Copacabana Palace

Rio’s grande dame remains the city’s only world-class large hotel, a mantle it has worn since first being made famous by Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, who filmed Flying down to Rio here. Pictures of them and hundreds of other famous faces adorn the upper gallery, in classy, understated black and white. Rooms are quiet, spacious and comfortable, with superb beds, effortless service, and conservative and rather European decor. The hotel restaurant, Cipriani, is of a similar high standard to its celebrated sister restaurants in Venice and New York.