During the 1970s, when a military junta ruled

Beyond Rio
Each of the 25 villas at Ponta dos Canchos, located nearly 800 miles south of Rio de Janeiro, includes a fireplace and a wine cellar.
During the 1970s, when a military junta ruled the country,
the government neglected tourism, labeling it as elitist.
swimming pool as capacious as some lakes, a poolside buffet, and corridors adorned with photos of past celebrity
patrons. Right across the Avenida Atlantica from the hotel,
beyond the undulating mosaic pattern of the sidewalks, lies
Copacabana beach, a steamy stretch of sand that gave us the
string bikini, the tanga, and the thong. So it is easy to imagine visitors to Rio de Janeiro telling folks back home, be it
Des Moines or Dusseldorf, that of course they stayed at the
Copacabana Palace.
Yet these affectations of swank-the oversize pool, the
gluttonous spread of food, the photos of the famous-give
the hotel away. Its pomp and pretensions to the contrary,
the vaunted Copa is the quintessential mass-market hotel.
Not that there is anything wrong with that. At one time,
without travelers from bus tours and charter flights filling
the Copa's 245 rooms and 13 function rooms, Brazil might
not have had much of a tourism industry at all. Iguayu
Falls and the Amazon River may rank among the world's
great natural attractions, but because of their distances
from Rio-by air, 735 miles to Iguayu Falls and roughly
2,175 miles to the mouth of the Amazon-they are accessible from the city only by plane or by an excruciatingly
long bus ride. Between those two destinations lies the
world's largest wetland, the 54,000-square-mile Pantanal,
where jacare, the local alligators, inhabit the roadsides and
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ROBB REPORT
FEBRUARY 2011
anacondas as fat as footballs bask in the muck.
"Brazil isn't Provence," Douglas Wren told me upon my
return from Brazil. Wren is vice president of PanAmerican
Travel Services, a Salt Lake City agency that specializes in
high-end travel to South America and Central America.
"You didn't come back from Mato Grosso [a western state
of Brazil that is home to part of the Pantanal] with tales of
driving through the countryside and finding a quaint little
auberge whose owner invited you in for lunch," he said.
"These places just didn't exist."
Until the mid 1990s, said Wren, North American agencies seldom arranged trips only to Brazil. "The standard in
luxury travel was the South American Circle," he said. "It
was a guided tour for 40 people for three weeks. You
started out in Rio de Janeiro, probably staying at the
Copacabana Palace, then flew to Buenos Aires and Bariloche, crossed the Andes, and then went on to Lima and
Machu Picchu before returning home. What made it a
luxury tour were services like a private guide or a suite
instead of a room. But you always used the same hotel or
resort the economy group used. There were no luxury
experiences for upscale travelers."
Maybe that is because Brazilians were not sure what luxury tourism was supposed to be. During the 1970s, when a
military junta ruled the country, the government neglected
Beyond Rio
tourism, labeling it as elitist. "When they finally decided to
promote tourism as a way of generating revenue, they didn't
promote the arts, our museums, our cuisine, or our culture,"
Luiz Augusto, president of Rio's State Syndicate of Tourist
Guides, told m e while I was visiting the city. The main reason for coming to Rio was sex. Augusto said, "The ads
always showed a girl posed seductively in a tanga and saying,
'Come see me in Rio.' "
UNLIKE ANGRA DOS REIS, which was discovered by an Italian,
Vespucci, the town of Armac;:ao dos Buzios, located about
100 miles northeast of Rio, was put on the map by the
French, more specifically, by Brigitte Bardot. The movie
star landed here in 1964-to vacation with her Brazilian
boyfriend~with an army of paparazzi swarming in her
wake; since men the population has grown from 500 to more
than 15,000; and what was once a sleepy fishing village has
become Brazil's most popular beach resort. A bronze statue
EVEN WHEN CONSIDERING the political situation of the
of Bardot sits near the center of town, welcoming male vis1970s, one still has to wonder why nearly 500 years
itors to take a seat in her lap and have their photo taken.
