If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (BRL1,897.14), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
This season’s must-have is a stay at surfside siren Janeiro Hotel, a runway-worthy turn from Brazilian couturierer turned hotelier Oskar Metsavaht. Follow in its fashionable footsteps and take posing cues from Two Brothers Mountain or Christ the Redeemer at the rooftop pool and bar, get scouted in one of three à la mode restaurants, touch up your make-up in the suites’ cocooning egg chairs, and strut along the monochrome boardwalk (catwalk?) to the beach. As sartorial statements go, this Leblon des-res is set to be a classic.
Smith Extra
Get this when you book through us:
A welcome drink, and early check-in or late check-out (subject to availability)
Noon; earliest check-in, 3pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability.
Prices
Double rooms from £240.58 (BRL1,720), including tax at 5 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional local city tax of BRL13.00 per room per night on check-in and an additional service charge of 10% per booking on check-in.
More details
Rates include a buffet or à la carte breakfast. There's a two- and three-night minimum stay over national holidays, New Year's Eve and Carnival.
Also
The hotel has one Deluxe Room adapted for guests with reduced mobility. You'll find that the restaurants and communal areas are accessible, except the rooftop terrace.
At the hotel
Bikes to borrow, beach service with parasol and sunloungers, rooftop terrace, yoga classes, charged laundry service and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, air-conditioning, sound system, Nespresso coffee machine, tea-making kit, minibar, free bottled water, yoga mat, flip flops and local bath products.
Our favourite rooms
You’ll be seduced by glimpses of the sparkling ocean from every room, but graduate from stolen glances to star-of-the-show views in the Ocean Front Suite, where you can eye up the water from your hanging egg chair, plump king-size bed or walk-in shower for two. It’s hard to tear yourself away, but your considerate hosts have anticipated that – have breakfast in your suite with this view-blessed backdrop. The equally romantic Master Suite teases with a freestanding bath tub that has Christ the Redeemer views (you just might want to draw the curtains if soaks get steamy).
Poolside
You could tick off your Brazilian bucket-list from the hotel’s rooftop infinity pool – survey speck-like sunbathers on Ipanema and Leblon beaches, revere Christ the Redeemer, or gaze at Two Brothers Mountain through a circular side window, which plays into the owner’s penchant for photography. The pool is on the petite side, but the scene-stealing panorama ensures lengths are the last thing on your mind. The view-toting terrace and pool open from 8am until 10pm.
Packing tips
Less is more when it comes to Brazilian beachwear and you’ll look the part with your in-room Havaianas. For evening, let Carnival be your inspiration to pack your most colourful threads and boldest jewels.
Also
If you feel inspired by the bronzed and brawny bodies dotting the beaches, head to nearby Bodytech gym, where guests get free access. Or put your stretching in someone else's hands and book the hotel's treatment room for a deep-tissue massage.
Pet‐friendly
Up to two small pooches can stay in each room for BRL450 (plus tax) a week, but the restaurants and communal areas are for humans only. The hotel provides bowls and beds. See more pet-friendly hotels in Rio de Janeiro.
Children
Over-10s are welcome. This soigné stay is better suited to older, culture-keen children as there’s no specific kit. Extra beds can be added to Deluxe Rooms for 30 per cent of the room rate.
Sustainability efforts
The hotel’s Earth-kind endeavours include banning single-use plastics in the restaurant and rooms, stocking bathrooms with full-size amenities, installing energy-efficient lighting, composting and recycling waste, supporting local conservation projects, and favouring Brazilian suppliers.
The hotel has two talk-of-the-town restaurants, helmed by chef Diego Ali. Sample the capital’s carioca cuisine at Janeiro restaurant, where a slice of sea views is a feast for the eyes, and the seasonal and locally sourced dishes provide the literal sustenance. Last but not least, head to tasting-menu-only Omakase on the 18th floor for sky-high sushi.
Hotel bar
At the second bar on the Rio-surveying rooftop terrace, bask in golden hour’s glow, sip pisco sours or get photo-bombed by a distant Christ the Redeemer.
Last orders
Breakfast at Janeiro is 7am–10.30am (until 11am on weekends).
Room service
You can dine in your room round-the-clock. If you've booked a suite, in-room breakfast is included in your stay.
You’ll find Janeiro Hotel in Ipanema-bordering Leblon, a covetable beachfront barrio in Rio de Janeiro.
Planes
The city’s Santos Dumont Airport is a 30-minute drive from the hotel, and staff can arrange transfers on request.
Automobiles
There’s no need for your own set of wheels in a city like Rio (taxis and transfers are your friends), but should you hire some, the hotel can arrange valet parking at a nearby car park for BRL60 a day.
Worth getting out of bed for
Lean into Brazil’s active lifestyle with a hotel-organised yoga class, session at a nearby gym or a lively game of volleyball down at the beach (take your pick from lesser-known Leblon or illustrious Ipanema). Strolling between and shopping in Leblon’s boutiques is equally a workout, as is scaling the colourful, tiled Lapa Steps, where music-lovers pose like rapper royalty. If the hotel’s rooftop terrace has you yearning for a closer peek at Rio’s lush surroundings, head for a hike up Two Brothers Mountain, take the cable car to Sugarloaf Mountain or board a tram to commune with Christ the Redeemer – the views from all three show Rio in all its majesty.
Local restaurants
Sleek steakhouse Giuseppe Grill Leblon is Brazilian and proud – local artwork adorns the space, traditional cuts of meat and fresh fish are grilled to smoky perfection, and an extensive wine list washes it all down. You’ll find Moroccan-inspired interiors and cuisine at Zazá Bistro, a lively spot for fresh fare and fruity cocktails. Stroll to seafood-centric Satyricon, where the catch of the day on the counter is transformed into either thickly cut sashimi or adorns fresh pasta.
Local cafés
If you’re not a morning person, you will be after a caffeine fix from 22 Special Coffee Leblon, thanks to bean-keen baristas, strong brews and sweet treats.
Local bars
Vian Cocktail Bar makes an intimate date-night spot, with candle-lit corners and specialty cocktails. At Liz Cocktail & Co, Oscar-worthy drinks are inspired by cinematic classics – choose from a Casablanca French 75, a Some Like It Hot Manhattan or a The Godfather daiquiri.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this haute hotel in Leblon and unpacked their cachaça and Osklen buys, a full account of their beachfront break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Janeiro Hotel in Rio de Janeiro…
Doctor, founder of Brazilian brand Osklen, philanthropist and photographer, Oskar Metsavaht already had an impressive resumé – but it’s his latest enterprise, as the hotelier behind Janeiro Hotel, that’s secured his spot in Smith’s affections. Just like its polymath owner, this oh-so-chic boutique also values style and substance in equal measure. We’re aesthetes, so let’s start with the former: Metsavaht’s own photographs adorn the hotel’s walls, as do vintage surfboards, and Seventies-inspired interiors flaunt natural materials, including sustainably sourced Brazilian timber. The backdrop – a soul-soothing stretch of blue that’s unmissable from the rooms, restaurants and rooftop terrace – is easy on the eye, too. But underneath this beachfront retreat’s supermodel good looks, you’ll find a deep-rooted dedication to sustainability, next-level service and thoughtful touches, such as in-suite breakfast, bikes to borrow and showers and soaking tubs built for two. With beauty and brains, Janeiro Hotel is Rio's rising star.
