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Reviews of Monte Castelo

3 out of 5
Monte Castelo
Rua Candido Mendes, 201, Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Reviews

7.8

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 54 out of 235 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 107 out of 235 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 54 out of 235 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 14 out of 235 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 6 out of 235 reviews" "

8.0/10

Cleanliness

8.2/10

Staff & service

6.0/10

Amenities

7.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

8/10 Good

LT, Dallas

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Amenities
The pros: The area is safe and convenient to Metro, buses, and there is a taxi stand in from of the hotel. The Metro is only a few blocks away and can take you to the beaches and other attractions. Flamengo Beach is a short walk away, and there are trails there for biking, running or walking with incredible views of Sugar Loaf. The internet also worked well and there is A/C and cable TV. The Cons: For the second long stay in a row (I also stayed last July), the bed was not very comfortable - hard and old. You will need earplugs if you are a light sleeper, as you can hear people in the halls. I had a room toward the end of the hall, which is better as less people will pass...you can hear them walking and talking in the halls as you rest. Also, they have stopped serving breakfast and filtered water, which I enjoyed in past stays. Having given some pros and cons, I would stay there again, but not for as long of a stay (12 days) - due to the beds. Hopefully, they will be replacing some of the older mattresses soon. But for me, the pros outweigh the cons, especially the location.
Stayed 5 nights in Jun 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Hotel location within easy reach of transport taxi subway or bus. Situated within friendly local neighbourhood. Located within easy walking distance to Santa Teresa neighbourhood. Staff are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. With ability to communicate in a verity of language’s Found this place a good central location to base at... while enjoying the many day trips tours and sights that one does when wanting to see Rio 😊
Stayed 20 nights in Feb 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I liked the location and hotel facility. The staff was very nice and accommodating.
Stayed 9 nights in Dec 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Good budget hotel
Good stable WiFi, decent breakfast. Close to metro. Various eateries and shops around. Close to SDU airport.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Good value, clean and good location
This my second time saying may Hotel Monte Castello. The hotel is decent for the value. It’s close to the Gloria metro and the night life in Lapa. The staff is friendly and thorough.
Stayed 5 nights in Sep 2018

8/10 Good

LT, Dallas

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Nice budget hotel close to Gloria Metro and lots of places to eat and drink near. Also good for running at Flamengo Beach. The room has been remodeled and looks new and nice, but the beds are not new. If the bed had been more comfortable, it would have been perfect.
Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2018

10/10 Excellent

Mark

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
This hotel is not for everyone. The novice traveler to Brasil may find the area confusing and the property very basic. But I have been coming here for years as a single male who speaks Portuguese fairly fluently. I take the nearby metro to Copacabana and within walking distance to my favorite spots in Ipanema and save a bundle in hotel rates. Monte Castelo is quiet, very clean and easily accessible to Santos Dumont airport. Extremely friendly bilingual staff and walking distance to trendy Lapa area.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2018

8/10 Good

Bruno

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Rio Trip
Very good hotel and comfortable for a trip where you are out in the city and just going to the hotel at night to sleep. The location is very crowded and a bit overwhelming neighborhood, but close to everything.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Small rooms, WiFi unreliable when u was there, excellent staff
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2018

6/10 Okay

Urim & Thummim, manchester

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
To get a feel of the real Rio!

8/10 Good

Paul , Scotland

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Exceeded expectations!
Just had a wonderful three nights here. The service from the front desk and the catering staff was very friendly and personable. I was upgraded without having to ask. The location is great in an authentic Rio neighbourhood of Gloria. I'd happily return here on my next visit to Rio.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Room comfort

6/10 Okay

lorna , england

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
If you are looking for a basic hotel this is fine.
Basic city hotel laid out on 4 floors. There is no lift. You go in on the 3Rd floor. The breakfast is simple but adequate. The reception staff speak a good level of English and are helpful. The basic rooms are just that. Basic. The rooms have TV and air conditioning but the bathrooms are tiny, but you get what you pay for. Good wifi.

