England football stars to stay in 'third world' hotel overlooking slums for Brazil World Cup

England's football stars will reportedly stay in a hotel that overlooks a crime-ridden slum in Brazil for the World Cup in 2014.

The player will stay at the £180-a-night Royal Tulip Hotel, which some guests have described as 'third world', and that overlooks the infamous Rocinha favela - a shanty town controlled by drug gangs.

In August 2010, the Royal Tulip, then known as the Rio InterContinental, became the scene for a 40-minute gun battle between two warring drug gangs.

Armed gangster stormed the hotel foyer taking members of staff and guests hostage.

According to the Daily Mail, one witness said: "It was a shocking incident. It was very nasty even by Brazilian standards.

"They just stormed into the hotel and took it over. The guests were terrified and that poor lady got shot and killed."

The hotel describes itself as offering four-star luxury, writing on its website: "Located in front of Rio de Janeiro Beach, surrounded by the beauty of the Pedra da Gavea and the green courts of the Gavea Golf Club, near one of the most charming and sophisticated shopping malls of Rio de Janeiro, called Fashion Mall, the Royal Tulip Rio de Janeiro offers 418 luxurious apartments all with balcony and a beautiful sea view, meeting facilities with capacity to accommodate up to 3.000 people, two restaurants and two bars."

But Tripadvisor reviews paint a different picture.

Users have complained about everything from "black mould" in bathrooms to open sewers running outside the building.

According to the Mirror, one guest even joked it makes "a North Korean prison seem like a dream destination".

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