Accommodations

As one of the world’s most beautiful cities—and Brazil’s number one tourist destination—Rio [1]’s hotels feel entitled to charge a lot for the (undisputed) pleasure of staying in the Cidade Maravilhosa. For the most part, however, the choices are underwhelming.

Centro [2] offers few options, and at any rate, it is dead and unsafe at night. The well-located—albeit beachless—neighborhoods of Botafogo and Flamengo [3] offer an assortment of affordable options. Santa Teresa [4], a hilly bohemian neighborhood, has been experiencing a major transformation, with more and more intimate bed-and-breakfasts and boutique hotels popping up.

If you want to be where all the action is—night and day—that would be the Zona Sul neighborhoods of Copacabana [5], Ipanema, and Leblon [6]. Copa is mostly full of mammoth overpriced chains, which, aside from the high-end luxury hotels, offer fairly standard rooms in various states of decay. More tranquil and tony Ipanema and Leblon have a few sophisticated options and a sprinkling of more reasonable alternatives.