São Paulo is Brazil’s largest city, with a population of about 11 million, and lies a 40-minute flight (270 miles by road) southwest of Rio. A sprawling concrete metropolis, it is primarily a business center and of relatively little interest to leisure travelers, although its partisans make great claims for both the city’s art galleries and its food (D.O.M., where chef Alex Atala serves a contemporary version of Brazilian cuisine, is widely regarded as the best restaurant in South America.)
If São Paulo is your gateway city, I can confidently recommend two hotels. The Hotel Fasano São Paulo is the group’s original property and is housed in a 1930s-style brick building in the fashionable Jardins neighborhood, a short walk from the city’s main thoroughfare, the Avenida Paulista. I had been expecting a design hotel similar to the Fasano in Ipanema, but in fact, the São Paulo property is calm and restrained, with a clublike atmosphere engendered by wooden paneling and leather armchairs and sofas. Our room was spacious, low-key, extremely comfortable and traditional in style. The bath was bright with natural light, and well-appointed with both a large walk-in shower and a soaking tub that filled in seconds.
The hotel’s Fasano restaurant serves superlative Italian cuisine in an unexpectedly grand and expansive setting. I enjoyed an utterly delicious shrimp and artichoke risotto, followed by a sumptuous entrée of guinea fowl with black truffles. The meal was further enhanced by an affable and articulate sommelier, who displayed an encyclopedic knowledge of his list’s Barolos and Brunellos. My only reservations about the hotel concern the inconveniently located rooftop health club and the rather lackluster indoor pool.
AT A GLANCE
LIKE: Dignified atmosphere; comfortable accommodations; exceptional restaurant; charming staff.
DISLIKE: Lackluster fitness center and indoor pool; location on an uninspiring side street.
GOOD TO KNOW: The sommelier has an encyclopedic knowledge of Italian wines.
Hotel Fasano São Paulo 94 Deluxe Room, $810; One-Bedroom Suite, $1,300. Rua Vittorio Fasano 88, Sao Paulo. Tel. (55) 11-3896-4000.
Located little more than a five-minute walk away, the Emiliano has a more modern appearance and atmosphere. The expansive lobby is bright and colorful, with huge glass walls that provide a diverting view of an animated shopping street outside. Our Deluxe Room on the 18th floor was smaller than the equivalent category at the Fasano, but it was pleasingly appointed with pale-wood paneling, a leather sofa, Lucite lampstands and a king-size bed made up with Trussardi linens. The bath was well-lit and provided a forceful shower, but no tub. Adjacent to the lobby, the Emiliano Restaurant serves delicious contemporary cuisine against a striking backdrop of an interior garden. The hotel’s principal amenity is a small spa with an outdoor Jacuzzi and sundeck.
Like the Fasano, the Emiliano has solicitous, English-speaking staff. Your choice between the two properties will ultimately depend on whether you prefer hotels that are more masculine and traditional, or those with a contemporary buzz.
AT A GLANCE
LIKE: Animated and attractive lobby; delightful staff; excellent restaurant.
DISLIKE: The bath in our Deluxe Room was rather small with a single vanity.
GOOD TO KNOW: The terrace outside the gymnasium is over the main hotel entrance and is a wonderful place to sit in the sun and watch the world go by.
Emiliano 93 Deluxe Room, $760; Suite, $1,485. Rua Oscar Freire 384, Sao Paulo. Tel. (55) 11-3069-4369.
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