Rio de Janeiro · Brazil
Ipanema Beach House
Bed bug reports
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Confirmed Hostelworld
I wanted to give them a good rating but I got bed bugs. My entire back and arm was covered. When I checked the mattress with the staff there was some staining (from the bugs) but they denied it was that. I've reached out and they offered no support.
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Possible Booking.com
La habitación tenía chinches
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Confirmed Booking.com
There was a lack of space to hang our clothes and towels to dry. We stayed 10 nights and we realized half way through our stay that there was a rack hidden in the back that no one had told us about. Near the end of our stay, one of my friends in my room woke up with a ton of red bites on her arms and back they were almost certainly due to bed bugs. I understand this can happen at any hostel but the management needs to do a better job at keeping up with cases of bed bugs and getting it sorted quickly so they don't spread. Luckily I didn't get bit but it easily could've spread to other beds.
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Confirmed Booking.com
Shared rooms were fairly small and could get messy, only two sinks for brushing teeth, had a bedbug situation but received a refund when I moved out - I think it’s hard to prevent in any circumstance since they’re carried by travellers in luggage but I didn’t receive a refund for the day they couldn’t let out my bed, nor was any cost paid towards the laundry needed to ensure the bedbugs hiding there were killed
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Confirmed Booking.com
BED BUGS EVERYWHERE!! Don’t book it!! It ruined my holiday! During my stay at this hostel over the past few days, the bed was heavily infested with bed bugs and was clearly not properly cleaned. As a result, I have been suffering for two days from severe, inflamed bed bug bites that are extremely itchy, not improving, and becoming increasingly painful. I had to get a topical treatment and a strong anti-inflammatory steroid medication from the pharmacy. This situation is unacceptable!!
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Possible Booking.com
Pendant mon séjour, du 20 au 24 octobre 2025, des petits boutons ont commencé à apparaître sur mon cou. J’ai cru à une réaction au soleil. Puis quand au moment du départ j’ai également ces boutons sur le visage et les jambes je me décide à défaire le lit et inspecter le matelas. J’y ai bien vu des punaises de lit. J’en ai informé la réception, qui n’a pas eu l’air surprise et n’a pas vraiment prêté attention à mon commentaire. Cela est peut-être commun pour eux. Depuis ce jour les effets ne font que augmenter. J’ai une importante réaction allergique. Bref un cauchemar.
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Confirmed Hostelworld
This hostel had bed bugs!!! Found bedbugs in my 6 bed room. I told the staff immediately and they didn’t care, they didn't offer a solution and didn’t care to let the other travelers in the room know that the room they were sleeping in an infested room. Only answer was “There’s nothing I can do about it”. Avoid this place.
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Confirmed Booking.com
***BED BUGS ALERT*** I recently stayed at Ipanema Beach House and had a terrible experience. Despite the hotel's claims of thorough cleaning and pest control, I found bed bugs in my room (see photos attached). This was not only distressing but also resulted in multiple bites on my body. I reported the issue immediately, but the hotel's response was inadequate, and they refused to provide a refund or any significant compensation. I urge future guests to be cautious and consider this when choosing accommodations. This experience was far from what I expected, and I would not recommend this hotel to anyone.
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Confirmed Google Maps
****BED BUGS ALERT**** I recently stayed at Ipanema Beach House and had a terrible experience. Despite the hotel's claims of thorough cleaning and pest control, I found bed bugs in my room (see photos attached). This was not only distressing but also resulted in multiple bites on my body. I reported the issue immediately, but the hostel's response was inadequate, and they refused to provide a refund or any significant compensation. I urge future guests to be cautious and consider this when choosing accommodations. This experience was far from what I expected, and I would not recommend this hostel to anyone.
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Confirmed Hostelworld
Very nice hostel, lovely area. Dirty rooms and beds (some girl found a bed bug). But overall a good stay.
HostelPunk native reviews
First-party field notes
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Vibe Analysis
Ipanema Beach House is mostly about the address and the outdoor spaces. The hostel sits in a strong Ipanema pocket near the beach, metro, restaurants, and Leblon, and the old house/patio/pool setup can feel like a decent Rio hangout when the weather and crowd line up. There are flashes of the hostel people want it to be: drinks, a garden/pool scene, travelers meeting each other, and staff or bar people who can be genuinely warm. The room side is the tax. Dorms and privates can be tiny, humid, worn, noisy, and packed with triple bunks; bathrooms are often described as too few, too small, or not clean enough for the number of people. The social vibe is inconsistent too: sometimes friendly and lively, sometimes dead, cliquey, or more like everyone is hiding from the maintenance backlog. Best fit: someone who wants Ipanema location, pool/patio time, and does not mind a rough old-house hostel. If you need reliable Wi-Fi, clean bathrooms, spacious beds, quiet nights, or strong valuables security, this one needs caution.
Signals to check
- Dorm security and valuables handling are a serious concern, with repeated theft or missing-item reports.
- Bedbug/insect and hygiene complaints appear often enough to treat as a real risk.
- Rooms can be extremely cramped, humid, moldy, and uncomfortable, with triple bunks and tiny bathrooms.
- Bathrooms and shared cleaning can lag behind the number of guests.
- Wi-Fi has been unreliable for longer stays or work calls.
- Service, communication, refunds, and extra charges can be rough.
- Noise and temperature control can be annoying, especially near the bar/kitchen or with aggressive AC.