passed between Vespucci's
The main street is a nararrival and the opening of a
row cobblestoned road lined
property like the Pestana in
with houses that face the
Angra dos Reis, where the
water. They are diminutive
beauty of the islands and the
two-story structures with
forest seems surreal. In the
brightly painted doorframes
late 1990s, a wealthy interand shutters. It is as quaint
national crowd gathered on
and inviting as one might
the bay waters nearly every
expect of a small town said
weekend of the season, but
to contain as many as 500
the visitors usually stayed on
pousadas, the best known of
their yachts because Angra
which is the Casas Brancas
dos Reis offered no luxury
Boutique-Hotel & Spa.
hotels, no restaurants serv"We get lots of tennis
ing gourmet cuisine, and no
players and soccer players,"
spas providing therapy, beauty,
said Santiago Bebianno, the
and relaxation.
35-year-old scion of the famThat changed in 2000,
ily who opened the Casas
when Pestana, a hotel chain
Brancas in 1974. "[Designer]
based in Portugal, opened the
Philippe Starck stayed with
resort that Birchall now overus. He was here for a week
sees. "It was simply a matter
and never left his room."
of recognizing that a luxury
While I could not-and
market existed here at Angra,"
did not try to-imagine what
said Birchall. The property Casas Brancas is in Armafc'io dos Buzios, a beach town northeast Starck was doing in his room
of Rio de Janeiro that Brigitte Bardot made famous in the 1960s.
comprises its own secluded
for a week, I found it easy to
beach, a spa and health club,
see why Buzios has become
and 27 spacious bungalows (some have private saunas and
a mecca for wealthy bohemians. The weather-beaten houses,
hot tubs) with hammocks from which to enjoy the stunthe fishing boats bobbing in the harbor, the cacl1afarias
ning views of the bay.
where grizzled workmen convene to sip the national drink,
The cuisine is fit for the most demanding yachtsman, and
an alcohol made from distilled sugarcane-all represent a
the breakfasts-pancakes and tapiocas and white cheeses
kind of authenticity that money cannot buy. Or, as Bebianno
and fruits and mousses-are especially memorable. A stroll
put it while wheeling his SUV up to Rocka, a restaurant
around the steep hillside grounds is the perfect way to work
and lounge on Brava Beach, about five minutes by car from
off those calories.
the hotel, "It's barefoot chic."
After taking such a walk, I joined Birchall on the hotel
Besides the Casas Brancas site, the Buzios peninsula featerrace for coffee. "Angra is quiet right now," he said, "but
tures several other beaches, each with its own identity and
there are times when the sky is full of planes and helicopappeal. Horseshoe Beach, for instance, is ideal for snorkelters coming and going."
ing, while Manguinhos Beach has calm, soothing waves
The busiest time is during Carnival, the nearly weeklong
that are perfect for anyone just learning to hang ten. Geriba
festival that precedes Lent, but the celebration here does
Beach is filled with surfers, boogie boarders, and windsurfnot resemble the frenzied street revel in Rio. "The mass
ers. And at Olho de Boi, sunscreen is no doubt abundant
market goes to Rio for Carnival," said Birchall. "Our guests
because clothing is optional.
come here to escape it."
Flesh also was on display at Rocka, where a dozen French
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ROBB REPORT
FEBRUARY 2 0 11
Beyond Rio
couples in bikinis and Speedos reclined on futonlike
lounges, nibbling calamari or coquilles St.-Jacques and
swigging mojitos, caipirinhas, or Veuve Clicquot beneath
their beach umbrellas. "It's like a club here," said Bebianno,
as he led the way through the indoor-outdoor bar where a
deejay played the latest hip-hop hits, which guests listened
to through the speakers built into their lounge pillows.
"This is where the see-and-be-seen crowd goes."
To be sure, Rocka had a club vibe; the only things missing were bouncers and a velvet rope. "This is the most popular spot in all Buzios," said Bebianno. "Everybody wants a
lounge and a beach umbrella. But of course you can't give
one to everybody. You have to be selective."
