Where to Stay in Rio: Ipanema vs. Leblon vs. Copacabana

I just returned from my honeymoon in Brazil and Peru. It was such a fantastic and adventurous combination! Having never been to Rio de Janeiro before, we were blown away by its beauty, unique culture, and overall vibe. We did, however, make a mistake in booking the wrong hotel and switched hotels on the second day, hence why I’m writing this article. Don’t make our mistake!

Here’s my brutally honest take on where to stay in Rio de Janeiro, and some of this post is a cautionary tale.

One caveat: I am NOT a hotel snob. I’ve stayed in countless hostels and guesthouses worldwide. I’m not the girl who needs to stay at the Ritz wherever I go. But what I’ve learned the hard way over the years is that there are certain places where you need to spend the money for a nicer stay in order to have a good experience. Rio de Janeiro is one of those places.

We were pretty surprised by how run-down many of the hotels were in person that we thought looked nice online.

Do not stay in the middle of Copacabana unless you’re staying at the Copacabana Palace. But if you stay at the Copacabana Palace, you’ll probably find yourself frequently in Ubers going to Ipanema for dinner, drinks, and shopping.

That might sound harsh for the most famous beach in Brazil, but where you sleep in Rio shapes your whole trip. It decides which beach you walk out to every morning, where you eat at night, how loud your evenings are, your proximity to the nice restaurants and shopping areas, and how much time you spend in an Uber.

Where to stay

Fairmont Copacabana

We stayed at the Fairmont in Copacabana and truly loved it. It was an incredible experience. This is where I would tell anyone to stay when traveling to Rio de Janeiro.

Book your stay

Where Not To Stay

I feel bad writing this, but I have to be honest! The first hotel we booked was the Rio Othon Palace. We saw a ton of influencers and travel content creators posting about it, and it looked beautiful. The prices were still relatively higher than other places, too, so we thought it would be a nicer stay. We were wrong.

I hate to say this because I never want to talk poorly about a business, but the photos online do not match the rooms, the area, or the space. We booked the suite for our honeymoon, and it was, quite honestly, really disgusting. Large stains on the carpet, the shower wouldn’t drain, stains on the walls, what looked like mold on the vents, etc. There were practically no international tourists at this hotel either, and the part of the beach it’s on felt very chaotic, with lots of vendors asking you to buy something every few minutes. If you go down a bit towards Ipanema, where the Fairmont is, the beach gets much, much nicer.

The reason I’m being so honest about this is that we’re smart and seasoned travelers, and we made a huge mistake by following online creators and misleading marketing. This was also clearly a popular spot for families with little kids, so it was not relaxing for us. This hotel was really busy, likely with local visitors, but it was just not up to our standards at all (which are not that high).

I have never left a hotel before during a trip, and we did end up leaving this one after one night. Thankfully, the hotel was very nice and cooperative and let us check out the next day, which helped us get our money back. We really appreciated that. Anyways, learn from us!

Copacabana: Skip It, with Two Exceptions

Piggybacking off the Othon experience: most of Copacabana is not where you want to be. Yes, the beach is famous, and the wave-print boardwalk is worth a photo, but the neighborhood itself feels busier, more worn down, and more touristy than Ipanema. It’s also where you’ll feel the most pressure to keep an eye on your phone and your bag.

So unless one of these two applies to you, I’d skip it.

Exception one: the Copacabana Palace. If you’re staying at the Palace, stay in Copacabana. It’s one of the great grand hotels of the world, and the pool alone is worth it. Once you’re inside, the neighborhood around you matters a lot less.

Exception two: the Fairmont, which is where we ended up staying. The Fairmont sits at the far end of Copacabana at Posto 6, right where the beach curves into Arpoador. That means you’re a short walk from Ipanema, and it felt more like staying in Ipanema than Copacabana. We loved it. The rooftop pool has one of the best views in the city, the rooms look straight over the water, and every evening we watched the sunset from the hotel over Copacabana and kept going into Ipanema for dinner. The hospitality here was incredible, and this is where I’d stay on any future trip to Rio.

That location is the whole point. The Fairmont gives you a full beachfront hotel experience, with Ipanema basically next door. If you can’t find what you want in Ipanema, this is the next best thing and it’s worth the splurge.

Book Copacabana only if: you’re at the Copacabana Palace or the Fairmont.

Ipanema: Where You Should Spend Your Time

If it’s your first time in Rio, Ipanema is the place to be. It has the best stretch of beach in the city (by far), the best people-watching, and amazing overall energy.

In Ipanema, everything is centered around the beach. Locals claim their spots by posto (the numbered lifeguard stations), and the whole scene feels like Rio at its most glamorous: beautiful people, run clubs going up and down the beach, coconut vendors, beach volleyball, and everyone clapping when the sun drops behind Dois Irmãos. Walk to Arpoador for sunset at least once! It’s the moment everyone talks about for a reason.

Off the sand, Ipanema is easy to love. The streets are so lush and walkable. You’ll find countless boutiques and Brazilian designers, and you’re surrounded by cafés, juice bars, and very good restaurants. You can do most of your trip on foot, which in Rio is a real luxury.

Just a reminder that the Fairmont, where we stayed, is a very easy 5-minute walk to the start of Ipanema.

Book Ipanema if: you want the classic Rio beach experience, you like being able to walk everywhere, and you want to be near great shopping and food.

Leblon: Beautiful, but More Residential

Leblon is right next to Ipanema, and it’s lovely. We loved walking through Leblon. It’s polished, quiet, and elevated. The restaurants are excellent, and the streets are some of the prettiest in the city. If you’ve been to Mexico City before, Leblon feels like Polanco, and Ipanema feels like Roma Norte/Condesa.

But it has more of an Airbnb, live-like-a-local feel than a beach-vacation feel. The beach scene is calmer and less of an event than Ipanema’s, and the neighborhood is more about dinner reservations and neighborhood cafés than spending the whole day on the sand.

That makes it a great fit for a longer stay, a second trip, or anyone who wants a home base and a kitchen. For a first trip where you’re trying to get the full Rio experience, I’d still pick Ipanema and just walk over to Leblon for dinner.

If you only remember one thing from this post: stay in Ipanema, or at the Fairmont where Copacabana meets Ipanema. If you’re splurging on the Copacabana Palace, go for it. Leblon is the one I’d save for a second trip, or for dinner while you’re staying next door.

Thanks for being here. More Rio guides are coming!