Located by the beach that is one of the icons of Rio de Janeiro, the Copacabana Palace, with 239 rooms and suites and an imposing façade, is hard to miss.
For Mariana Sousa, a hospitality student at the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) in Rio, working at the hotel was an opportunity to gain a unique experience. She began as an intern and was later hired. The telephone that accompanied her in her role as a guest service attendant greatly inspired her final coursework. “The Telephone, Along with the History of Luxury Hotels in Rio de Janeiro” was published as an article in Hospitality Magazine.
“You have to write down everything possible and imaginable because just imagine if you forget or write down the wrong apartment number for a wake-up call. What if the next day the guest misses a flight? And what if that flight was supposed to take the guest to a meeting that could finalize a multi-million-dollar contract? All of this could result from not correctly recording the apartment number. It might seem like a simple thing, but the potential consequences are astronomical,” she explains.
VIP treatment
Throughout its existence, the Copacabana Palace has been graced by the presence of kings, artists, intellectuals, and politicians, including Hollywood actress Ava Gardner; singer Janis Joplin; Princess Diana and Prince Charles (now King Charles); Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger; filmmaker Orson Welles; Beatle Paul McCartney; and future UK kings Edward VIII and George VI.
Internally, within the realm of service, guests were categorized by color, signifying whether they were celebrities, public figures, frequent guests, journalists, executives, or affiliated with the hotel’s network. To cater to its most esteemed guests, the hotel introduced an exclusive internal document known as “show me you know me,” intended solely for its staff. Mariana elaborates, “Certain departments within the hotel were entrusted with this document, which featured a photograph of the VIP guest along with personalized information about that person, for example, the guest likes chocolate, is allergic to such a thing, likes so many pillows.”
Beyond its sumptuous accommodations, the Copacabana Palace boasts an impressive array of amenities, including 13 event rooms with the capacity to accommodate up to 2,000 guests, a semi-Olympic pool, a spa, a tennis court, and a fitness center. Notably, it stands as the sole hotel in Latin America to feature two Michelin-starred restaurants—MEE and Ristorante Hotel Cipriani—distinguished by their international evaluations that attest to their culinary excellence. Additionally, the hotel offers an international cuisine restaurant known as the Pergula.
The hotel was constructed at the behest of the then-president Epitácio Pessoa. In 1919, he approached businessmen Octávio Guinle and Octávio Rocha Miranda with the task of building accommodations to host visitors for the Centennial Exhibition of Brazilian Independence. During this significant event, Brazil would welcome heads of state and distinguished individuals from around the world. Pessoa aimed to establish Brazil as a renowned and respected nation on the international stage of that era.
The hotel was not completed in time for the centenary in 1922. It was formally inaugurated on August 13, 1923, with President Artur Bernardes in attendance.
The hotel’s design was entrusted to the French architect Joseph Gire, renowned for his contributions to the city, including the Hotel Glória and the Joseph Gire Building, which later earned the moniker “The Night Building”. Constructed using German cement and adorned with exquisite Carrara marble, the structure was further enhanced with glass and chandeliers sourced from former Czechoslovakia, French furniture, English carpets, and Bohemian crystals.
In 1989, the family of Octávio Guinle relinquished ownership of the Copacabana Palace, selling it to the Orient-Express group, which subsequently adopted the name Belmond. At present, the hotel is under the ownership of the French conglomerate LVMH, following its acquisition of Belmond in December 2018.
Source: Agência Brasil