8/10 Good

Timothy, Liverpool

Liked: Staff & service
Does exactly what is says on the tin
Solid but nothing special. Breakfast was good. Staff were fairly friendly. The 'basement' downstairs rooms lack natural light but a minor quibble really. Shower was fine as well.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Room comfort
safe neighborhood
The room do not have direct sunlight and are small. Kitchen stuff are great.The neighborhood is good and safe And is close to metro Gloria.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
It was ok for the price
This is a very budget type hotel. The rooms are very small and basic. The bathroom is very tiny and there was mold on the tiles. The room itself was very clean but the lack of cleaning attention in the bathroom is a major negative. That said the staff was great as was the location. Loved the neighborhood

8/10 Good

Richard, Sydney

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent Service
The front desk organised the Statue and Sugarloaf tour at a substantial discount to what I would have got online. Also they booked a taxi to the airport for 4:30am and I only paid 50 Reals. Supermarket is 150 metres away. Gloria Metro station 300 metres, though I never used it. Security and 24 hour desk are handy. Good breakfast with bread, ham, coffee and large sized orange juice glasses, though I would have preferred cereal to be available.

10/10 Excellent

Christopher, Washington DC

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
My review of Hotel Monte Castelo & Lapa
My main stay was in Copacabana from Fri-mon. But I was arriving in Rio on a Thursday so i needed somewhere to stay for cheap for one day. I booked Hotel Monte Castelo because it was extremely affordable ($36 a night) with good reviews. The hotel staff are super friendly and helpful. I was a little skeptical before arriving, not knowing how the local people would actually be. I was shocked to find out that the people of Rio are very nice, helpful, and full of life. This is the perfect hotel to stay at if you want to be right in the middle of a cultural location away from Copacabana. The staff are great, the area is filled with bars (like most of Rio) that are owned and operated by local people. I really fell in love with Lapa after my stay here. I would highly recommend this to the single traveler who is maybe going from place to place. All of the reviews with people praising this hotel for the friendly staff/vibrant area are exactly true. At night time it does look a little sketchy, but you will be shocked to find out that as bad as it may look at night, there is no need to be afraid. I walked a few blocks down the road to a bar/food joint and the people were all great. Here in america when you see a bad looking area, most likely you will run into bad/rude people. But here in Rio, when you see bad looking areas you will run into amazing people. Its something different about the people of Rio, they seem to cherish family, friends, and their community.

6/10 Okay

watchareeporn, NYC

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good overall
It's a quick trip for Rio. Room itself is small which is I don't have a problem but mattress is not comfortable. I've hard time to sleep on this mattress. Breakfast is good. There is a selection of fruit which is I love. Location is 5 mins walk from metro( Gloria station) and near grocery store.

8/10 Good

Yvonne, Chapmansboro, TN

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great place to stay!
The location - a block from the Gloria subway station - is fabulous. Every single staff member was so helpful and all of the front desk staff were fluent in English and willing to do anything they could to make the stay and trip enjoyable and easy. They have GREAT connections for organized tours that are better and less expensive than you will find online. The neighborhood is definitely working class, which means grocery, pharmacy, and quaint eating spots are available. I would definitely stay there again!

10/10 Excellent

Ben, Birmingham, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderful hotel close to all major attractions
Situated halfway between the beautiful beaches of Rio de Janeiro and the city's bustling nightspots and Centro area, this is a wonderful little hotel to base yourself when in the 'marvelous city'. The hotel's rates are good value for money, English is spoken fluently by reception staff and the breakfast is ample enough to set you up for a busy day of sightseeing. The bohemian districts of Santa Teresa and Lapa are mere minutes away on foot and the hotel is very close to the Metrô Rio which links all major sites (including Ipanema, Copacabana and Botofogo) for a small fare. I cannot recommend this hotel enough!

8/10 Good

colombia, Colombia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good hotel
It was good. Even though the way to get there seems a bit dangerous, it is a well localed hotel. Breakfast was really good! The only bas thing is the size of the beds...

2/10 Terrible

runbarb55, California

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Our room was down 2 flights of stairs below street level and had no window to the outside. There was mold in the bathroom. There were also silverfish in the shower. The breakfast was ok. It was not a three star hotel. The neighborhood was nice but there was a bar next door. We heard no noise in the sub basement but we heard others say the there was noise on the street until 3am. Very basic but dirty.

8/10 Good

Pei Xiang Xing, Melbourne, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Great location
The stay was comfortable and satisfactory.

