Barra da Tijuca Bora Bora

The hotel was a peaceful place to come back to after tours, and I felt safe walking around nearby during the day. It’s convenient too: there’s a supermarket within walking distance, a great restaurant about five minutes away that I went to a couple of times, and other restaurants around. The beach is a short Uber ride away, and Uber works well here. I found the property very clean and well kept, with modern amenities and lovely views. The staff were courteous and friendly. Some spoke two languages, and the others made a real effort to communicate with tools like Google Translate, which I appreciated. Breakfast was excellent before early excursions. I also ordered room service on two nights, and the burgers and Caipirinhas were delicious. A birthday cake delivered to my room was a particularly thoughtful surprise, and it tasted great too. A couple of small additions would help: irons in the rooms for longer stays, and a traditional washcloth for guests who are used to having one. I had a wonderful vacation stay and would gladly come back.

The hotel is beautiful and handy if you’re going to a show at one of the nearby Arenas. That’s about where the positives end for me. Service was lacking, and hardly any staff spoke another language. I could have managed that, but some were rude once they realized I didn’t speak theirs. Room Service attendant Lucas Braga was especially rude. He hung up on me THREE TIMES after realizing I didn’t speak his language. If you’re a tourist or foreigner who doesn’t speak the language, I wouldn’t recommend staying here.

The hotel has some good points, but a few things need fixing. The elevator setup is confusing, and it seems like everyone gets lost at first. Many rooms have two small single beds, and we only found out later that they could be joined into one queen bed. The pool is closed outside daytime hours, which was really annoying. The gym was basically unusable, and we were told the sauna wasn’t working even though it was. That may have been down to a language barrier. Otherwise, the stay was good.

The employees were really kind, and the place was comfortable. Still, the towels were seldom changed and I wasn’t impressed with breakfast. It was a solid stay overall.