Stayed at Bandeirantes for 4 nights at the end of Carnaval 2008. Nice location only 3 short blocks up from Copacabana; many bus lines stop near door & subway station is 5 blocks away: all public trasport modern, safe & clean. Hotel staff managers, Alcin, Alex & Jorge very helpful. Hotel is very up-to-date & super clean; two elevators are very fast. My room was on the 2nd floor facing the back (north), overlooking rooftop garden/deck. The one thing I absolutely hated was the small TV mounted high in a corner of the ceiling - extremely uncomfortable viewing. The staff wouldn't allow me to loosen the nut & lockwasher to re-position it lower for the duration of my stay. Next time, I won't even ask - I'll just do it. No ice machines: as with a lot of hotels outside North America, it's necessary to get ice at the bar/restaurant in the basement. No coffee machines in rooms, so I always carry an EKCO immersion heater coil (110V) when I travel, and keep tea bags, instant coffee, etc. in room. Each room at Bandeirantes has a mini-fridge & small freezer; my room #105 was very spacious, with a huge closet, very large bathroom, separate lunch table & chairs, side tables next to bed. Extensive TV variety incl. CNN English. Absolutely no problem whatsoever with personal safety anywhere I went in Rio & Sao Paulo, and I quickly got used to the bus & subway systems in each city. Taking the #175 bus from Santa Clara St. (side street at hotel) @ av. Atlantica on the beach over west to the Barra de Tijuca Shopping Center was easily the most striking bus ride I've ever experienced on a municipal system: it's a 35-min. ride that mostly follows the coast and then goes slightly inland through a long tunnel to Barra de Tijuca. The shopping center is quite large, with hundreds of stores, but they're all very small, in contrast to U.S. & Canadian malls & big-city shopping districts. I recommend trying Ipanema beach, not just Copacabana, and it's only a 5-min. bus ride away. Buses cost the equivalent of $1.20 - lounge chairs to rent on the beach are $2.50. All in all, an incredible adventure in Rio & nice stay at the Bandeirantes. Don't waste your funds for a hotel right on the beach (av. Atlantica) - it's not worth it, and a lot of these hotels aren't so new. There are many modern, more econimical & superior hotels just one to four blocks from the beach.