8/10 Good

solo traveler, Dallas

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Nice hotel close to the Gloria Metro
Though the rooms, and especially the bathroom is small, the overall experience was good. Not a room you want to spend a lot of time in, but a decent place to get some sleep and a shower. A basic breakfast was included in the room rate, though it was the same everyday and in an unairconditoned room. The hotel room did have air conditioning and a small safe. There is no elevator, so you may need to use stairs. If you can't, be sure to reserve a room on the entry floor. The front desk staff was fluent in English.
Bed
Bathroom

6/10 Okay

Ye, Los Angeles

Liked: Staff & service
Underground rooms--'nuf said
My wife and I stayed in for 5 days from after Christmas through New Year's Day. I'll start with the positive. It's in a quiet residential neighborhood that felt very safe and had lots of restaurants and snack places. It's about 5 minutes walk to the nearest Metro station and on Sunday there's a farmer's market there. Now the bad, which we mostly knew about because all the vacation rentals we contacted were charging marked up prices for the holiday season, so this was our last resort. The room we got was extremely basic and required going down 2 flights of stairs to reach. That's right, down, which means hardly any natural light except for the lightwell from above. Although this meant we got lots of sleep, it also meant we slept all morning. The breakfast was beyond basic and we never ate it except the first day since better options were around the corner. The bed was not very comfortable but at least the AC worked well. The bathroom was tiny and we could barely squeeze through the door to it (and we're tiny Asians). The lighting in the room was just 3 bare CFLs which made it kind of gloomy. They do provide a fridge and safe. Overall, stay here if you must or if you can get a better room, preferably with a window, but otherwise this should be low on your list of options.

8/10 Good

Bob, USA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Convenient location Gloria subway station nearby
The hotel staff spoke English and were very helpful. The bathroom was quite small but the hot shower was most welcome!!

8/10 Good

Rada, Toronto, ON, Canada

Liked: Staff & service
Location
The hotel is located close to subway, buses and taxi stand. Good budget hotel choice.

10/10 Excellent

Jennifer, Kentucky

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Simple, affordable, and very welcoming
The hotel is in close proximity to the subway and bus stops and has a taxi stop in front of the hotel. The street is a side street full of people walking with children or pets. There are several restaurants and markets within a short walking distance. It felt safe to walk to the restaurants even after dark. However, on the main street one must be aware of the vagrants and prostitutes who come out late at night. Several restaurants also deliver food to the hotel. The hotel is within walking distance of about 15 minutes to Lapa, a famous area known for its nightlife. The staff at the hotel were very friendly, warm, helpful, and speak English. There were several gay couples staying there as the hotel appears gay friendly. This hotel has 2 floors downstairs and a floor upstairs. The main floor is considered the 3rd floor. We were lucky and had a room on the main floor so there were no steps to climb. The room was somewhat small with only a fridge, safe, desk, chair, nightstand, and space for your luggage. The bathroom in the room was very small, and our shower leaked so the bathroom floor stayed wet. This may only be a problem in this particular room. Despite this the room was very clean, had AC and flat screen tv. Breakfast is simple with meat, cheese, bread, fruits, juices, milk, and coffee. There is a George Foreman to grill sandwiches. Staff was very helpful and kept the food fresh. We are definitely going to book a room here again for our next trip.
front of hotel
main hallway
tiny sink in bathroom

4/10 Poor

crl

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Tiny bathroom slow housekeeping
If you return to your room before 6 p.m., your room may not get cleaned, which is unacceptable. The bathroom is tiny. It is virtually impossible to move in or out without falling into the toilet because the door gets in the way, unless you are spider man. When you use the tiny sink, water spills on the floor. When you take a shower, the floor gets wet because the shower door does not keep the water in. Basically, the floor is wet and you try not to fall into the toilet.

8/10 Good

Rudi, Costa Rica

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Excellent for the price
absolutly more than I expected for the price. I found ammenities I thought this hotel wouldn't have.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Room comfort
Good for low budget, sleep.
Very fair pricing. Good for low budget. Close to major places like: US Consulate, Portugal, Museum, Teather, Downtown, etc. Hotel's area is not that much safe. Stay, pay cheap rates, resolve your business and that's it.

6/10 Okay

Martin, London

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Hotel Monte Castelo - Helpful and handy but...
Small room and very small bathroom, you just about have to sit on the toilet to close the door - and I am not saying that because I have a large bottom.  Honestly.  The shower itself is fine though.  Close to Gloria metro, useful to get to Copacabana and Ipanema, metro is safe and easy way to get around (get a pre-pay card, works out just over £1 a trip, regardless of distance) Rooms can be very noisy as sound echoes up through the open centre - if someone drops a spoon on the tiles below everyone hears it.  Strange design. Breakfast is limited, watery juice - pity as Brazil has fantastic juices - Acai is heaven on earth when done properly - cold meat, bread and cheese and usually water melon or guava. DIY Toasted sandwich maker does help. Very helpful reception. All our tours (booked from England) were late and disorganized - Gray Line via City discovery were particular bad. Booked in English but you have to ring them the day before your trip to confirm and they don't speak English.  Cost me a fortune in mobile phone costs - almost as much as the tour - before the guy at the hotel reception sorted it out. Tour was then late.  Better, quicker and cheaper to just make your own way to and from the attractions, which is pretty much all Gray Line does for you.

