Novotel Rio de Janeiro Leme 4 ดาว

The hotel staff was wonderful and accommodating. The amenities were great. The room and the bed were quite comfortable. Aline is an employee who went above and beyond to assist us. Beautiful time there!

As an aged solo traveller, I often need all the help that I can get! And today, after travelling for 24 hours, Lucas was on hand in rreception to offer unlimited patience and empathy. First rate service, thanks to Lucas and the team.

The Good Points Location: The hotel is situated in the quieter Leme district of Copacabana, away from the busier middle and upper sections of the beach. There are excellent restaurants nearby, and the beach itself is stunning—though the hotel can't take credit for Rio's natural beauty! Rooftop Pool & Bar: The rooftop area is genuinely lovely with good service. However, be aware that the pool is extremely small—more of a plunge pool than somewhere you can actually swim. Breakfast Staff: Special mention goes to the petite lady who manages the breakfast area (she has a sun tattoo on her arm). She's an absolute hospitality legend! Watching her orchestrate the breakfast chaos is remarkable, especially considering the dining room only seats about 130 people for a hotel that accommodates over 550 guests. The Problems (Grab a Coffee—This is Lengthy) My 18-year-old daughter and I were booked for a ten-night stay. I had reserved our rooms from the day before our arrival to ensure we could check in immediately when we landed at 7am. Check-in Issues Despite pre-checking in online and having no queue ahead of us, the check-in process was painfully slow. We were eventually given adjacent rooms, which I appreciated. Room Problems After unpacking, I returned to reception to speak with Gabriel (our check-in agent) about several issues with both rooms: Located directly by the elevators with constant noise from the ping-pong area and guests waiting (and you do wait—a lot—for these elevators) Missing wardrobe door in my room Moldy grout in the bathroom Evidence of a previous leak with a poor repair attempt I explained that while these issues might be tolerable for a 3-4 night stay, they were unacceptable for ten nights. I asked what could be done. Gabriel said he would speak with his manager and contact me via WhatsApp or email with a solution. The Runaround 24 hours later: No communication whatsoever. I found Gabriel at reception after my morning jog and asked about speaking with his manager. Cue the blank stare—he claimed he couldn't recall our conversation at all. At this point, I decided to cancel our remaining seven nights. Thales, another receptionist, immediately told me "you'll have to wait 30 days for a refund"—not "how can we resolve this for you?" The Final Days We endured three more days of: Waiting at least 20 minutes daily just for elevator access The breakfast chaos (brilliantly managed, but chaotic nonetheless) Living with the broken wardrobe door, moldy bathroom, and constant noise Checkout Disaster On checkout day, Thales was working but completely ignored me. Another staff member served us and looked genuinely shocked we were leaving. It became clear that Gabriel and Thales hadn't even properly processed our cancellation request—they had failed at every level. I should mention that Giselle tried to help resolve things after we cancelled, but by then it was far too late. The Aftermath Here I am, 72 hours after leaving "Novohell," writing this review from another Rio hotel. I'm still waiting for my refund, but I now have: No elevator waits Always available breakfast seating TWO functional wardrobe doors! Final Verdict If you value your sanity and vacation time, avoid Novotel Leme at all costs. Oh and a PS I am an ALL Accor account customer....!

Overall, our stay was very good. Room clean and functional. Breakfasts really good. Location excellent and close to beach. Rooftop bar was fun on Saturday night. Front desk very helpful. We arrived late (10:30pm) on a Friday night and it felt a bit deserted.

Absolutely amazing location..Leme is a really nice touristic neighborhood. The staff at the desk were soooo friendly and helped me out with a reservation issue. Some of the rooms have an amazing side ocean view. The breakfast was absolutely delicious. Highly recommend it.