- Two blocks from the beach
- Located on a fashionable Ipanema corner
- Affordable
- Friendly staff and experienced bartender
- Clean; remodeled in 2008
- Small facilities
- Busy location (prefer higher floors)
- No extra thick glass panes on windows
- No swimming pool or gardens.
- The hotel has a bar and a restaurant.
- Laundry services and an internet cafe available.
- Address: Av. Visconde de Pirajá 524 - Ipanema - Rio de Janeiro - RJ
- Phone: 55-21-2540-5032
- Fax: 55-21-2239-2654
- Website: www.sanmarcohotel.net
- E-mail: email@sanmarcohotel.net
I had stayed at the San Marco before the redecorating and last July, I showed up for a visit just when they were changing the flooring in the reception area. Walking around the huge mess in the lounge, the friendly receptionist gladly took me for a tour of the facilities.
Judging from photos of the renovated common areas on the hotel website, those contractors did a pretty good job.
Everything at the San Marco is a bit small. And it will probably stay that way, considering the hotel is sandwiched between other buildings., a common situation in Rio.
The elevator is tiny. The corridors are narrow. The rooms and bathrooms are not very spacious, but they looked clean, and the walls had clearly just been painted.
The hotel location is very convenient for tourists without a car. My friends and I loved being on the corner of Visconde de Pirajá and Anibal de Menconça, near cheap eateries and tons of Rio boutiques. Buses at the door go everywhere.
There's a downside to that. Although the hotel is in a busy area, room windows don't have extra-thick glass panes. However, even though our room wasn't one of the highest, the curtains and the white noise of the A/C unit, added to long days of sightseeing and beach going, were enough to drown all traffic noises for me - and I'm a very light sleeper. The bed wasn't exceptional, but comfortable; that must have helped too.
Breakfast is good and healthy, with fruit, cheese, fresh bread, and café com leite, the way it's supposed to be at a Brazilian hotel.
There's a bar which stays open from 6pm till the last customer leaves. The veteran bartender looked like a quiet and classy character in an old Hollywood movie.
New Year's Eve 2009-2010 and Carnival 2010 Rates:
Check Hotel San Marco rates for Rio's two most important holidays.
