Novotel Rio de Janeiro Leme

The place is nice, very good location, very safe and the breakfast and the acai were good. There’s no coffee in the room, no drinking water as well, but there’s a small convenience store in fromt of the hotel. Only 2 cons: -Very slow check in process needs improvement. - The people looking after the buffet should find tables for the people coming in. There were so many families looking for seats when we were there.

The best thing about this hotel is by far its location! Just one street away from the beach, a short walk from the main area of Copacabana, and plenty of shops & restaurants nearby too. The area also felt very safe to me. The staff were really friendly throughout my stay, always on hand to answer questions. The breakfast was quite good in my opinion. The rooms were clean and comfortable, if maybe on the slightly smaller side. The only thing letting this hotel down, in my opinion, are the lifts. They are very small and very slow, which can cause issues during busy periods.

The hotel is in a fantastic location, just a 5 minute walk from Copacabana Beach. Everything was clean and well-maintained, and the staff were friendly and helpful throughout our stay. One of the highlights was the rooftop bar and pool, a great spot to relax with a drink while enjoying the view, and the bar menu was really good. The hotel does offer food, which was okay, but with so many excellent restaurants nearby offering a wide range of cuisines, I’d recommend trying the local dining options. Overall, a great place to stay if you want to be close to the beach with a nice rooftop to unwind.

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.

Different type of room based on our budget. My company was booking room so I can not complain. Room tidy and clean. helpful staff and nice breakfast. They have a gym with nearly no equipment there! However you are just beside the beach and better to exercise there! Location is great. View from their top roof restaurant also is great.

The room is nice and the location is great, but the soundproofing is really poor. I can constantly hear people doing things—especially dragging chairs, knocking on things, and even snoring. I just literally can’t get any proper rest there. I understand that you can't control your guests, and I realize it's not possible to make your walls and floor thicker. I'm not even sure what leaving this comment will achieve, but I wanted to share my experience. On a positive note, the room service was good.

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....!

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!