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Guesthouse Bianca is one of the only places in all of Rio de Janeiro from which you can enjoy a true bohemian neighborhood, the chic beaches of the south, the bustling city center, the infamous viewpoints, and the non stop nightlife - all from the luxury of a private home surrounded by a tropical garden. The newly renovated home was built in 1932 and is located on a quiet residential street in the heart of Santa Teresa, considered by many to be the most charming cultural and historical neighborhood in all of Rio. Guests are only a 5 minute walk to countless restaurants, bars, shops, bus and tram stops, and just a 10 minute walk to Rio's ever expanding metro system. The three rooms are exquisitely appointed and furnished, two of which boast stunning views of the Bay of Guanabara and Sugar Loaf. The private guest entrance is through the lush garden, where you can find mango, coconut and goiaba trees, bromeliads, orchids, not to mention countless tropical birds and the occasional monkey. All of the rooms have elegant private bathrooms, inlaid hardwood floors, air conditioning, ceiling fans, and free wireless Internet. On the ground floor, guests have their own dining room and a self-catering kitchenette where they are welcome to prepare light meals and drinks. Guesthouse Bianca's gracious host, Guido, is a native Cariocan and has lived in Rio all his life. He speaks English, French and Italian and is always available to give tips on Rio, or join guests for a homemade piece of cake or a cachaca on the terrace.
Rua Murtinho Nobre, 35 Santa Teresa, Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro 20241-050 Brazil
Name/address in local language
Guesthouse Bianca
5 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Bianca is the charm and joy of the place. We will not forget the affection and perfection involved in breakfast on the terrace, offered by the owner Guido, who calmly chatted in Portuguese, French and German. The decoration of the house is of surreal good taste and refinement. A stay there is worth a trip to an art exhibition
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Date of stay: April 2024Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip: Há 3 museus pouco conhecidos nos arredores. Explore com calma a região
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Started our trip to Brazil with a stay in this beautiful historic house in Santa Theresa. Guido and Chico were hospitable and very helpful. The room is spacious and has a balcony that overlooks Suger Loaf Mountain. Breakfast is freshly prepared and is served on the verandah overlooking the well kept gardens. The area is authentically old Rio and oozes charm and character with several good local bars and restaurants with live music. It is within walking distance of the city centre.
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Date of stay: December 2019
Value
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Room Tip:Â All rooms are good - but try for the balcony room - waking up with a view of Suger Loaf Mountain...
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We loved our stay at Guesthouse Bianca, this is such a wonderful place with great surroundings. The house is beautifully built with well decorated common spaces and our room (with external private bathroom - in a private hallway - no problem at all) featured wonderful views over Rio. Its blossoming garden is tranquil and here you can enjoy a tasty breakfast with fresh fruits, granola, eggs and bread. The neighborhood is buzzing with lots of great restaurants, cafes and bars, so go out and explore. The owner is super friendly and always at your disposal. We had to check out early and they even made us a breakfast package before the breakfast time slots. Couldn’t have wished for more, thank you again for a wonderful stay.
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Date of stay: January 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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Unfortunately we are unable to add to the positive reviews of the guesthouse after our four night stay. The below review is given with much thought, and not based on any particular negative experience or disagreement.
Firstly, on a positive note, the guesthouse is beautifully decorated, very clean and secure.
However, for several reasons we would not return:
1. The area of Santa Teresa is isolated, far away from all main attractions, and almost impossible to access. The area consists of steep hills. It is unpleasant to walk around and very difficult to or from which to get an Uber. The restaurants and bars in the area close at 10pm, and therefore if you like to enjoy a later dinner or drink in the evening, you need to go to Lapa (which has a very different vibe to Santa Teresa). It is close by but returning involves an uncomfortable and unpleasant steep walk back, and it simply not possible to get an Uber. 2. On arrival, we were told that we would need to present for breakfast by 9.30 and no later. 10 am is considered lunchtime according to the owner. This is an unusually early time to finish breakfast, particularly for a holiday centred guesthouse. There was no offer to leave aside some juice, bread and fruit for us to have later after we woke up. Other hotels we have recently stayed in have served breakfast until 11am, and have offered to leave some food aside for those wishing to have a lie in. 3. We were expecting a different and warm atmosphere, and some orientation, advice and guidance from the owners based on the other reviews. This was not evident. The atmosphere in the house was quite cold.
It is with regret to give the guesthouse a 2 star rating, but we feel this is an honest and fair representation, and all that we can give based on our experience. We would not stay here again.
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Date of stay: March 2023
Value
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Service
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rio’s best hotel/accommodation (we’ve been to many).
The hotel is set in a beautiful abode from the 1930s, and renovated and decorated with the utmost level of refinement.
The rooms are incredibly large, comfortable and calm (no noise at night). We slept like babies. Bathrooms are stunning too.
Guido and Francisco, the hosts, are extremely courteous, helpful and kind.
Breakfast was amazing.
