stay, especially for a first visit to Rio. Their service was excellent. We saw many different people staying at the hotel including the Harvard soccer team, business school students, and tourists from all over the world (straight and gay, couples and singles).

“Nice Hotel, Close to Ipanema Beach”

We were pleased with the hotel. Rooms were comfortable and quiet. Complimentary breakfast provided much variety; dinner in restaurant was excellent--discount coupon provided during registration made it even better.