Novotel RJ Praia de Botafogo Hotel

The location and safety Nothing!

Breakfast was fantastic. Location is also nice, close to metro in a safe neighborhood Room was really basic and a bit smelly. View was on a wall of a huge building. Most room have same view. Few rooms only have fantastic view on the see.

Spacious and comfortable room. Rude receptionist. Extremely expensive to end up in a room with no view. I didn’t see the table with prices of the snacks and ended up paying an absurd amount for simple items, like 60 reais for a small milka bar.

We asked for the menu from the restaurant and were told that there was a QR code somewhere in the room for it. We weren't told where in the room so we looked everywhere and apparently it was next to the bed. It wasn't so intuitive. I would've expected it to be somewhere close to the phone or by the desk.

Very good

Good location, clean and neat. Good breakfast buffer spread. No water in the room.

Disappointing

The countless streets in front of the hotel make walking to the nearby beach not so pleasant/safe.

The location was the best thing. The room wasn’t properly cleaned. There was hair all over, the bed sheet was dirty and there was a used underwear on the floor. I informed the reception when I was going out and 5 hours later it wasn’t clean. They argued they had relaid the message to the housekeeping team and there was nothing they could do. I had left for dinner and it was clean when I returned.

Overall, the room was clean, and towels were changed daily. Arrived at the hotel just after check-in and was greeted by the concierge/front desk team and by the team, I mean one person. I was surprised there was only one person working at the desk, especially when check-in times are the peak busy moments. A queue started to form behind me, and this was because the person working was possibly new and obviously overwhelmed. No one came to help them, and other patrons behind me began to get agitated. They were waiting for 15 minutes in total, and finally, a staff member strolled in and called for the next customer. Novotel needs to improve on staffing scheduling. Concierge staffing needs to improve, however, as this left a sour taste on my experience.

The hotel was located in a good spot in Rio. The staff were friendly and helpful. You're opposite a quiet beach and you have lots of local amenities around you. Used the laundry service which was pretty quick and a great customer service. The bathroom setup was a little unusual as there was no shower door but one for the toilet. Still, the layout was managable and everything was clean.

Bathroom

The location Throughout the entire week, wi-fi didn’t work in the room. I had to spend most of the time working from the lobby.

Pleasant

The property was nice and clean Nothing but the staff wasn’t helpful and the service was slow

Great location, good breakfast, and clean rooms. (1) WiFi was patchy (2) Floor tiles near entrance and in front of bathroom is coming loose. Overdue for replacement (3) Tiny bad side boards - no space (4) It seems that the windows have not been cleaned from the outside for a long time. Dirty. (5) Why is only one glass supplied in the bathroom for twin occupied room? (7) Room telephone has no labels. How to call? (8) No one responds to #9 on telephone after 11 pm when we checked in. I went to the reception and was told by the receptionist that only he and the watchman were available and no assistance was possible. Many staff speak rudimentary English. Not good for a business hotel charging R 3,000 per night (9) Evening service in dining room between 9.30 and 11 pm was very slow. Staff were surly and food quality was average.

Poor

Hotel amenities, room, and location were amazing! I would book this location again. The rooms were very nice, A/C was great and the size of the shower was perfection. We ordered room service and found the food to be underwhelming, the club sandwhich and the ham and cheese omelette were, in our opinion, not very well executed.

Not much honestly Subpar service (wifi is slow and doesn’t reach some rooms in the hotel; 3 days to get something done; self-service for most basic service)

Super nice place! Nothing to add.