Paysandu Hotel, Rio De Janeiro

I loved the Hotel Paysandu! Located in Flamengo, a part of Rio just north of Cocacabana, near the water, it is an older, small hotel in a quiet neighborhood, built in an art deco style, and retains an old-fashioned atmosphere. The lobby could be out of a movie from the 1940s, and the hotel has a doorman, bellboys, and very helpful desk clerks, especially Marcos, who speaks excellent English. My room was clean and quiet--in the back of the hotel with a view of a lovely garden (actually an area of some tall trees in a kind of a square made by surrounding apartment building). The shower had plenty of hot water, the bed was good, the room had tile floors, and windows that open. It is quite inexpensive for Rio--through Agoda I paid $52 a night for a large room with a double bed. There is a charge for using the wireless but it is not exorbitant. Breakfast was a buffet with fresh fruits, cereal, cheese, cold cuts, bread, and juices, along with great coffee with hot milk, and eggs on request. The dining room is nothing special, but it is comfortable and you can also have dinner there. There are nice cafes and restaurants in the surrounding neighborhood and excellent access to public transportation, including buses and the easy-to-use metro. You can get to Cocacabana or downtown on the metro in a few minutes, and there is a bus one block from the hotel that goes directly to the tram to Corcovado. There is also a taxi stand on the corner. The area around the hotel feels very safe. It was really nice to be in a part of Rio that didn't feel like a tourist zone, though a little inconvenient to get to a swimming beach. I stayed a week and would go back, now that I have learned how to take public transportation.