Barra da Tijuca

Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro

★★★★★

The Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro is the leading resort hotel of Barra da Tijuca, the modern, spacious district that stretches west of the South Zone along one of the longest beaches in the city. It opened in 2016, in time for the Olympic Games, on Avenida Lucio Costa facing the open Atlantic, with the Marapendi Lagoon and its nature reserve behind it. According to Hyatt, the hotel has 436 rooms, including 40 suites, two presidential suites and a penthouse with its own plunge pool. The interiors were designed by the Canadian studio Yabu Pushelberg with the local firm Anastassiadis Arquitetos, and they pay tribute to Roberto Burle Marx, the great Brazilian landscape architect: seventeen vertical gardens climb the walls, and mosaic floors echo his designs, so the hotel feels light, green and calm. The restaurants were designed by the Brazilian architect Arthur Casas, and at opening included Tano Cucina Italiana, the Japanese restaurant Shiso and Canto, serving Brazilian cuisine by day and becoming a lounge in the evening; Shiso remains a highlight. The Atiaia Spa, named after a Tupi-Guarani word for luminosity, offers a full menu of treatments and a fitness centre. The central outdoor pool with its wet deck is the heart of the resort, and guests have beach service on the wide, uncrowded sand across the avenue. The setting is very different from Copacabana or Ipanema. Barra is newer and car-oriented, with broad avenues, shopping malls and residential towers, and its beach is long, open and less crowded, with good waves. Hyatt notes that the Olympic Golf Course is a short boat ride across the lagoon, and the Olympic Park, the Cidade das Artes and the western beaches are all nearby by car.

Choosing a room: ocean-view rooms on higher floors are worth the premium for the long view down the beach; lagoon-view rooms look over the Marapendi reserve towards the mountains and are quieter. Suites give much more space for families. Check what breakfast and resort services are included on your rate.

What the stay is like: long days by the pool and on the beach, spa time, and evenings in the hotel restaurants or the malls of Barra. To reach the classic sights, plan on a car: Ipanema is around thirty to forty-five minutes away and the centre and Sugarloaf further, depending heavily on traffic. Barra is also the gateway to Prainha, Grumari and Pedra Bonita, which are close.

Who it suits: families who want space and a resort pool, business travellers working in Barra, golfers, and travellers combining beach time with the western beaches. It is a poor fit for first-time visitors who want to walk to the famous sights and nightlife; for them, a South Zone hotel is better.