Best Hotel Bets in Brazil

Hotel Sofitel (Rio de Janeiro; tel. 0800/241-232 or 021/2525-1232): Considered Rio's best hotel, the Sofitel combines old-world elegance and style with one of the city's best locations, across from the Copacabana Fort and steps from Ipanema.

Portinari (Rio de Janeiro; tel. 021/3222-8800): Designed by eight different Brazilian designers and architects, the hotel offers a wonderful showcase of Brazilian style and inventiveness; everything from the furniture to the lighting and accessories is unique. Best of all, this style doesn't get in the way of comfort.

Insólito Boutique Hotel (Búzios; tel. 022/2623-2172; www.insolitohotel.com.br): This new luxury boutique hotel clings to the rocks overlooking Ferradura beach. With only 12 rooms set amid lush tropical gardens and spectacular terraces, guests practically have the place to themselves.

Unique (São Paulo; tel. 011/3055-4700): Extraordinary high-design rooms and suites feature the cleanest-of-clean white-on-white decor, luscious bedding, sparkling bathrooms with Jacuzzi tubs, a plethora of room gadgets, plus a rooftop view of the Avenida Paulista's power skyscrapers and lush green Ibirapuera park.

Convento do Carmo (Salvador; tel. 071/3327-8400; www.pousadas.pt): A 17th-century convent in the very heart of a 17th-century city has been restored to 21st-century luxury. Unforgettable.

Tropical Manaus (Manaus; tel. 0800/701-2670 or 092/3659-5000): The Tropical Manaus is without a doubt the hotel in town. Set in its own piece of rainforest on the banks of the Rio Negro, the hotel is built in an elegant colonial style. Rooms are spacious, and the amenities are top-notch; archery lessons, a zoo, wakeboard lessons, a wave pool, salon, and more await you in the middle of the Amazon.