Review: JW Marriott Rio de Janeiro
In honor of the ongoing 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, I’ve decided to publish some previously un-published blog entries that I already had written about my trip there last September. I’m not going to change anything since these were my thoughts immediately upon returning from Rio.
Introduction
Ten Things I Did in Rio
Getting There, Getting Around, and General Impressions
JW Marriott Rio de Janeiro
We arrived in the late morning after our overnight flight from Houston via a private transfer from the airport to the hotel. Though we arrived well before check-in time, they still had our room ready. This was probably because my roommate this trip was Platinum Status with Marriott. By comparison, I was only Gold status, which I received as a benefit of having United Premier 1K status.
The JW Marriott Rio de Janeiro is located smack, dab in the middle of Copacabana Beach, making it one of the best situated hotels on Copacabana. The lobby was undergoing renovations while we were there, so that was a bit obnoxious, but we got over it. Despite the ongoing renovations, the two-story lobby was quite large and an overall attractive space.
We had a standard deluxe ocean-view room on the 11th floor with a beautiful view of Copacabana beach. It was a good-sized room with a functional bathroom and very comfortable beds. The highlight of the room was the view.
Since we were both Marriott elite, we had access to the concierge lounge. The concierge lounge features a two-story glass wall overlooking Copacabana. There is ample seating space with a couple of TVs and computers. Breakfast is served in the lounge, and it was delicious. They also serve a variety of tasty appetizers every evening, along with unlimited beer and wine. I ended up spending more time in this lounge than I planned, but oh well!
One of my favorite features of the JW Marriott Rio de Janeiro is the stellar rooftop patio and pool. The rooftop has an amazing view of Copacabana. I spent one evening here around sunset, and it was beautiful. There is a nice bar where one can order a beer or a fantastic caipirinha. The rooftop pool looks inviting, though I didn’t take a dip. From the south side of the roof deck, one can see the sunset behind the Corcovado and Christ the Redeemer statue. It’s just a fantastic outdoor space, and one of my favorite things about the hotel.
All in all, this is probably one of the best hotels in all of Rio de Janeiro due primarily to its location. Marriott is mighty proud of this hotel too, as it’s quite pricey.
How I booked it…
We booked this hotel with Marriott points. My friend had a ton of points since he regularly stays with Marriott, so he used those. The JW Marriott is a category 8 hotel, which requires 40,000 Marriott points per night. This is still a decent deal considering the standard rates at this hotel are often well north of USD $400.
