OYO Rio Colinas Hotel, Rio de Janeiro

The place was dirty, smelled like mould, and the AC didn't work. Reception told me it was fine to cancel because the AC was broken, and hotels.com also said I could leave and everything would be OK. Both turned out to be lies. After three days of silence, they said there'd be no refund. Avoid hotels.com and this hotel.

The location was ideal, tucked off the main street so it wasn't overwhelming when we headed out on foot or by Uber. We felt comfortable and safe, even though I can see how some people might find the area sketchy at night. Copacabana beach and beautiful Ipanema beach were each about a 15-20 minute walk away, with great restaurants, shops, and bars around Ipanema. We booked four days for around $50 USD a day for a room with two singles and one twin bed. It was as clean as you'd expect. The free breakfast was mediocre, but the service was great. The front desk spoke some English and Spanish, which helped my group a lot since our spontaneous last-minute trip left us knowing no Portuguese.

The one bright spot was the older man at reception, who was very friendly. Otherwise, the bed was uncomfortable, the room wasn't dirty but wasn't clean either, and the hotel was noisy enough that we could hear the reception phone. We waited 15 minutes for someone to open the gate at midnight, and the towels were old.

The location is good, the staff are kind and helpful, and breakfast is OK. Everything else was a mess. The AC was insanely loud and impossible to sleep with. It only ran on the highest fan setting because the lowest was broken, and there was no medium setting. The pillows were worn out and smelled of mold. The lamps were all missing their bulb covers, and there was no soundproofing. One of the room's two power sockets was already being used hazardously by the fridge, TV, and decoder. Mold covered the walls and the paint was peeling. We were offered a room on either the first or third floor and told up front the elevator was out of service. Everything in the building needs maintenance or replacement. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good experience.