São Paulo's top 3 hotels: Fasano, Emiliano and Unique

I get this question all the time: "I'm coming to São Paulo, where should I stay?" The answer is easy, and I’ll share it here: São Paulo huge offering of hotels and flats (serviced apartments for longer stays) have three clear winners. Few will argue that the city’s best hotels are the Fasano, the Emiliano and the Unique, in that order. Here’s why:

Hotel Emiliano
The 57-room Emiliano hotel, in the Jardins, São Paulo's poshest district, is steps away from all the best shops and cafés. There’s a great restaurant and champagne bar. Rooms are done in blond woods with pullout fridges. Very nice. Rua Oscar Freire 384, tel. 55 11 3068 4399



Hotel Fasano
This is understated luxury at its best, Milanese style. The lobby is constantly abuzz with the comings and goings of well-known and well-heeled paulistas (the reception per se is hidden behind the elevators and is as discreet as can be, pictured below).

To the right of the lobby, you’ll find Fasano, the best and by far the most stunning Italian restaurant in town.
To its left, tucked away in a corner, is the ultra-cool Baretto, a hotel bar in the old style, with live music every night. Every so often, owner Rogerio Fasano invites an A-list crooner to play a show or two. Caetano Veloso, Marina, you name it – all the bigs have been here. Rooms are decorated with rugs, books and antiques hand-picked by owner Rogerio Fasano on his travels. The location in the heart of Jardins and steps away from some of the best boutiques in town doesn't hurt, either.
Rua Vittorio Fasano 88, tel. 55 11 3896 4077

Hotel Unique
The Unique lives up to its name: the iconic architecture resembles a slice of watermelon on stilts, with round windows in lieu of black seeds.

The hotel, designed by famed architect Ruy Ohtake, is equally breathtaking inside: the soaring lobby has a nook with reclaimed wood trunks for furniture, for example. The Unique is near the Ibirapuera Park, and a short cab ride from the heart of Jardins or Itaim. The all-white bedrooms are as far from cookie-cutter as it gets, with bathrooms opening into the rooms. The rooftop red-tiled pool and adjacent lounge boast incredible views.
Avenida Brigadero Luís Antônio, São Paulo, 55 11 3055 4700



Soon.... I will talk about the other great hotels of São Paulo, which are:
Tivoli Mofarrej
Renaissance
Sofitel
Grand Hyatt
Meliá Jardim Europa

More São Paulo on this blog:

Bars/Nightlife:

• Dry, São Paulo's best bar, and Pink Elephant club

Hotels:

• Ex-Sheraton Mofarrej Hotel reopens as Tivoli São Paulo Mofarrej

Sightseeing/Attractions:

• Private and customized tours of São Paulo
• The best of Brazilian street art on show at Choque Cultural gallery
• A slideshow of my favourite São Paulo images
• The Baixo Augusta district is booming with new restaurants and clubs,
  and The New York Times has it covered
  

Fashion/Shopping:

• Marc Jacobs rocks the São Paulo fashion world and opens a flagship in town
  
• São Paulo Fashion Week: what is it?
• Rua Oscar Freire, in the Jardins district, has the best shopping
• The best beachwear: Lenny, Rosa Chá, Cia. Marítima
• Is/bella, Pelu, Jo de Mer and other Baixo Jardins finds
• Beach Couture: luxe beachwear in the Jardins district
• Christian Louboutin opens store in the Shopping Iguatemi mall
• Daslu, the Barneys New York of São Paulo: high luxe
• Who is Eliana Tranchesi, the owner of Daslu
• The flagship of Rio brand Farm, in Vila Madalena: a "living" lowrise designed by hyped architecture firm Triptyque
  

Dining:

• Index of all the restaurants in Itaim, in alphabetical order
• Kinoshita, the best Japanese restaurant in São Paulo
  
• New restaurants, February 09: Dalva e Dito, Millesapori, Vito, Na Cozinha, Arturito
• A review of my first lunch at Vito, owned by chef André Mifano
  
• Maní, one of São Paulo's best restaurants
• Where to eat Brazilian food: Maní, Brasil a Gosto, Capim Santo, D.O.M., Dalva e Dito
  
• Quintal do Bráz: São Paulo's best pizza
• Dui, Bel Coelho's new restaurant, opens in May in the Jardins district
• Second outpost of P.J.Clarke's set to open in the Jardins district
• Tappo Trattoria, one of São Paulo's top Italian restaurants
• Gaston Acurio is set to open a La Mar Cevicheria in São Paulo
• Forneria San Paolo in the Daslu megastore: a disappointment
• La Casserole, classic French Bistro in the Old Downtown (Centro)
  

Alex Atala:

• Alex Atala serves Amazonian ingredients to Spanish chefs at D.O.M.
• Interview with chef Alex Atala
• Dalva e Dito, Alex Atala's new restaurants in the Jardins district
• Full report of my lunch at Dalva e Dito, with photos
  

Coffee Shops, Pastry Shops, snacks:

• Nespresso boutique, Jardins

Japanese restaurants:

• Kinoshita, my favourite Japanese restaurant in São Paulo
• A dish-by-dish report on Kinoshita's tasting menu, with photos
  
• The best traditional (old-style) Japanese restaurants in São Paulo
• Jun Sakamoto, the Masa of Brazil