Arena Copacabana Hotel — Hotel in Região Geográfica Imediata do Rio de Janeiro

Definitely not a 4 star hotel. This is a small hotel situated in a strategic area in front of Copacabana beach. Location was excellent but lobby is not facing the Main Street so the front is not appealing. We arrived to Rio on May 24th and to the Arena Hotel around 8-9 pm. We expected a bigger hotel but it was small. My guide and I had to unload our luggage from the car since there was nobody to help. There was an employee outside (looked like security) but he didn’t help us. (Eventually, after we checked in he took the luggage to our room after he asked for some sort of approval from the front desk). Emerson was in the front desk and he was really nice trying to accommodate our request since we thought the booking was a beach front view. Unfortunately the hotel does not have king size beds and the only available beach front view had a weird twin and double bed arrangement. We decided to stay in the original room we had (partial ocean view, mainly view to the building in front, and it felt like a king size bed although they told us there were no king size beds in the hotel) and Emerson had to go with us to move our luggage! I felt super sorry for Emerson and I offer to help him but he insisted! He looked he was doing everything (front desk, bell boy, etc) and our luggage was heavy! He is a great worker and we appreciated his help! But we couldn’t believe the hotel didn’t have more people! Elevators were tiny (only 4-5 people, so if you have many luggage pieces you had to wait for an empty elevator. Room was ok. Nothing fancy, usual 3 star hotel. We thought on changing to another hotel but we were exhausted and had pre-paid! We loved the shower (real pressure), no bathrobes, no luxury whatsoever. Towels looked overused and even had some numbers written with a pen on the corner (who knows why). Room was done on a daily basis as it should! They had a little fridge with only 4 bottles of water and two cokes. Although the fridge has no lock and didn’t have menu/prices they are not free and you will be charged at check-out. The hotel has a small swimming pool on the roof with tables and a small bar but we didn’t have time to use it so I can’t review the service, but the view on the top was stunning! We enjoyed a really nice breakfast every morning with the view of the Capacabana beach! Food was excellent, well organized and good service. We had a blast in Rio and were looking forward to a nicer hotel since Arena Hotel is advertised as a 4 star hotel. (Arena hotel at Ipanema though looked much nicer). But we decided we wouldn’t let that ruin our first visit to Rio. We only used the hotel to sleep and have breakfast. At check-out I carried all our luggage since I felt at check-in there was no service, but at the front desk, there was a nice person who was very friendly and carried our luggage to the car (He was not at check-in for sure!) I guess our research of this hotel was not very efficient and only concentrated on the location which was great! We usually stay in a 4-5 stars hotels but I have been to 3 stars hotels with more amenities, space and decoration than this one (bigger lobby, valet parking, bell boy, suites, king size beds, different restaurants etc) I don’t know how this hotel, by any measure, will be a 4...

This was in a prime location on Atlanica Ave across the street from Copacabana Beach in section 3. Section 91-Love wins on the beach has the cheapest rate. The hotel has a super cute rooftop. There's a full bar, food service, a small pool, lounge chairs, tables, and a upstairs deck for extra space. The entire bar staff is amazing up there and the Caipirinha's (traditional and passionfruit) are amazing. However, I can't say the same for the front desk. Upon arrival there was an older woman named Helen with short dark grayish hair. I don't know if she's just normally rude or discriminates (im a light-skin black woman and my wife is black with a darker tone). When I arrived I was 1 hr. before checking I asked if it was possible for an early check-in without looking at anything she said no but they can store my bags while I wait. As I was checking my bags another heterosexual European couple came and surprising she had a room available. I went back up and asked is there really no rooms as she gave the other couple a room and she advised my "specific" room wasn't ready. I certain believe that was BS but whatever, my wife and I went to eat lunch and came back. Our room was ready I asked about the VIP upgrade and she said no suites were available. Just to confirm later that evening I asked another guy working and he said they could upgrade me the next day as there was availability. The next day she was there and told me I was misinformed. I should have just asked for a manager but we had so many things planned I didn't care and the view from my Oceanfront room was amazing. The day before checking out I went to the front desk and spoke to someone else a younger nice lady due to weather in the states my flight was delayed to 9pm from 2pm and I wanted to know if I can get a late check out till 4/5 pm she said there were 5 rooms available so it depends on availability but we can still have access to the facilities. Guess what at checkout only Helene was at the desk and you guessed it nothing available. So we went to get souvenirs and snacks for the flight grabbed coffee and then went back and went to the roof top. Upon coming down at 5pm someone got off at the floor we were on and housekeeping just opened the door. I was soooo upset. I could have enjoyed on last beach day but no she ruined it. So based on that avoid that lady at check-in if you're black, darker skinned, or gay because you'll...

Unhelpful Staff and Rigid Policies – Lost 2 Days of Our Paid Stay||||My friend and I had an extremely disappointing experience with this hotel. Due to an unexpected emergency, I needed to adjust our reservation by just one day, and I reached out five months in advance to make this minor change. Expedia advised me to contact the hotel directly, but when I did, they refused to assist, citing their "non-refundable" policy. They wouldn’t even consider adjusting our check-in date by one day, even though it was the exact same length of stay and there was plenty of notice.||||To make things worse, United Airlines was willing to offer a refund or reschedule my flight for up to a year, showing much more empathy and flexibility than the hotel. In contrast, the hotel offered no solutions, not even a conversation.||||When we arrived, we were delayed due to our flight and didn’t check in until 11:57 PM, just minutes before the next day. On the back end, we had to check out a day early on March 5 due to our emergency. That means we lost out on two full days of our stay that we had fully paid for, with no compensation or effort from the hotel to assist us.||||I even spoke with the manager in person before leaving, who said he would look into it, but we never received any follow-up, despite daily emails and calls.||||Their lack of communication, compassion, and flexibility was deeply frustrating. This is not how guests should be treated, especially during emergencies. Because of this experience, my friend and I will never stay here again, and I would strongly caution others to think twice...