The List

Rosewood São Paulo
Rosewood São Paulo
Rosewood São Paulo

6

Rosewood São Paulo

São Paulo

The 50
  • Accolades
  • The Best Hotel in South America 2026, sponsored by Bocktailed

Brazilian soul, São Paulo style

Give me the lowdown: Rosewood's first South American property, opened in 2022, is an architecturally dazzling, art-filled urban oasis set within the city's central Cidade Matarazzo – a complex of early 20th-century buildings painstakingly preserved and reimagined as glossy boutiques, lively restaurants and high-end private residences. True to Rosewood's overarching 'A Sense of Place' philosophy, the hotel's 160 guestrooms and 100 private residences and suites are split between an historic former maternity hospital, where more than 500,000 Paulistanos were born, and a Jean Nouvel-designed vertical garden tower inspired by Brazil's lush Atlantic Forest. It is a suitably cinematic setting for a property named The Best Hotel in South America in 2023, 2024 and once more in 2026.

What's the vibe? With entrepreneur Alexandre Allard at the helm – the man credited with breathing new life into the House of Balmain – the hotel's ambience is anything but beige. A glamorous mix of local and international movers and shakers fill the six on-site restaurants nightly, while lobby bar Le Jardin, the rooftop infinity pool and the expansive spa – featuring the stunning crystal room, with an impressive 400 white quartz crystals lining the walls – have become hot-ticket destinations in their own right. In 2024, the hotel unveiled a penthouse suite that can accommodate eight guests. Spanning 900-square metres, it has the feel of a private home, complete with a rainforest-inspired garden, an oversized marble bathtub and an infinity pool with sweeping views across the city.

Pretty as a picture: Vying for attention with the property's much-lauded Philippe Starck interiors – all warm wood, earthy tones and tactile fabrics – are 450 site-specific artworks created exclusively in collaboration with 57 Brazilian artists. Centred on the lived Brazilian experience, the collection spans sculptures, paintings, drawings, tile work and textiles. Standouts include the celestial, slightly trippy ceiling of the hotel's jazz bar, Rabo di Galo, which took artist Rodrigo de Azevedo Saad, known as Cabelo, 68 hours to complete.

Eco credentials: The hotel's commitment to preserving Brazil's natural environment goes well beyond avoiding single-use plastics, though guests certainly won't find any here. Cidade Matarazzo is Brazil's largest upcycling project and one of the country's greenest developments, built using 100 per cent locally sourced materials. Its biophilic design supports a biodiversity programme aimed at repopulating indigenous flora and fauna from the Mata Atlântica rainforest. Look up to count the 250 trees, some reaching up to 14 metres, adorning the hotel's Mata Atlântica Tower. A rigorous renewable energy plan is also in place, alongside an in-house water filtration system that produces glass-bottled water for guests. 

Key Information