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Rio de Janeiro · Hotel shortlist

Cheap hotels in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro

Andres Molina

Andres Molina Latin America

Updated 1 August 2026 · 5 Rio de Janeiro hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Rio de Janeiro, out of the 5 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.4 down to 3.2.

Every one comes in under $130 a night, and the one I would book first is $23.

Hostel Sol e Mar

Highest rated of the five

Hostel Sol e Mar

★★★★★4.4 from 80 reviews

Hostel Sol e Mar comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.4 from 80 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 2 star property, found under Leblon and around $23 a night on the dates we checked.

Why it works for this trip

  • Spatreatment rooms on site, no booking a taxi for it
  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Bara drink without going back out
  • Airport shuttlethe first hour after landing solved

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All five, ranked

  1. Hostel Sol e Mar1

    Hostel Sol e Mar

    ★★★★★4.4 from 80 reviews

    • Spa
    • Bar
    • Air conditioning
    • Airport shuttle

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  2. Varandas do Vidigal2

    Varandas do Vidigal

    ★★★★★4.3 from 281 reviews

    • Spa
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning

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  3. Ipanema Beach House3

    Ipanema Beach House

    ★★★★★4.2 from 800 reviews

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Bar
    • Kitchen
    • Air conditioning
    • Airport shuttle

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  4. Hotel Estalagem4

    Hotel Estalagem

    ★★★★★3.2 from 100 reviews

    • Parking

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  5. IPANEMA CLUB HOSTEL5

    IPANEMA CLUB HOSTEL

    ★★★★★3.4 from 258 reviews

    • Restaurant
    • Air conditioning

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How this list was put together

5 Rio de Janeiro hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

Andres Molina

Andres Molina Latin America

Field seasons take him to cloud forests, and he adds two weeks of his own on either end to see the country rather than just the research site. Nine countries in Latin America.

Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.