This High-design Rio de Janeiro Hotel Has a Rooftop Pool Overlooking the City's Most Iconic Beach

"When Hotel Fasano Rio de Janeiro opened in 2007, it was a bit of an architectural moment for the city. The eight-story Ipanema hotel was the second outpost from the Fasano Group, after its flagship in São Paulo, and the first-ever Brazilian project for Philippe Starck, the French designer behind some of the most distinctive and luxurious hotels in Europe and the U.S. But instead of simply trying to make his own singular mark, Starck took the opportunity to honor and iterate on the greats of Brazilian architectural history."

"For the Fasano, Starck drew on the language of Brazilian midcentury modernism, combining clean lines with organic shapes and using rich natural materials-leather, wicker, lustrous wood-with a thread of craft and traditional technique. In my suite, there were tall, amoeba-like floor lamps, gleaming live-edge coffee tables, and low-slung armchairs from Brazilian designer Sérgio Rodrigues made of cinnamon-colored imbuia wood, native to the country's Atlantic Forest."

Hotel Fasano Rio de Janeiro opened in 2007 as an eight-story Ipanema property and the Fasano Group's second outpost after its São Paulo flagship. The first Brazilian project by Philippe Starck evokes late-1950s and early-1960s Ipanema culture and the bossa nova era. The design honors Brazilian modernist figures and the nearby Ipanema promenade by Roberto Burle Marx. Starck applied midcentury modern language—clean lines, organic shapes—and rich natural materials such as leather, wicker and live wood, with crafted techniques. Furnishings include pieces by Sérgio Rodrigues, Branco & Preto, and chairs by Jean Gillon, alongside Starck's own distinctive touches.

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