Sol Ipanema Hotel

We loved our stay at Hotel Sol Ipanema. The location is unbeatable, right in front of the beach and walking distance to fantastic restaurants. The view from our room was absolutely incredible. The room itself was on the smaller side, but the service was great. Breakfast was just okay, but overall, a very good stay.

My stay at the Sol Ipanema hotel in Rio wasn’t terrible, but it fell short of my expectations. I’d consider it more of a high-end 3-star or low-end 4-star property. Despite visiting during Carnival, I didn’t feel the high price I paid reflected good value — even with its prime beachfront location. The staff were incredibly friendly, but they were clearly overwhelmed by the Carnival crowds. For example, during breakfast, no one checked on me, and I frequently received dishes and tableware that hadn’t been properly cleaned. The pool area upstairs was much smaller than expected, with minimal seating and barely enough space to stand. When I tried to order a drink, the lone bartender was so backed up that it took 20 minutes to get a mojito. On the plus side, the view from the roof is spectacular, overlooking all of Ipanema beach. My room itself was fine, but the housekeeper repeatedly set the air conditioner to 17°C, causing it to leak water onto the floor by the time I returned. One highlight was the beachside service — the staff there were attentive and quick to provide towels and drinks. The front desk staff also spoke English very well, which was appreciated. Overall, unless you’re set on staying beachfront at Ipanema Beach Posto 9, I’d recommend considering other options.

Extremely overpriced hotel for the value. I paid 250$ per night for a “city view” which turned out to be a wall. They have not done anything to remedy my disappointment. Ocean view was 350$ which I declined. Before check out I was sick and I asked how much would it be to extend the stay. They said there was no room of similar price and what’s available is 400$ per night! This is predatory pricing. I asked can I at least check out an hour late because the flight is at 11pm and I’m sick. They said no. After a lot of back and forth they agreed to a half hour late check out at 12:30pm! Some other disappointments: lift doesn’t take you all the way to the rooftop. You have to climb stairs. So if you have accessibility concerns look elsewhere. The pool is extremely small, would literally fit 4 people if everyone just stood in there vertically! The bedding wasn’t super clean as you can see from the attached photo. Overall I strongly recommend living in Copacabana instead where prices are much more reasonable and you can uber to ipanema whenever you want. Really regret staying here.