The Best Family-Friendly Hotels to Book in Rio de Janeiro
Brazil’s party city is not just for twentysomething hedonists – book one of these hotels in Rio with Culture Trip and bring the young ones for a whole load of family fun.
It’s world-famous for carnival, samba and high-adrenaline outdoor pursuits, but South America’s voluptuous gateway city is also a veritable playground for families. Consider this: there are myriad beaches, hotels with pools and activities to suit all ages. Best of all, Brazil is a family-oriented society. The good news for you? Kids are welcome everywhere, so book into one of the best places to stay in the city.
1. Arena
Hotel
The Arena has four hotels on Rio’s two best beaches – Ipanema and Copacabana. All are good for families – with rooftop pools, spacious modern rooms and locations close to the sand. Best of all is Anna Suites, where modern family-sized apartments, in fresh off-whites and tiles, have the advantage of kitchens, laundry facilities, even a generous dining area. Garota de Ipanema park (with skate facilities and playgrounds) is on Ipanema’s doorstep, and Copacabana and Diabo beaches are less than five minutes’ walk away.
2. Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro
Hotel
This slick, modern hotel sits right over the sand in Barra da Tijuca – Rio’s longest, broadest beach. Oceanside kiosks serve drinks and snacks all day, and there’s a whole stack of things to keep kids happy – from learning to surf to paddle-boarding and cycling around the adjacent lagoon. Rooms and suites (with wall-to-ceiling windows, some with balconied ocean views) can be supplied with cots or roll-out beds; suites have large living rooms, but you didn’t come here to spend your time sitting – not with Ipanema and Central Rio a 10-minute cab or 30-minute metro ride away.
3. Hilton Copacabana Rio de Janeiro
Hotel
The decor is business-hotel unobtrusive – your retinas won’t be damaged by those pale laminate floors and cream walls (and we love the large workstations). Best of all, the location is terrific – above the sands in Copacabana, with plenty of restaurants and shops all yours just a stroll from the lobby. Take advantage, too, of rapid bus and metro links to downtown and Ipanema. The hotel has ocean-facing family suites with space for up to four; there’s a spa, a rooftop pool with views over the beach and Sugarloaf Mountain, and a fitness center – if you can’t face exercising alongside the buff types by the sea.
4. Sheraton Grand Rio Hotel and Resort
Resort, Spa Hotel, Hotel
Rio may have finer oceanfront locations: the Sheraton sits on tiny Vidigal Beach. But you’re just a five-minute cab ride from the restaurants of up-market Leblon in Ipanema. What’s more, the hotel facilities are hard to beat – you’ll find one of Rio’s biggest pools alongside tennis courts and a kids club. Meanwhile, the views from the oceanfront (family-sized) rooms and suites are dreamy – over sand and palm trees to the bottle-green Atlantic, dotted with the towering boulders of the Cagarras Islands national monument.
5. Miramar Hotel by Windsor
Hotel
6. Hotel Savoy Othon
Hotel
Rooms in this Copacabana tower hotel are plain and simple – with whitewashed walls, beige floor tiles and faux-leather furnishings apparently from another era. Crucially, they are excellent value and, with twin or sofa beds and optional cots, they’re the business for families. The hotel has no pool, but there’s a small gym with weights and a few running machines, as well as a games room. The beach is a block away. Family-friendly restaurants lie within five minutes’ walk.
7. Ipanema Inn
Inn, Hotel
8. Sol Ipanema
Hotel
If you’re looking for somewhere different to stay, book into one of the best hotels or best resorts in Brazil. Make the most of Rio by ticking off its must-see attractions.
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