Hotel Vina del Mar

The place is pretty decent, but what you get doesn’t match the price. At that rate, I’d expect a better part of town, breakfast included, shampoo in the room, and so on. There are plenty of places offering all of that for similar prices, so I see no reason to stay here again.

For anyone looking for good value, this is a solid choice in LAPA, just one block from the world-famous Escadaria Selarón, locally known as the 'Lapa Steps'. It isn’t luxurious, but the room was clean and had wi-fi, air conditioning and a working TV, mostly Brazilian channels. The linen was clean, the shower was hot, and a continental Brazilian breakfast was included. Dinner and cold drinks from the fridge were available for an extra charge. The neighbourhood is lively, with little shops, pharmacies, street vendors and places to eat. There are clubs, bars and restaurants with live Brazilian music too, so bring your dancing shoes.

The best part was leaving. The room was depressing, and the bathroom smelled of cigarettes. Check-in was handled by someone rude, and the hotel seemed dirty. Breakfast was okay. The price per room sort of explains and offsets it, but that was all it did for me. Three stars at best.

I’m writing this while staying here. I wouldn’t call it a hotel, though they charge R$195 a day, which I think is expensive when you can get much better hotels in plenty of costly cities and countries. The neighbourhood looks shoddy, but the people aren’t that bad. We walked around at midnight and saw old ladies out. It’s nothing like walking in the Bronx, Newark, or even certain parts of London. There are lots of restaurants, and some stay open late. They look pretty dirty, but the food was nice. We had very good BBQ chicken. We also looked around for a better hotel and found Diamond Hotel not far away. It seemed very nice, and they offered R$230 a day. If I were with my family, I’d stay there. One other thing about the city: if you’re with children, keep them away from pay phones. They all have very rude pictures.