I did a TON of research before I left and was traveling w/my fiancé, local.. Book This Hotel - You Will Not Regret It. I am an American from the Los Angeles, California area with modern tastes in hotels. I stayed at this hotel for 5 nights. I could tell this hotel was completely gutted from the inside out and completely re-built.
Many hotels along Copacabana Beach are old - it's an old tourist destination and as the Italians would say "a faded lady" type area. But Copacabana is a place you MUST stay at if traveling to Rio. It's a must. It's a beautiful beach. If your heart is set on Copacabana Beach look no further than the Arena Hotel - the one in Copacabana not Ipanema.
Don't be cheap, book an ocean view room and if you can swing it I highly recommend a corner suite facing the south/west. The suite was very affordable. Your bedroom will have a wonderful view of the beach and the side room with a couch and television will have a nice little catecorner view of the beach. A big plus: this hotel I believe is one of the only hotels with floor to ceiling windows. This is something I personally always like because it makes one feel more a part of the surrounding environment. Air conditioning (2 of them for each room in the suite) works GREAT. Suite comes with safe, two large flat screens, two small fridgerators, a nice size bathroom with WONDERFUL shower and FANTASTIC shower pressure. GREAT SHOWER and showerhead. Artwork in the room was fine. Lots of wood in the rooms but felt comfortable. The SF of the room was just perfect. Windows also opened which is also a nice feature as its mirrored glass on the outside - somewhat of a flat office look where it doesn't seem like Windows would open - they do. Lighting to me is KEY and the Arena has halogen-looking small modern lights that give splashes of light where needed. They are energy efficient bulbs without the glaring neon. Comfortable lighting. Back lit light behind the headboard is also a nice touch. Oh and in Rio they don't have the best sewer system let's just say in this hotel you can use a toilet as normal and flush paper down it. Not all hotels have this. Also the pressure on the toilets are very strong. Not that we really look at these features when checking into a hotel - it just looked like one would not have a problem with their toilet system and have to call maintenance as I've read on other Rio hotels. I can't believe I just gave a review of a toilet system but in Rio this is important, I hear.
Reception were warm and friendly, answered all of our questions, anything we needed was brought to our room, etc. etc. Lobby is inviting. Breakfast is a mixture of European style breakfast with some local Brazilian dishes thrown in. There are no made to order omelette stations but you will find a wide variety of juices and fruits. Bakery products are not lacking as well as deserts, breads and a variety of meats. Meat is better in Brazil then in the U.S. so eat up! Overall it will get some food in you for the day.
The best part of the hotel: the beautiful roof top pool is small BUT worth it. I also researched hotels with pools and found 1960s/1970s outdated pools on top of hotels that were not bright, airy, and view friendly. You want a view from a top a building in Copacabana if you're not at the beach all day? This is YOUR spot. At the Arena, the pool is modern with clear glass walls that give perfect unobstructed views of the beach and surrounding mountains.
If you go to the second level of the pool and look on the south side of the hotel, look back towards the mountains and the iconic Christ the Redeemer is high a top a mountain. This was helpful to be able to see Him because sometimes it can get foggy or cloudy up there. Our advice? If you want to see this iconic structure of Christ if you can fully see him from the hotel drop everything you are doing and go straight there in the morning . He is so high up sometimes it's foggy or cloudy and you can't see him or anything from that point. Mornings are best to go visit "the Christ" as the Brazillians call it. So run up to the pool each morning and just check it.
Rio weather is tropical and therefore can be unpredictable. Don't be disgruntled if you have one day completely cloudy because the next could be sunny and beautiful and most likely will. Showers come by here and there but don't tend to last long. If it is socked in clouds, go to the new, modern Museum of Tomorrow or downtown shopping that day. Save the trips to the Botanical Garden, Christ, and Sugar Loaf for the sunnier days if you can.
I can't say enough about the Arena Hotel Copacabana. If you like affordable comfy modern - this is your place. It's not the Four Seasons, but if you like modern and a very well run comfortable hotel - this is your place.
Security: Wouldn't walk around past 10 or go to Ipanema for dinner there. No flashy jewelry or watches. DO NOT walk around w/ cell phone out. It's safe but there are incidents like read more