Promenade Palladium Hotel Rio De Janeiro

I stayed here for a week, on a work assignment.
The hotel was an apartment-style hotel for mostly long-term guests, very little hotel-like apart from the reception area downstairs and a breakfast area.
Perfect for my purpose at the time, but maybe not the ideal hotel if you are looking for a hotel-hotel with lots of in-house services etc.

Unique Quality: Quiet, yet central in terms of working in Rio, Leblon/Ipanema, Barra or further south. Plenty of transit buses available, and also efficient taxis.
Two blocks from the ocean beach of Leblon. Some restaurants strewn around, including some very good ones further inland most of them, since the two blocks toward the beach tend to be expensive apartment towers and not geared toward businesses.

Directions: Southern part of Leblon, easy to find provided you follow street numbers.

Greetings:

Just returning from an outstanding stay at the Promenade Palladium in the upscale section of Rio--Leblon. This is one of the newer hotels in Rio, built in 2003, with many clean and modern amenities. I would highly recommend a suite overlooking Rua General Artigas. Though my suite was small by American standards, it did inlcude a sofa in the "living room" area and a small kitchenette with plates and utensils. My particular suite had a real nice balcony with a side view of the ocean just 1.5 blocks away. The bathroom was modern with marble and completely enclosed shower.

The service was outstanding. This hotel only has 6 floors, which means (1) fewer guests with better attention by the staff and (2) no need to wait up to 5 minutes for an elevator, as is the case with many of the older, 20+ floor hotels in Rio. Breakfast buffet is included and was quite good and there is a "business center" with internet in the small dining area. Having stayed at the Marina Palace before, I would prefer to stay here at the Palladium as I found the hotel to be more of a boutique/business hotel with more intimate service.

The location was ideal--right on General Artigas in between San Martin and Av. Paiva. Within 30 seconds - 1 minute walking distance of the hotel were Fratelli restaurant (very good Italian), Guapo Loco, Nam Thai, and Jobi--all in the heart of Leblon.

Unique Quality: Small, intimate hotel--more personal than 'larger' tourist hotels.

Directions: Leblon