Emiliano

Emiliano

On Rua Oscar Freire, the street that doubles as a landmark in São Paulo's Jardins district, Emiliano sits two kilometres from both Avenida Paulista and Faria Lima, the city's two main financial centres, and is surrounded by the galleries, boutiques and cafés that make the block itself worth walking. The hotel holds 57 rooms across 22 floors, and the one worth knowing is the Cube Suite: a glass box on the rooftop with its own pool built into the living room and a 180-degree view over the city, a detail few hotels in this neighbourhood can offer. Lower down, rooms keep to Egyptian cotton sheets and Carrara marble bathrooms rather than treating them as suite-only extras. Santapele Spa runs facial and body treatments alongside a sauna and steam room for the slower hours, and there is a gym for anyone who would rather move. Cena restaurant and the Lobby Bar cover meals, with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options built into the regular menu instead of arranged on request. Staff speak six languages between them, which matters given how many guests here are in town for the Paulista offices rather than the coast. Pets travel for a flat 500 BRL per stay, a detail that will decide the booking for some and mean nothing to others. This suits someone who wants a five-minute walk to both meetings and museums and does not mind paying for a view most rooftops in the city cannot produce. It will not suit anyone chasing a resort sprawl or a pool longer than a few strokes. The cube on the roof is the reason to remember the name. Two kilometres from Avenida Paulista, on Rua Oscar Freire in Jardins, Emiliano keeps 57 rooms modest and one rooftop suite outrageous: a glass cube with a pool and a 180-degree view of São Paulo. It suits travellers who split days between meetings and galleries, not people chasing a resort pool.