Arena Copacabana Hotel

The room photos make the place look spacious, but the room is dorm-sized. You'd be better off at a hostel. Service was terrible, and the staff didn't seem to know much or offer information about the hotel or New Year's Eve events. They handed out a sheet about the events at midnight, but when you asked, everything would be sold out before your stay, so you were left guessing. There was one iron for the whole hotel, and they only let you use it for an hour before asking for it back. The bathroom was bare-bones and sad. There's about one outlet in the main room, with the rest in the bathroom. Once we started using the AC, the vents leaked. We also found a puddle by the entrance from the hallway, with random drips from the ceiling, so expect some mold. The holiday was the only reason I couldn't leave sooner. I'd rather stay anywhere else. Please don't waste your money.

Our seven-night stay was mostly positive, and the room was clean when we arrived. We paid extra for a nice view, and the street and car noise wasn't really audible from inside, even though it was loud outside. Breakfast was satisfactory. The staff experience was OK overall, but the housekeeping team deserve a special mention. Their English was limited, understandably, but they were kind and tried their best to help us. The hotel is right on Copacabana Beach, which was a big plus. The room itself was pretty good, though by European standards calling this a four-star hotel might be a stretch. Check-in took far longer than necessary even though we had our documents and reservation details ready. The front desk woman seemed very relaxed, like she needed a good night's sleep. The bathroom could use some improvement, especially the shower, where parts were rusty and looked like they needed refreshing. At checkout we made the mistake of looking under the bed to see if we'd left anything. It looked like it hadn't been vacuumed in months, and we found a couple of bugs, including a cockroach. Also, be careful with the minibar. As other reviews have mentioned, there was no visible price information on or inside the fridge. Charging for small 200ml bottles of water in a four-star hotel in 35 degree heat is ridiculous, in my opinion, and something the hotel should change ASAP.

The missing chocolates were the worst part of our three-night stay at Arena Hotel in Copacabana in February 2026. I had brought a box of luxury chocolates from Germany as a gift and left it outside the safe. When I packed to check out, it was gone. I told three staff members. The first misunderstood and began looking for “a painting”; the last came to our room and tried to persuade me I had put the box in the garbage, saying they had “a strict policy against stealing,” so it couldn't have been taken. None of the three apologized or showed regret. We had to change our plans on our final morning in Rio to find a last-minute replacement gift. The room had no sunlight because it faced the back of a tall building. The pool had a thick brown grime line at the water level, and the shower cabins had soap marks from previous guests. We regretted booking as soon as we entered, though it had already been paid for. This was easily the low point of our three-week trip through southeast Brazil, and I wouldn't recommend paying so much for this experience.

The staff were good and the place looked nicely polished, but the rooms need a lot of work. Everything feels dated, especially the TVs. Our air conditioner only ran as a fan, and the old shower didn't work properly. Cold water pressure was extremely low too. The beds were generally comfortable. With a few hundred dollars of work in each room, this could be a five-star stay.