Blue Star Rio Motel

It was okay.

We arrived at 7 p.m. on Friday expecting to get the 12-hour stay, but reception said we could only start that after 10 p.m. There was no notice about that on the website. On Saturday morning, the water in the hot tub smelled horribly like sewage. We drained it and filled it again, but it still smelled the same, so we gave up and went to shower before leaving. When it drained, there was a disgusting greasy film on the sides. I stepped in to grab my towel from the glass, and a sewer roach crawled up my foot! That’s completely unacceptable.

The air conditioning worked well, and the tablet controls for the AC, TV, and sound system were functional. But the rest of the suite 409 visit was awful. I was told at reception that the 12-hour stay was only available after 2 a.m. on Sunday, even though neither Guia de Motéis nor Google mentioned that. There was no lighting in the garage, so it was completely dark. The suite was in terrible condition, with peeling, unpainted walls, mold in several places in the bathroom, and part of the ceiling falling down. The marble slab at the head of the bed had a huge crack. The hot tub had no hot water, and I had to buy the liquid for making bubbles. The complimentary coffee was missing the sugar, butter, napkin, and jams that were listed as included. Leaving was another problem. It took almost 20 minutes to get from the suite’s garage exit to the entrance to pay, with other cars honking while they waited. There was a notice on the exit gate about the ongoing construction, but they should still offer suites that are in good condition.

The location on Dutra isn’t ideal because that stretch floods. If it rains, think twice before heading there. When I visited, the place was being renovated. The rooms that hadn’t been redone had a grim, almost funeral-like feel, and even the renovated ones still needed fixes. The main issue was the phone, which wasn’t connected to the front desk line. It was raining, so I had to walk to reception in the rain.