Novotel RJ Praia de Botafogo — Hotel in Região Geográfica Imediata do Rio de Janeiro

We stayed here for our final 3 nights in Rio after moving over from Copa area. We have a mixed review on the stay.||Pros: the rooms were clean and comfortable. This is definitely incredibly important! The bed was very comfortable. House keeping was such a nice service to have each day, as a lot of hotels have actually moved away from daily house keeping. They also service breakfast as well which is also a major plus. ||Cons: our check in experience was rough. We actually checked in online the day before thinking it would be easy. When we arrived the next morning we dropped our bags and they said as soon as the room is ready they would let us know. We never heard back, and when we returned in the afternoon we had to go through the entire check in process all over again. Following that we also could not have keys made for the room causing more of a delay. Not having irons and ironing board was a major inconvenience. When you are on a trip and living out of a suitcase that iron is crucial. When I tried to get one from the front they didn’t have a board to go with so there really wasn’t a whole lot I could do. Next, unless you have a beach facing view the views are not that glamorous (not a deal breaker, but it’s a con). Lastly, the TV only had one channel in English which was CNN, and this type of tv is unable to change the audio language like many of the newer smart TVs (also not a deal breaker, but a con for those that don’t speak the language while on vacation). ||All in all we had a clean and comfortable room, but there were some...

This is a perfectly okay hotel recently well situated in a pretty safe area of Rio.|It falls down in a number of areas non critical perhaps still taking away from the enjoyment and appreciation one might have.|The bar and lounge area are very small poorly attended and very badly stocked. This means the to get a beer or a coffee or a drink after work you are taking pot look. Of course there are plenty of restaurants etc including some nearby but sometimes it's nice to be able to get something sitting in the lounge of the hotel. A little bit of investment into a proper bar set up properly staffed and stocked would play dividends as would increasing the amount of seating and its quality.|There is no spa , any form of beauty or relaxation treatment.|The breakfast was okay but the number of coffee machines is grossly inadequate for the number of people at peak hours.|Positive side the staff were courteous and helpful and pleasant throughout the hotel was reasonably clean although it could do as little bit of freshening up and it...

The Novotel in Botafogo did not accept my international credit card (from the US). I have used this card for years and never had any issues. I noticed that some credit card machines from the "rede" vendor in Brazil did not accept my card. However, a hotel such as this should have alternative options for payment. I actually had to go to a bank and withdraw the full amount of my stay and pay in cash, which is unbelievable in 2022. Again, this is not a cheap hotel, so this type of problem should not happen. I was lucky because I have a Brazilian bank account, otherwise I would have to find another hotel. For reference, my card was accepted at both the small supermarket and restaurant close to the hotel. I was considering having dinner at the hotel but couldn't, so this is definitely hurting your business.||||Next time I am in Rio I will call the hotel in advance and ask about the credit card machine. If things hadn't change I'll look for...