Fairmont Rio de Janeiro Copacabana

The Fairmont Rio de Janeiro Copacabana stands on Avenida Atlântica, directly on Copacabana Beach. It was Fairmont's first hotel in South America and its debut in Brazil, and it describes itself as a five-star hotel.

The interiors were designed by Patrícia Anastassiadis to evoke the style of the 1950s, and the Michelin Guide describes the result as elegant in a timeless way, contemporary but easy to like. The hotel has 375 rooms and suites, including ocean-view rooms and suites with sea views.

The hotel's signature space is its infinity pool, which looks along Copacabana Beach towards Sugarloaf Mountain; there is also a second, quieter relaxation pool and a beach club. The spa covers 400 square metres, with five massage rooms including a couples' suite, a sauna, a beauty salon and a spa suite, and its treatments are inspired by the biodiversity of the Amazon. A fitness centre completes the wellness offer.

For food and drink, the Michelin Guide mentions the seafood-focused Marine Restô, a café and a cocktail bar. The lobby also houses a concept store from the Brazilian jeweller H. Stern. With 13 meeting rooms covering 1,500 square metres, the hotel is also a major venue for conferences and events.

The Fairmont suits couples, families and business travellers who want a large, full-service beachfront hotel with resort-style facilities. It is a good alternative to the smaller boutique hotels of Ipanema and Leblon for travellers who prefer more facilities on site.

For reservations, the hotel lists +55 21 2525-1232 and [email protected], with a separate toll-free line for room bookings from within Brazil.

Copacabana itself is a convenient base. The Copacabana Fort, built between 1908 and 1914, guards the southern end of the beach and houses a branch of Confeitaria Colombo, and beyond it lies Arpoador, the rocky point where crowds gather to applaud the sunset, and then Ipanema. The four-kilometre Burle Marx promenade runs north along the beach towards Leme, and on Sundays and public holidays one side of Avenida Atlântica is closed to traffic and given over to walkers and cyclists.

Three metro stations serve Copacabana, Cardeal Arcoverde, Siqueira Campos and Cantagalo, and more than 40 bus routes pass through the neighbourhood.