Take Me Away: The Swanky & New Botanique Hotel & Spa in Brazil

One of my best friends is traveling in Brazil and I've been oohing and aahing over the gorgeous images that he's posted on Facebook. I've never been to Brazil but I love Bossa Nova, feijoada, caipirinhas, and I've been told that I dance a pretty mean Samba (hips and attitude - that's my strategy!)

If you're planning a trip to Brazil, the brand new Botanique Hotel & Spa sounds maravilhoso. Scheduled to open on November 1st 2012, Botanique Hotel & Spa is located amid the untouched hills and mountains around Campos do Jordão - just outside São Paulo.

Described as the first hotel to embrace an authentic Brazilian approach in a region populated entirely by European-style hotels, Botanique showcases the best of local Brazilian design, furnishings, culture, cuisine, and experience. There are some impressive business moguls behind Botanique - it was conceptualized by David Cole (AOL), Gordon Roddick (The Body Shop) and Ricardo Semler (owner of Botanique, entrepreneur and published author). 


A “post luxury” property, Botanique combines the high standards of service expected of a five-star establishment with the intimate, personal qualities of staying at a bed and breakfast. What does post luxury mean? Instead of a wine cellar with thousands of bottles, Botanique touts the SMALLEST cellar in Brazil with 200 rare Brazilian wines. Flashy marble and gold plating was eschewed for chocolate slate sourced from fine veins within a singular mine that took 14 months to uncover. You won't find high end bottled water at Botanique, instead you'll quench your thirst with natural mineral water from on-site wells. Cars are not permitted within one kilometer of Botanique - guests are transported in electric buggies.

Botanique is surrounded by 700 acres of lush mid-Atlantic forests and botanical gardens - accommodations include six suites in the main building and 11 stand-alone villas. The restaurant, Mina, is overseen by Executive Chef Gabriel Brodie, one of Brazil’s rising culinary stars, and serves farm-to-fork contemporary Brazilian cuisine with an exclusive Brazilian wine menu. Botanique even grows and roasts its own coffee and presses its own olive oil!

 Cut into the hillside, the 10,000-square-foot Spa at Botanique offers eight treatment rooms that include wet rooms, dry rooms, and couples treatment rooms as well as a swimming pool, a wet sauna and a dry sauna that feature glass walls and breathtaking vistas. The menu of services consists of Afro-Brazilian and native Indian treatments as well as local healing and relaxing rituals.

  The hotel grounds feature an extensive circuit of well-marked hiking and mountain biking trails, an outdoor swimming pool and swimmable lake, plus clay tennis courts, a private equestrian center with Brazilian and world champion horses, and some serious bird watching (over 165 local bird species can be seen). Going a step beyond the ‘personal butler’ concept, Botanique does not have a front desk, a concierge service, or a housekeeping department. Instead, guests will be assigned a dedicated team lead by a team anchor that will handle everything from ironing clothes to giving tennis lessons.

Doesn't this sound fantastic? Rates at Botanique start at $2500BR per night (approximately $1,200 USD) and include all meals, nightly wine tastings, gratuities, and laundry service. Aside from the nightly rate and spa services, there are no extra charges.
For more information, visit the Botanique Hotel & Spa website.