A 203-room hotel surrounded by 700,000 acres of national park, in prime position next to one of the planet?s greatest natural wonders, Iguazu Falls. It's private and exclusive, the caipirinhas are potent and the red meat is deliciously succulent.
The Belmond is the only hotel within the Brazilian side of the national park. And while all other visitors enter via tour buses between the hours of 9am and 5pm, guests of the hotel can walk from the lobby to the falls in under 30 seconds. It honestly feels like you?ve got the world?s biggest water feature in your own back garden, especially at dawn and dusk. The property is surrounded by soggy, emerald rainforest, teeming with subtropical flora and fauna, including armadillos, wild dogs and tapirs, plus more than 400 species of bird. Foz do Iguaçu Airport is just a 20 minute drive ? most of which is through the national park. The same classic, colonial charm that Belmond properties boast elsewhere on this continent is wonderfully upheld in the Brazilian subtropics. The hotel has an irrefutable grandeur, with floral Azulejo tiles and Iberian ceramics making the place feel like a 19th-century Portuguese palace. In fact, the hotel was only built in 1959, but this doesn?t show. The Don Pedro Room, named after the first colonial ruler of Brazil, is adorned with proud portraits of ?The Liberator? ? alongside a large red velvet snooker table, dark wood beams and windows looking out towards the falls. The hotel is peaceful and classy ...