Novotel Rio de Janeiro Leme 4 звезды

I assume people are only staying here as they are using up their points earned from other avenues. Completely impersonal experience from start to finish. If you need any assistance or for the staff to go that little bit extra for you then please don’t hold your breath. Room was OK but had a funny smell. Also, the walls are too thin - I could hear the chap snoring in the room next to me. I’m giving this two stars as the rooftop terrace is cool and the location is OK but I know there are better choices available in Rio.

Really great co-working space - saved me through some meetings! Gorgeous rooftop bar too, and Vicente gave us excellent service 👌 the caprinhas were delicious too - would absolutely reccomend this place for a rooftop drink.

Summary: Novotel Leme provides a comfortable, yet inefficient, near beachside stay with room for improvement. The good: Staff: I’d like to recognise Daniel at Sky Leme. He was the only staff member who was friendly and welcoming to me at the Sky bar. He also spoke good English. I’d also like to recognise the excellent friendly staff at the restaurant on level 2, particularly those who worked the dinner service on Sunday night. Unfortunately they weren’t wearing name tags. And finally Raquel from the front desk who helped me resolve an issue with a football match tour I booked through the hotel, when the tour operator went missing and was nowhere to be found. Neutral: Location: while the hotel is nicely placed approximately two blocks from Leme beach and within walking distance to Copacabana, it’s also directly opposite an area that’s unpleasant to be near, particularly after dark. Directly opposite the hotel is a bar that leads to anti social behaviour and there are multiple homeless people that sleep rough there. I recommend you walk on the side of the street the hotel is on, especially after dark. Accor member recognition: It felt like the hotel forgot about my status until I arrived, the check in agent seemed to only realise when he checked the computer. This started a frantic conversation between staff. I went to my room and shortly after a staff member arrived with my welcome gift and note, usually these are placed in the room before you arrive. I did receive my voucher for a free welcome drink that I was able to redeem at Sky Leme. My status was not mentioned again during my stay, including at check out. Sky Leme: this area has a nice views of Leme beach, the surrounding hills of Rio and even Christ the Redeemer. The pool is also very popular and usually full. Novotel lease this space out for events and co-working, so you as a guest won’t always have access or be able to enjoy it. During my stay there was a 40th birthday party event which meant guests couldn’t use the bar. There were also large corporate groups having work meetings at Sky Leme during the day, it is unpleasant to overhear people speaking corporate language when you are trying to relax on your vacation. Good luck with those below the line offers though team! Service here is also very chaotic and poorly organised. The staff (with some exceptions that I mentioned above) actively avoid serving you and you have to line up to speak to the one staff member near the computer if you want to order anything. The bad: Keycard issues: during my one week stay, my room keycard stopped working ten times, requiring me to go to the front desk to have it reprogrammed. The issue seemed to be inconsistent, sometimes the card would work on the elevator or the room, but often not both. The staff did apologise and seemed to be aware of the issue, when I asked them they said it was “normal” - I hope the property is taking steps to address this as soon as possible, as I observed other guests having the same issue. Slow elevators: the elevators here are also seemingly due for an upgrade. You would often have to wait up to five minutes for an elevator at your floor. Even worse was if you wanted to go to Sky Leme, the pool or gym, only one of the four elevators can reach level 21, so there was often a choke point of people waiting for that particular lift. I assume the reason for this is that Sky Leme is open to the general public, so this was probably intended to contain them from accessing other parts of the property, but this has created a elevator traffic nightmare. You also aren’t allowed to use the stairs, which I would have only needing to have gone up four floors to reach level 21 from my room on level 17. Noisy: as with other Novotel I’ve stayed at recently; there are issues with sound proofing. I was again able to hear guests speaking, playing music and their TV in the adjoining rooms. My room was also next to the elevator, which was very noisy as every time the lift arrived it makes a loud beep like an ECG when a patient dies in a hospital. Smoking: this hotel says it’s “100% smoke free” but this is not true, as guests are allowed to smoke at Sky Leme, meaning you could be impacted while you are eating or trying to enjoy the pool. Very disappointing this is allowed, especially as the pool area is usually filled with children. Smoking should be banned on the property completely to protect staff and guest health. Room: the room is quite small for a so called “executive room” - with there being no room to open a large suitcase without moving furniture around. This hotel also has the same LG system for the TV as I disliked at another hotel in São Paulo. No English language channels other than Bloomberg. As others have noted the room is a little grubby with visible marks on the walls/furniture and cobwebs on the light fixtures. My shower also leaked every time I used it, causing water to run out in to the hallway. Conclusion: if this hotel could resolve the quality, keycard and elevator issues, it would be close to fulfilling its four star rating. For me, this property is a three star at best and not worth the current rate it charges.

Good stay while in Brazil! Raiza & Clair made my stay exceptional, providing great service anything I needed anything. Please recognize them for what they are doing. Clean hotel, rooftop pool, and daily breakfast. Would have liked to see a better breakfast option. Location was great walking distance to the beach across the street and many restaurants for dinner.

The food the service and warmth of staff. Especially Denise waitress at breakfast. It was like mom taking care of us. Near beach but quiet street. I will be coming back for sure with family for fun instead of work. Rooms comfortable and clean. Temperature control good