4/10 Poor

sopohie, marseille france

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Room comfort
hotel monte castelo rio de janeiro
great area (gloria) but the room has no window outside....no air, just air conditioning and they fixed the hotel during carnaval!!! impossible to sleep in daytime (during carnaval you sleep when you fall !!!!!)

6/10 Okay

Timo, Karlsruhe

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
during carneval
during carneval this was a cheap ( ;-) ) hotel to stay.rooms are very small and some are below base level->no direct sunlight,window breakfast was good,internet access in room via cable(i didnt try wifi)

6/10 Okay

Frans, Sweden

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Monte Castelo Rio de Janeiro
Small and friendly budget Hotel situated near Glória metrostation. Walking distance to city centre through interesting Lapa street. This is a good option if you don´t demand luxury and are more interested in exploring the city.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Very basic hotel but central location
The hotel is basic as is the accomodation. The surroundings can be a bit dodgy although we never experienced any issues. It is close to some excellent venues for nights out (lapa) and the tube for transport. Several attractions are nearby including the mosaic steps seen on many a music video. Rooms are basic as is breakfast but suits the purpose. Some staff can speak very good English. Generally they are helpful and polite but they did not seem to have too much tourist type knowledge - I believe most of their customers are Brazilians. Good budget hotel with good location - I think that summarises this place.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

10/10 Excellent

Martin, Surrey, England

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hotel Monte Castelo, Rio de Janeiro
A great small hotel for the money with helpful, friendly staff. Clean room with small but adequate shower room/ toilet. The corner basin is tiny but other than that everything is fine. Easy to use safe for documents etc. I enjoyed the character of the hotel. A pleasant self service breakfast room at the back of the hotel offers a selection of cheese, cold meat, bread & coffee/ tea. - very good if you can get up in time to take advantage. Great position for exploring Rio! I would not hesitate to stay here again. I loved the neighbourhood too but it's not like Ipanema or Copacabana. ;¬)

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2019

6/10 Okay

Ricardo

Business traveller
Liked: Staff & service
O preço é bom, a localização é razoável, tem Metrô e comércio próximos. Os pontos negativos são, o colchão, limpeza (principalmente no piso do box), e o café que é fora do hotel e caro (não sei se é bom, porque dispensei). Na segunda noite só colocaram o lençol na cama e nada para cobrir. Solicitei um segundo lençol, que veio mal lavado. Frigobar cheio de gelo, necessário descongelar. Porta toalhas do banheiro quebrados.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
A localização é boa e o staff da recepção foi muito gentil. O quarto é reformado e no geral está em boas condições. Algumas tomadas estavam faltando parafusar ou desencapadas, um detalhe de acabamento e/ou manutenção de baixo custo que pode ser corrigido.
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Amenities
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019

8/10 Good

Maicon Alexandre

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019

8/10 Good

Marcos

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Não recomendo.
O quarto é igual ao da foto, exceto pelos detalhes: os travesseiros e o colchão são velhos, o box da cama estava muito sujo, me deixando uma impressão muito ruim. O hotel fica em uma rua não muito agradável e segura.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Marco Antônio

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Feb 2019

8/10 Good

MARIO ALBERTO

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Muy bueno
Excelente atención, instalaciones cómodas y limpias, muy bien ubicado para todos los planes ya que hay acceso fácil al transporte, si te gusta caminar también es una buena opción teniendo en cuenta que está ubicado en la zona centrica. Por mejorar el desayuno que no es variado todos los días es lo mismo.
Stayed 5 nights in Feb 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
As instalações são boas de acordo com o preço, o funcionário que trabalhava no turno da noite é um sem educação, enquanto os outros eram super gente boa, precisei de alojar mais uma pessoa e o hotel não se disponibilizou em me ajudar em nada, não tinha quarto triplo, falou que não tinha quarto disponível, sendo que no aplicativo tinha como fazer a reserva, enfim, não pretendo voltar a esse hotel.
Stayed 5 nights in Jan 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Atendimento exemplar e localizaçao privilegiada. Relaçao custo beneficio favoravel
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2019