La Pedrera, Hotel Boutique & Spa

Hotel description

Though little-known to foreigners, idyllic Buzios has long been a popular warm-weather getaway destination for well-to do Cariocas. The place still feels like something like a beach village — you won’t find deluxe resorts or high-rises here — with family-owned shops and old-fashioned pousadas that have been renovated to attract the fashion-minded urban clientele who come here for sand and sun.

La Pedrera is one of these stylish former inns that now feels more like a boutique hotel. Perched high on a hill overlooking Joao Fernandes beach, the dark-wood pousada has a festive, tropical look with large open-air terraces and floor-to-ceiling windows that face the ocean. Each of the 28 guest rooms offers an ocean view, too, as well as free wireless internet access, a spacious his-and-hers bathroom, fine linens, and individual decor that blends minimalist cool with beachy casual (picture sleek white divans, rattan chairs, carved wood objects, and four-poster beds draped with gauzy white canopies.) The breezy feel continues through the public spaces, characterized by hardwood floors, fluttering white curtains, oversized canvas sofas piled high with pillows, and, outdoors, an irregularly shaped swimming pool that seems to hover over the sea below.

The on-site spa is small but serviceable, and the restaurant, though quite pricy by local standards, turns out a gourmet menu. This is, at the end of the day, a chic but mellow hotel that’s best-suited to vacationing couples, not partygoing travelers looking to partake in a bit of the famous Brazilian nightlife: though La Pedrera runs a complimentary shuttle service into town, the last return is before midnight. If you’ve come to the beach to dance and drink in the streets, stay elsewhere — this restored pousada is better for kicking back on the terrace with a couple of caipirinhas.