Mercure Rio de Janeiro Botafogo Mourisco

The room was clean, and the staff and technicians were very nice. The location is okay, but the missing wood finish on the floor didn’t look like a four-star hotel, and the Wi-Fi was sometimes unstable. I had several door problems on different days: once the door wouldn’t open, another time the safe lock jammed and had to be replaced, and later the door battery ran low. Luckily, the hotel has good technicians who fixed the door and safe issues.

The pool was nice, though a little cold at first, and the breakfast included in my room rate had a huge selection. I also liked the Nespresso machine in the breakfast room for my morning coffee. Check-in took ages with one staff member and a long wait; naturally, a second person appeared just as I reached the desk. The staff were friendly, and the room was spacious, but far too hot. The whole hotel felt like an oven. The room’s AC was loud, so turning it off to sleep made the room heat up fast, while leaving it on made it hard to sleep. It was one of my worst hotel nights in a while. There didn’t seem to be much around, and I wasn’t sure how safe it was to walk at night, so I took taxis. On the plus side, Sugarloaf and Copacabana were a short taxi ride away.

It’s in a lively area full of bars and restaurants, and very convenient for the metro. You can also walk to Christ and Sugarloaf Mountain in under half an hour. The people are very kind, the cooking is good, and it’s good value for the price.

The hotel is close to bars, pubs, and restaurants in Botafogo, and about 30 minutes from SDU by taxi. The room was comfortable but nothing fancy. Breakfast was good, though the pool is small. It’s an affordable, regular hotel experience.