A day at the Sheraton Barra:

Wake up to the sounds of streets getting filled with zesty runners and early wave catching surfers

Sip Brazilian coffee and people gaze at the terral's terrace while listening to piped samba music

Run the mill on 18kms of stretched beaches and sit at any of the numerous coconut cafés

Watch all gender and age range surfers hit the Atlantic in search of the perfect wave

Rejuvenate at the L'Occitane SPA set amidst rain forest-like surroundings on the Sheraton pool level

Wet your appetite and step into the world of mouth watering Churascaria's at any of the famed Rio Restaurant

Wake up the next morning and dream of your next vacation in this magnificent soul finding destination

I stayed at the Sheraton Barra a few years ago when it was brand new. It was a great time then.

This time (July 2008), the hotel is still clean and apparently well kept until you get to the room. They stink! The rooms have a strong smell of mold or mildew.

The staff moved us to other rooms, but they all smelled the same. We finally settled into our third room, but I didn't notice until later that it had a smaller bed than we had payed for.

The stench was strong enough that it ruined the experience and made the stay a sour (no pun intended) experience.

The staff admitted their carpet is a problem, and they are working to replace it in their rooms. Unfortunately for me, none of the rooms with new floors were available.

I'm not hard to please, but if you pay $400 a night, you should at least be able to breathe freely.

My husband and I stayed at the Sheraton Barra for a week in March. The location is GREAT - amazing beach, especially if you're a runner or a surfer. About a 25 minute bus ride to Leblon/Ipanema. The hotel lobby is great too, but the rooms stink - literally! We tried two rooms. Both were really musty, and the sofa and sheets just smelled like they had been wet too many times. It was pretty intolerable.

I stayed at the Sheraton Barra for about a week in January 2008. It was clean, and the view of the ocean was incredible. The Barra area is also much safer to navigate than is the city of Rio. The hotel has a reserved are for its guests and the water/beach at the Barra is much cleaner than the beaches in Rio proper.

I know a few people have complained about the distance the hotel is from Rio, but I found that taxis to the city were reaonably priced. Rio is also not a pedestrian city, so it's not like you'd be doing that much walking even if you did reserve a hotel in Rio.

My biggest complain is the price. I don't mind the room price being high, but the room service/bar options are priced out of this world. I expect high prices for these services at nice hotels, but these prices were over the top.

Outside of the price gouging, I felt that the Sheraton Barra was a wonderful hotel, and I would definitely stay at this hotel over any other in the Rio area.