Fasano São Paulo

The Fasano family name is well known in São Paulo, in the context of fine dining: the family has over 100 years of experience in the restaurant business, having brought the finest in Italian cuisine with them from Milan. Their flagship restaurant, called simply Fasano, has presided over this private avenue (itself named for great-grandfather Vittorio Fasano) since 1990, and the year 2003 saw the arrival of the family's first hotel venture.

A hotel is lucky if it can develop a decent restaurant; this one was fortunate enough to have been born at the side of a great one. And the Jardim Paulista district surrounding Rua Vittorio Fasano is home to São Paulo's finest shops and boutiques, another auspicious circumstance for any hotel.

Especially this kind of hotel. This is the sort of place where discreet, understated design acts not as a refuge for publicity-shy guests, but as a backdrop against which they may shine. Unlike the bizarre and delightful Hotel Unique, Fasano is a sober and dignified affair, with a facade in English red brick and a lobby filled with massive leather armchairs. This is quite clearly not a place to hide but a place to be seen, and the view from the armchairs is of a constant parade of well-heeled travelers and fashionable Paulistanos flowing through reception and into the Wallpaper*-endorsed Baretto, the jazz bar (in case your Portuguese is too rusty for a guess).

Though as flashy and glamorous as any boutique, Fasano is every inch a luxury hotel — not just São Paulo's hippest, but possibly its most decadent as well, a point proved by such top-flight facilities as a rooftop health club and some of the most excessive bathrooms anywhere.

Service is, as expected, wonderfully attentive, but stopping short of the sort of no-holds-barred obsequiousness that can often induce a sort of post-colonial shame — it doesn't hurt that the staff are every bit as attractive as the guests. Don't expect an Olympic-sized pool, as the fashion in this town runs to petite yet picturesque bodies of water, though the view from the rooftop more than makes up for any size issues. And let's not forget the restaurant, the hotel's grown-up older brother, where you can see for yourself what the fuss over this family is all about — that is, if their hotel hasn't already convinced you.

Travel advisory: Passport and visa requirements differ from country to country. Please check with your local authority before booking.

How to get there: Hotel Fasano Sao Paulo is located 20 miles from Guarulhos International Airport. The trip is approximately a 30 minute drive.