Windsor Marapendi Hotel

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Upscale Barra da Tijuca, on the western edge of Rio de Janeiro, was given a huge facelift ready for the 2016 Olympics. With a glorious 18km sweep of golden sand – Rio’s largest beach - and multiple options for refreshments and dining, Barra offers a calmer, alternative base for sightseeing in Rio combined with time to unwind after a trip to the interior. The Windsor Marapendi is one of many high quality hotels built for the Olympics. Facilities and services are aligned with the high standards of the well-regarded Windsor chain, including a rooftop pool and panoramic terrace, restaurant and fitness room. For a change of scene it’s around 15km by taxi to Rio’s upscale Leblon neighbourhood (just west of Ipanema and Copacabana) which is packed with dining and entertainment options.

What our clients say

Where to start? The World Cup match in Salvador, the old town of Salvador itself, swimming with wild dolphins in Praia de Pipa, watching monkeys play at breakfast, piranha fishing then feeding caimans in the Pantanal, playing football on Copacabana beach, seeing Christ the Redeemer for the first time, dancing in Rio Sanarium, all the Brazilian people we met who were so friendly. The best holiday we have ever been on.
LM, London
Highlight: Walking on the trails through the rainforest on Ilha Grande.
CB, Leeds
Highlight: Visiting Iguazu Falls.
TF, Wakefield
Rio - the ultimate party city. The Pantanal - fascinating wildlife. Iguacu - Wow ! And the Andes - Incredible. We ran out of superlatives to describe what we were seeing.
PM, Stamford Brook
The Iguazu falls were amazing. Brazilia was also a real experience and is undersold - it is a really singular place to visit - the parliament and other buildings are free to visit if you time it right. Rio was Rio and not to be missed all the highlights are highlights and will never forget visiting Christ the Redemptor on a steaming hot day. Christmas on Copacabana should be experienced by everyone - forget the turkey in the cold- this is how to live!
AB, Reading
Most Memorable Moment?: We were lucky enough to have a major thunder storm overnight at the Iguazu falls and these were unbelievably spectacular the next day. Also the Lencois Marahenas was utterly beautiful and quite different to anything else we saw.
KT, Andover

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Our expert's view

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Windsor Marapendi is roughly halfway along Barra’s long strip with remote Praia do Pontal at one end and downtown Barra at the other. A cycle lane runs all along the beach.

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Charlotte Daubeney - Travel Expert
Charlotte's fascination with Latin America began with a family holiday to Belize. She went on to study Spanish in school and at university before spending a year living in Santiago, Chile.
Sophie Barber - Travel Expert
Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia and beyond to Antarctica.
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Lina's passion for the continent where she was born really took off when she moved to Córdoba (Argentina) to study, spending the holidays travelling between Argentina and her native Colombia.
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After graduating in Computer Science, Paul spent seven months travelling from Colombia to Argentina and came home hooked on Latin America.
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Ben fell in love with Latin America on a six month backpacking trip from Colombia to Mexico in 1995. Since then he has explored most of South America, including living in Peru for a year. He is now Head of Sales.
Heloise Buxton - Travel Expert
Heloise started her Latin American journey as an exchange student in Santiago, Chile. With extended summer holidays this was the perfect opportunity to backpack through Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Brazil.