Brazil 14
Alexandra Bueno, known as Ale, can’t believe her luck. After two years as a Hyatt GM in Montevideo and the same duration in Cartagena, since 2022 she’s back in her home town, as GM of Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro. This is a very clever 436-room hotel which transitions from week-long groups to weekend transients, Brazilians especially from Rio coming over for a weekend of R&R. It’s in the elegant area of Barra, which is where homes have staircases. That’s important – in Rio itself, there are no ‘houses’, only apartments.
Ten years ago, before the Rio Olympics, there was a desperate necessity for new additional hotel rooms. One local company put up a four-figure room count, three stars. Hilton came up, a Marriott, a Sheraton, and Hyatt, the company, invested in the Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro, and it really is beachfront. Right on Barras da Tijuca with Marapendi Lagoon behind. It’s not a striking design, frankly. It’s like boxes put on top of each other and side by side, but it wraps around a series of pools and some gardens, as well as overlooking that glorious beach. Yabu Pushelberg did the interiors of the public spaces and rooms in local rustic style, with the restaurants done by Arturo Casas, a local guy.
Number 604, the presidential suite, is, as you would possibly – and correctly – hope, looking over to the ocean. Thanks to intense aircon it was initially freezing cold. Apparently, Cariocas like the cold as contrast to the incredible heat during summer months. Keller Head found the only way… to escape was to turn the aircon off altogether and open the sliding windows opening on to terraces that are about 1.5 metres deep. The space was really comfortable. Good, practical kitchen. Dining for eight. Seating area with very low sofas, but a good desk and good long table overcame that. USBs there. Two dressing rooms, one for him, one for her. The one with the safe has a smaller space for laptops. That’s for him. Both sides have Ipanema brand slip-ons, still boxed, as well as slippers. And the toiletries everywhere are Grandado. The bathroom is all marble with a Japanese-type very deep tub, 51 centimetres deep.
An early dinner was at the hotel’s evening-only 65-seat Shiso omakase restaurant. It’s been here since the opening of the hotel, it’s a lovely space, very Japanese and understandably popular. They use local fish throughout, which is really strong. We started with little bits of something pickled in sweet vinaigrette. The next course was three sushi, really, of local fish – the taste is so unusual. Then there was nigiri. So local fish again. Steamed tuna in a broth. And the Robatayaki grill. marinated pork belly with miso sauce. The last course was definitely Girlahead’s favourite, the simple dish of grilled scallops, salmon, and shrimp, all finished with a delicate teriyaki glaze and a few root vegetables in with it. We skipped dessert. It had gone on too long. We’d had too much to eat and anyway Girlahead wanted more views from her suite, below….
