Closed for over a decade, Oscar Niemeyer’s 1972 Hotel Nacional in Rio de Janeiro has reopened as the 400-room Gran Meliá Nacional.
The restoration of the imposing tubular building in the city’s São Conrado quarter has preserved key elements of the original design – including the lobby, staircases, sinuous ramps and Carybé’s 45m-long concrete installation, as well as Roberto Burle Marx’s landscaping – while adding the requisite bells and whistles of a millennial hotel such as Trussardi bedding.
Interior designer Debora Aguiar’s mood-board takes its cues from the imposing Pedro Corrêa de Araújo chandelier in the lobby, though for sheer spectacle it’s all about the wraparound view of Rio, São Conrado bay, Ipanema and Copacabana from the hotel’s 34th floor helipad.
There are enough diversions here to keep guests hedonistically house-bound: the Clarins spa takes up an entire floor, while the pool concierge conducts tipsy caipirinha workshops.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Av Niemeyer 769
São Conrado
Rio de Janeiro
-
Audemars Piguet and Kaws have created the Royal Oak Concept watch we didn't know we neededThe Audemars Piguet x Kaws Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon 'Companion' is slick wrist-worn art
-
A friendly rivalry coloured by kinship: Wendy Maruyama and Tom Loeser on their two-artist show'I wanted to make furniture, just not traditional furniture, but weird furniture,' says Wendy Maruyama on ‘Colorama’, a two-artist show presented at design gallery Superhouse (until 11 January 2025)
-
Tranquil and secluded, Lemaire’s new Tokyo flagship exudes a sense of homeIn Tokyo’s Ebisu neighbourhood, Lemaire’s tranquil new store sees the French brand take over a former 1960s home. Co-artistic directors Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran tell Wallpaper* more
-
Brazilian island hotel Auka Boipeba offers a unique approach to the alfresco experienceDesigned by architecture studio FGMF, Auka Boipeba describes itself as an inn, though it’s certainly unlike any inn we’ve ever been to
-
Tune into the rhythm of São Paulo at the Arthur Casas-designed Pulso HotelHoused within a dramatic tower designed by Brazilian architect Arthur Casas, Pulso Hotel is where art, gastronomy and luxury hospitality revel
-
Soho House’s beloved home-from-home concept lands in fun-loving, hard-working São PauloSoho House São Paulo is the brand's first foothold in South America, occupying a historic corner of the Brazil mega-metropolis
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico -
Martim — Wroclaw, Poland -
Tattersalls Hotel — Armidale, Australia -
KLoé Hotel — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -
Casa Hoyos — San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
