The Brazilian city is a financial and industrial powerhouse. As such, it’s often visited by business travellers. Found on a plateau of the country’s Highlands, it was formed by Jesuit missionaries in 1554 and is now the largest city of the Southern Hemisphere. Immense and dynamic, it’s a fascinating place, buzzing with life, city squares, parks and three rivers. Enjoying a temperature climate, it’s very pleasant, experiencing its highest temperatures during our wintertime. If you plan on visiting this part of Latin America, these are the hotels you should check out in São Paulo…
Emiliano São Paulo
This hip design hotel rises upward on the city horizon and while the interiors may be minimalist, they reflect the area’s tropicality. Guests can take a dip in hot tubs secreted in a pretty Japanese garden, admire the suspended orchid garden, recline in barside spaghetti-like rope chairs and nibble on caviar in the sophisticated restaurant. The Japanese theme extends to the calming bedrooms; notably, the toilets which are equipped with high tech jets, dryers and heated seats, as well as contemporary Japanese style wall screens. Expect excellent service throughout the Emiliano and in its spa.
Hotel Fasano São Paulo
Leading Brazilian architects Isay Weinfeld and Marcio Kogan helped to create this vintage style building, an ode to European style circa 1940. Inside, the decor incorporates tan leather furnishings, polished herringbone wood floors, Eames chairs and fireplaces. Fasano has 50 bedrooms (ten of which are suites), a fitness centre, excellent destination restaurants, a spa (offering medical as well as relaxing treatments), a swimming pool and the Baretto piano bar, where jazz and bossa-nova are performed by top musicians. Found in the Jardins neighbourhood, it’s an ideal location for those wishing to shop, or explore the area’s restaurants, cafes and bars.
Hotel Unique Sao Paulo
So named because of its striking exterior, this hotel is unlike any other in the city, or quite possibly, the world. Like Fasano, Unique is found in Jardins; a glass-walled, cactus-lined, long, thin rooftop pool giving an outlook over the district. This part of the hotel is the place to be at the weekends, with a legendary party vibe. Inside you’ll find architecture as surprising as the outside — a curved library, massive porthole windows and bold art installations. Don’t miss the brightly hued indoor pool; it has a slide, and, like the outdoor pool, underwater music. Unique has 94 bedrooms and suites, plus two restaurants and welcomes four-legged friends.
Tivoli Mofarrej São Paulo
Renowned for housing the largest Presidential Suite in Latin America, the skyscraper Tivoli is the place to be for superb views. The restaurant, SEEN, is 23 floors up, with 360-degree panoramas and award-winning chef William Ribeiro at the helm. There’s also a sushi bar with a sake menu and a relaxed bistro. Rooms are decorated in browns and creams, with contemporary simplicity and urban-chic touches. Tivoli Mofarrej’s Antara Spa offers Thai and Asian inspired treatments, including acupuncture, shiatsu and thalassotherapy. Don’t miss the craft drinks at MUST bar; the bartender Jessica Sanchez has been named best in Brazil and South America.
Palacio Tangara
This five-star establishment is most unusual for São Paulo, in that it’s surrounded by greenery, namely the Burle Marx Park. This provides a real sense of retreat from the city’s unrelenting bustle, augmented by its Flora Spa. Palacio Tangara opened in 2017, gathering accolades from Conde Nast, Forbes Travel Guide and the Michelin Guide over the past few years. Multi-awarded Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten opened his first South American restaurant here, serving a blend of French and Asian gastronomy with pops of Brazilian flavour. An alfresco terrace overlooks the outdoor pool and park, while the Burle Bar provides an indoor zone for elegant drinking.