Rua Sa Ferreira 30, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | (888) 708-2081
Excellent location half a block away from Copacabana beach
Neighborhood offers plenty of restaurants, bars, and shops
Clean and comfortable rooms with flat-screen TVs
Breakfast buffet included in the room rate
On-site restaurant offers lunch and dinner, and there's 24-hour room service
Free Wi-Fi throughout
Rooftop swimming pool and bar on-site
Standard rooms are small, with bland views of neighboring buildings
On-site pool is tiny
Fitness center is cramped
Fee for parking
The Windsor Martinique offers a convenient beach location just a short walk from the Posto 5 area at Copacabana Beach. This mid-range hotel gets high marks for its location, cleanliness of rooms, and helpful front desk staff. Standard and Superior rooms are comfortable (though Standard rooms are small) and include 21-inch flat-screen TVs, minibars, and safes. Free breakfast buffet and Wi-Fi keep overall costs low, while a tiny rooftop swimming pool, bar, full restaurant, and small fitness center are nice extras.
Scene
Pleasant and simple hotel near the beach
Windsor Martinique has a fresh, white exterior and modern architecture with lots of right angles. Guests enter the small lobby via sliding glass doors. Inside, the space is simple: brown, white, and gray diamond tiles add a little interest to the mostly gray floors and walls. Neutral-colored armchairs and sofas are centered around a granite coffee table set with Brazilian newspapers and magazines. The adjacent restaurant and bar area doesn't have windows and is filled with tables topped with white tablecloths. Wood paneling and tables holding orchids line the hallways. Many of the guests are couples on beach holiday, though business travelers and families stay here too.
Location
Half a block from Copacabana Beach
The Windsor Martinique offers a good base to explore both the beach scene and the sights of Copacabana, and Rio in general. The Posto 5 area is a great location, as it offers the vibrant Copacabana Beach half a block away, and the more chic Ipanema Beach is just a 10-minute walk away. The closest metro, Cantagalo, can be reached in a five-minute walk. The neighborhood is both residential and touristy. Streets are filled with bars, shops, supermarkets, and typical Brazilian "kilo-kilo" restaurants or churrascarias (all-you-can-eat meat). Banks with ATMs, pharmacies, and Internet cafes are also nearby.Sugarloaf Mountain can be reached in 15 minutes by taxi and Christ the Redeemer in 20 minutes. The international airport can be reached in about 45 minutes by taxi or about an hour via the airport bus that runs along Avenida Atlantica. The domestic airport of Santos Dumont is located in Centro, and a taxi ride there usually takes 20 minutes. There's a charge for parking at the hotel.
Rooms
Clean, comfortable, and practical
There are 116 rooms divided into Standard and Superior categories at the Windsor Martinique Hotel. Standard rooms are small and offer views of neighboring buildings, whereas the Superior rooms provide more space and better views of the tree-lined side street, Sa Ferreira. Decor includes laminate floors and neutral colors with simple, fresh bedding. Flat-screen TVs, stocked minibars, safes, and writing desks standard. The Superior rooms come with bathtubs and Standard rooms have showers. Floors and countertops are made of granite. Hairdryers and basic toiletries are standard. Wi-Fi is free.
Features
Small rooftop pool and bar, restaurant, and free Wi-Fi
The hotel offers a small rooftop swimming pool and an adjacent poolside bar set with tables and chairs. Ocean views are interrupted by neighboring buildings. The bar isn't staffed, but drinks and snacks can be ordered via phone from the main restaurant downstairs. There's an adjacent tiny fitness center crammed with new treadmills. The hotel offers laundry service, and staff can assist in organizing airport transfer. Wi-Fi is free throughout. Beach towels are provided for free, and guests can easily rent chairs and buy food and drinks on the sand from vendors.The restaurant offers a free hot buffet breakfast, as well as a la carte lunch and dinner, and 24-hour room service. Like at most Rio hotels, the staff at the front desk sells city tours and tickets to football games at Maracanã stadium or to samba shows in Ipanema. Before and during the Carnival festival season, tickets are available to watch and attend rehearsals of Rio's elite samba schools.