NO LESS DESIRABLE than a lounge chair and umbrella at Rocka
is a reservation during Chef's Cycle at the Ponta dos Ganchos
Exclusive Resort, located nearly 800 nmes south of Rio de
Janeiro, at the easternmost tip of an estuary. The Chef's Cycle
is an annual monthlong event designed to display the talents
of some of the finest chefS working in Brazil and abroad. Past
headliners have included Claude Troisgros, who owns a
number of restaurants in Rio de Janeiro and is a member of
the French fanruy credited with inventing nouvelle cuisine;
Tsuyoshi Murakami, owner of Kinoshita in Sao Paulo and
a pioneer of Japanese haute cuisine; and Renato Carioni,
formerly of the Michelin-three-star Enoteca Pinchiorri in
Florence, Italy, and now chef at COS! in Sao Paulo.
A MOST ACCOMMODATING COUNTRY
BRAZIL NO LONGER
suffers from
previously a private estate with
a dearth of luxury lodgings,
a working coffee plantation.
having fully evolved from an
It has been transformed into
era when tourism was
an inn sprinkled with artifacts
considered an elitist activity. In
and art made by the Xingu and
addition to beach retreats such
Tupi-Guarani Indians. The rooms
as Casas Brancas Boutique-
and garden present panoramic
Hotel & Spa, Pestana Angra
views of Rio's harbor and bay,
Beach Bungalows, and Ponta
and the spa, which includes
dos Ganchos Exclusive Resort,
six therapy rooms, offers some
the options include the following
30 treatments, ranging from
three city properties.
hydrotherapy to vinotherapy.
Hotel Fasano Rio de Janeiro
www.santa-teresa-hotel.com
($500-$1,915) +55.21.3380.0200,
This 89-room Philippe Starckdesigned property rises at the
Hotel Unique (Sao Paulo)
eastern end of Ipanema Beach
Like a mammoth modernistic
like a sleek exclamation point
ark about to launch from its
following a row of one- and
urban dry dock, the Hotel
two-story cales and shops.
Unique heaves above the stylish
The accommodations feature
Jardins section of Sao Paulo.
private balconies, whitewashed
The building, which contains 95
walls, dark wood lI.oors, and
rooms with circular windows,
full marble bathrooms with rain
is shaped like an inverted arch,
showers. An especially refreshing
and it has a facade of weathered
touch is the array of exotic fruit
green copper. During the day
drinks set out in each room to
sunlight passes through a huge
welcome guests as they arrive.
wall of glass and illuminates
Guests also can enjoy drinks at
the reception area and adjacent
the hotel's rooftop pool and bar.
bar, called the Wall. At night,
($640-$3,420) +55.21.3202.4000,
incandescent light rell.ects off
wwwfasarw.com.br
102
the spaces' beige marble walls.
galleries, the hotel's namesake Santa Teresa
From the pool and the rooftop bar, guests
Hotel Santa Teresa (Rio de Janeiro)
neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro is a far cry
of the hotel can enjoy extraordinary views
With its cobblestoned streets, Belle Epoque
from the beach scene. This, the country's
of the city. ($640-$7,000) +55.11.3055.4710,
mansions, tiny bars, and compelling art
third Relais & Chateaux property; was
www.hotelunique.com.br -;.5.
ROBB REPORT
FEBRUARY 20ll
Beyond Rio
Accordingly the guests' expectations were high on this
Ponta dos Ganchos had been open a year or two when
one of its best customers, the country's leading cardiologist,
August weekend. "These dinners are always exciting," said
offered Peluffo some advice: "He said the hotel was bound
Fabio Liberman, the fortyish CEO of a Sao Paulo holding
to succeed, and when it did, I should resist the temptation to
company and publisher of diVino, a Brazilian wine magazine.
get bigger. Instead, he said, 'Just raise your prices.' "
I asked if he had been here before.
Peluffo has not followed this counsel to the letter. The
"We've been here 17 times," Liberman's wife, Milena,
resort opened with 15 villas and now has 25. And the
said. "And sometimes we bring friends ."
dining options now include a private dinner for two on a
In fact, the Libermans were among the first to discover
tiny island accessible from the rest of the property by a
the resort. "This place was a success from the beginning,"
long pier. But, as his friend the cardiologist suggested, he
said Fabio.
did raise the prices, from $250 a night for a standard room
Nicolas Peluffo, managing director of the resort, did not
dispute Fabio's claim, but he said that he would not advise
in 2001 to as much as $6,000 a night for the most expensive accommodation during Carnianyone to follow what had been the
val this year.
business plan for the resort. "Actually,"
Fabio Liberman brought bottles of
he said, "we had none."
Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau
About 10 years ago, Peluffo had
just returned from a backpacking
Angelus to share with his tablemates
and surfing trip when his father,
during this night's dinner, which featured the artistry of the resort's conwho owned two shoe factories in
sulting chef, Laurent Suaudeau. A
southern Brazil, informed him that
native of France, Suaudeau began his
he and a business partner were going
career at Paul Bocuse's L'Auberge du
to build a hotel, and that Nicolas
Pont de Collonges. In 1980 Bocuse
would one day run it.
"I knew nothing about hotels,"
recruited Suaudeau, then 23, to head
the kitchen of Le Saint-Honore at
said Peluffo. "I was 22 years old, still a
Le Meridien Copacabana in Rio. In
business student in college. I had trav2000 Suaudeau created the Laurent
eled with my father on business and
School of Culinary Arts in Sao Paulo,
stayed at a few Hiltons and Sheratons,
- NICOLAS PELUFFO, MANAGING
where his skill in interpreting French
but that was it."
DIRECTOR, PONTA DOS GANCHOS
dishes with Brazilian ingredients
But the senior Peluffo would not
EXCLUSIVE RESORT
earned him one of the most prestibe denied; he already had traveled to
gious titles in the world of French
the town of Ganchos to check out
cuisine, Maitre Cuisinier de France.
the hotel site and found a sea lion
Dinner included appetizers of smoked ham with melon,
lying on the very spot where he wanted to build. "He took
raisins, and caramel; oysters and foie gras; braised octopus
that as a good omen," said Peluffo.
with passion fruit and mustard caramel; scallops and
Nicolas' father and his partner, Nicholas Razey, assumed
salmon pave with small zucchini ravioli; and beef tenderthe roles of developers-creating the concept, investing the
capital, and hiring the builders-while his mother, an archiloin stuffed with mushrooms and served with a sweet
manioc-cream-and-sesame sauce. For dessert we had choctect, designed the hotel; his younger sister became guestolate ice cream with a peanut-and-vanilla emulsion.
relations coordinator in 2005 and is now pursuing her
master's degree at Funda<;:ao Getulio Vargas. Toward the end
Everything was spectacular.
of 2001, 10 months after the Peluffos began building the
The next day I found the Libermans sitting in the sun
while
a guitarist nearby played light bossa nova tunes. The
resort, they completed it and welcomed their first guests.
moment
moved Fabio to reflection. "You ever find yourself
The property features villas set on a peninsula overlookin
the
middle
of nowhere, with nothing to do?" he asked.
ing emerald waters. The accommodations are spacious, and
each contains a wine cellar, a fireplace, and flat-screen tele"Well, here we are in the middle of nowhere, and there's
nothing to do."
visions. Most also have a hot tub and a sauna, and 10 of the
And he could not have been more content. lID
villas feature a plunge pool and bathrooms with separate his
and her facilities.
Casas Bmncas Boutique-Hotel & Spa, $300-$588 per night,
Still, when they opened the resort, the Peluffos were not
+55.22.2623.1458, www.casasbrancas.com.br; Pestana Angra Beach
sure whether they were on the right track. "We worked
month to month," the junior Peluffo recalled. "I didn't
Bungalows, $522-$601 per night, +55.24.3364.2005, www
.pestana .com; Ponta dos Ganchos Exclusive Resort, about
know what our standards should be. Our goal was simply
$735-$2,590
per night, +55.48.3953.7000, www.pontadosganchos
to create the best beach resort in Brazil, the kind of place
.com.br
(Room
rates for all properties do not include holiday premiums.)
I might like to stay."
"Our goal was
simply to create
the best beach
resort in Brazil,
the kind of place
I might like
to stay."
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ROBB R E PORT
FEBRUARY 2011