Perched on a hill in the center of Rio, the district of Santa Teresa is a maze of cobbled, winding and steep streets, where decrepit mansions dating from the 19e century. The hotel Chez Georges is nestled in the curve of a steep alley. It is accessed by a glazed elevator opening onto a footbridge suspended in the vegetation. This modernist villa of 1,000 square meters, adorned with exotic woods, is the work of the Carioca architect Wladimir Alves de Souza. The entrance is marked by an arched concrete pergola amid banana trees. Pierre Bident Moldeva, a former French industrialist, spent two years transforming this house into a hotel with seven suites. An outbuilding with a recording studio for the musicians in residence was built, as well as a 13-meter-long swimming pool with a panoramic view of Guanabara Bay and Sugar Loaf, in the heart of a tropical garden.
Inside, the furniture from the 1950s to the 1970s was found around the world or in the surrounding area, like the chairs by Brazilian designer Ricardo Fasanello. Each suite pays homage to illustrious musicians named Georges, such as George Harrison or Seu Jorge. Upstairs, the George Benson has a king size bed, a lounge area, a desk and a blue marble bathroom. Its terrace overlooks the garden where lizards and marmosets run along the tree trunks, to the bewitching song of sparrows and parrots.
At George’s, Ladeira do Meireles, 90, Santa Teresa, Rio de Janeiro. From 200 euros per night, breakfast included.
300 meters away: find old photos
La Vereda is a small shop established in a former samba bar, a few strides from a station of the bondinho, one of the oldest trams in the world. The Argentinian owner, María Victoria Matute, selects creations from artists and artisans in the neighborhood. It also offers vintage photo prints of Rio, including shots of Copacabana and Ipanema beaches before the concreting of the waterfront and Corcovado before the construction of the statue of Christ the Redeemer.
Rua Almirante Alexandrino, 428.
300 meters away: listen to bossa nova live
Housed in an old colonial residence with a white facade and cobalt blue shutters, Casa Nossa has a bar on the first floor and a restaurant on the second. Live music concerts – samba, bossa-nova or forró – are organized at lunchtime and in the evening, on the terraces or in the interior rooms, depending on the weather. Travelers and locals meet there to sip a cold beer or a caipirinha.
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