Novotel RJ Praia de Botafogo Hotel

I’d stayed here in 2024 and had a good experience, with a welcome gift and a room upgrade. This time was disastrous. At checkout, Mr. Marcelo and Mr. Vinicius took more than 30 minutes because they weren’t familiar with the process. I was rushing to the airport for a flight and asked for help, but they ignored me and were impolite. I wondered if it was because I don’t speak Portuguese, or because I’m Asian. I asked a manager or supervisor for help too, but got the same cold response. I felt like a joke in front of everyone in the lobby, and wondered whether they’d have shown more patience if I were local or looked like them. Housekeeping also fell short. I left shirts on the sideboard when I checked out, and nobody told me. A few days later I realized they were missing. The team at IBIS Joinville contacted this hotel for me, and the clothes were eventually found, but only after another guest had checked out. That was completely unexpected and unacceptable. To make things easier, I even agreed to cover all the shipping costs from this hotel to the Grand Mercure hotel in São Paulo. Those were the worst parts, though there were other negatives that seem minor by comparison. I may not choose this hotel again. Perhaps Mr. Marcelo and Mr. Vinicius at the front desk will be glad to be rid of another troublesome Asian guest. P.S. All of this was the worst I experienced, and the other negatives were more like “no issues at all.”