Hotel Praia Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro

Be careful when reserving a room at this hotel. I travel the world and I have never been asked for both sides of my credit card including the security code plus a copy of my passport when reserving a room. That's an invitation to trouble. I reserved at another hotel without that requirement. Just be aware.

We stayed 5 nights at the Praia Ipanema Hotel in December 2007. What a mistake! The trip got off to a rocky start as they did not have the room we book available due to some sort of convention in town. Although undesirable, we were given another room, and told to come back to the desk when people checked out the following afternoon. We tried to book a couple of outings through the hotel, thinking that although they were more expensive (most twice as much as you can get through neighboring travel agencies, or through fliers handed out by promoters on the beach directly in front), they would be of better quality. We couldn't have been more wrong! The hotel forgot to confirm the jeep tour we booked for our third day. We waited around for hours for the jeep to pick us up in the lobby, with the front desk assuring us they were late but on their way, only to realize that they were never coming! The hotel was completely unapologetic and blamed it on the jeep agency. Although we were extremely disappointed with this, we had already booked a second trip through them to Angra dos Reis the following day, and were stuck. This was another disaster! The "island lunch" they advertised was not an island lunch at all, but consisted of a pit stop at a dirty mall buffet (regular price 2 R pp) at which we had to pay for our drink separately. The buffet was disgusting with flies all over it. Half of the people on the tour refused to serve themselves. More time was spent at the mall then on the islands! Upon checking out, we noticed several incorrect room service charges on our bill. Once we complained, they were taken off, so please review carefully. The hotel is apt to take advantage, and even charges for any offered welcome drink at reception. I saved the worst part for last! I left a folder in our room with copies of various things like reservations, hotel confirmations, city guides, and backup passport copies in case they were stolen. We didn't realize until after leaving that this was stolen. When I got home, I discovered several fraudulent charges on the cards that were part of the folder confirmations. One of the employees even tried to book a trip on Travelocity in their name which immediately raised red flags. I know it was definitely the hotel because of this, and the fact that I never used this card for anything else but to make the hotel reservation. My inquiries to the hotel through phone and email went unanswered. While both cards have since been canceled, as critical information was on the passport copies of me and my boyfriend, I can only imagine that I will be suffering the consequences of choosing Praia Ipanema hotel for a long time to come. Please don't make the same mistake I did. Avoid this hotel at all costs!