Finally the neighbourhood is very pleasant with beautiful sights, restaurants and bars and shops.
Better than 5* experience!
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Date of stay: March 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gorgeous old renovated private grand house, magical, romantic, perfect in every way, high in Santa Teresa. Great price. We had an amazing stay, and looking forwards to our next visit. Thank you so much!
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Date of stay: June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed at Guesthouse Bianca for 4 nights in August. I will never forget how happy we felt walking into the house our first night, after seeing the very tasteful interior decoration, its beautiful garden and architecture. We stayed at the Corcovado room and seeing Rio in the morning from our window was a great moment. Your only "problem" may be the loud birds in the morning:) but we certainly loved waking up and watching the colorful parrots sitting on top of a gorgeous mango tree! Also pay attention to the electric wires, you may see monkeys!
St. Teresa may be a little far from Rio's famous beaches etc. but for those who do not mind walking and enjoy a rather bohemian, artful neighborhood, St. Teresa is the happy place to be on a sunny Saturday afternoon and it is perfectly safe.
Guido and Alessandro (apologies if I am misspelling) were wonderful hosts, so were Juliet, Bruno (the wonderful dogs) and Lu (warmest Rio cat). Guido was so generous, kind and so helpful, gave us good tips and helped us with pretty much everything. We are so happy we met them.
We recommend it to everyone who loves beauty.
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Date of stay: August 2012
Value
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Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were very much looking forward to staying here after reading so many positive reviews. However we thought it was an OK stay rather amazing.
The location is lovely, in Santa Teresa with a great view. The house itself is beautiful. We stayed in the sugarloaf room. The bed was poor with basic sheets. The shower was a bit rubbish- an old electric one with cold water- unless you turn the power right down- which nobody told us. Bathroom was dark. Balcony however had a spectacular view.
Breakfast was nice- but basic. We enjoyed it but not amazing in relative terms. The hosts seemed very nice-however we barely saw them as they were away after our first day. The house felt very isolated and dark when returning in the evenings.
Overall this was an OK stay in a good location. We wouldn't go back. For the price we would have expected a better bed and shower. The reviews on here gave us very high expectations and we wanted to share the reality.
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Date of stay: July 2015Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Guesthouse Bianca is perfectly situated for anyone who prefer to stay in a safe and peaceful location with plenty of character, but wouldn't want to miss Rio's daily bustle and lively nightlife. The building looks stunning (even more so than in the photos), with rather authentic 1930s atmosphere and much attention given to every little detail throughout the house.
Not less importantly - Guido, the owner, is the most welcoming and friendly host one could ever wish for, providing all guests with valuable information, stories, hints and tips.
Our small group of 4 stayed in two of the rooms for 4 nights. Sugar Loaf room is the fancier one, with ensuite bathroom on a separate floor level and a roomy balcony. Corcovado's bathroom is out of the room, but it is still private and these few extra steps did not cause any trouble at all. Both rooms have a splendid view on the Sugar Loaf mountain, are cleaned daily (even though we did not request it) and have A/C (although we did not need one). The breakfast is served in two small nearby cafes, which provide a simple but tasty kickstart for a busy day in Rio.
Bianca is a healthy walk away from the Gloria metro and bus station, which conveniently connects you with all the key attractions, and has a lovely street market on Sundays. Right downhill along the cobbled street there is Lapa, famous for its must-see Friday night festivals and the colourful stairs of Escadaria Selaron. We were a bit hesitant at first to stroll these streets at night, but despite the thousands of people partying in Lapa, the street was quiet and felt safe. In a walk's distance to other direction, there are the cosy bars, pubs and restaurants of St Teresa. We spent several nights at Mike's Place, a small bar which had live jazz band playing on Thursday.
If you are not that much into uphill walking, you might find it a bit tough to move around along the hilly and cobbled streets of St Teresa. As an alternative, you may use taxi - we did so for several times and it did not have any problem with finding the place.
It has now been 2 months since we returned from Rio and Bianca, and I'm still/already aching to go back!
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Date of stay: October 2012
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Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Guesthouse Bianca is the best place to stay in Rio. The house is a million dollar luxurious mansion -- beautifully decorated, marble, old world hardwoods, stained glass. Very private rooms with modern amenities; new bathrooms and kitchens. Beautiful garden. Next to a fantastic park with a 360 degree view of all of Rio. Convenient 10-15 minute walk down cobblestone streets to the Gloria subway stop. Wake up to the birds in the mango tree with Sugar Loaf in the backdrop. Absolutely fantastic at a most reasonable price. Rio is not just touristic Copacabana Beach, yet it's no problem to get to Copacabana from this Santa Teresa location. Highly highly highly recommend.
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Date of stay: December 2011
Value
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Cleanliness
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Rio de Janeiro area.
PRICE RANGE
$153 - $169 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
guesthouse bianca hotel rio de janeiro
LOCATION
BrazilState of Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroZona Sul (South Zone) / Santa Teresa
NUMBER OF ROOMS
3
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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