Rio de Janeiro Travel Forum

Is it better to rent an apartment in Ipanema or stay in a hotel. what are the pros and cons. we would like to spend $100-$150 a night and split that. Any recommendations on how to find a nice apartment if that is the way to go?

A good friend has used David at Gringomanagement.com several times and also rioapartments.com. He stays in Copacabana though.
The main difference is likely to be the guest policy. Many hotels don't allow them.

Temporary flats offer much better value, and there are plenty available in Ipanema. After a bad experience over the Net, though, we've always arranged one locally, after spending the first night or two in a hotel. Be careful before paying any money in advance of your arrival.

thanks Robine....that sounds logical. I think we will get a room for the first couple nights at a hotel and then try and find accomodations once we are there to avoid any issues.

The Arpoador Inn is clean, well located and reasonably priced.

I just returned from visiting Rio with a group of EMBA students; we stayed at the Hotel Ipanema Plaza and enjoyed it but it was pricy ($400 reais) when I stayed a few extra days and lost the group rate. Some were finding they could arrange a better deal over the Internet. See http://www.asiarooms.com/brazil/rio_de_janeiro/golden_tulip_ipanema_plaza.html.A room with two doubles worked well for three of us, and a wonderful breakfast in the Opium Restaurant was included in the price and served until 11 AM. For future reference, I took down the following phone numbers for Paty & Xandi who had a sign posted on Ipanema Beach announcing apartments available for short-term rent in Copacabana and Ipanema; phone numbers are 95551654 and 95465758.

We went to Rio a short time ago and were happy to find Ken. He's an American that has lived in Rio for a long time and is married to a Brazilian. He has been in the apartment rental business for a long time also. His web page is www.ez-riorentals.com