Rosewood Sao Paulo is the centrepiece of Cidade Matarazzo, the restored former maternity-hospital complex a block from Avenida Paulista that has been reborn as an arts, retail and hotel quarter. Its headline is architecture: Jean Nouvel designed the new 100-metre tower, whose facade is planted with a living Mata Atlantica forest, and Philippe Starck filled the interiors, mixing salvaged heritage detail with his usual theatrical maximalism. It opened in 2022, and there is genuinely nothing else like it in the city.
The 160 rooms, suites and residences are split between Nouvel’s tower and the restored early-20th-century buildings of the old hospital, so no two feel quite the same. Dining is a strength: Le Jardin is the rooftop restaurant with skyline views, Blaise and Rabo di Galo cover the bar and cocktail programme, and a serious contemporary Brazilian art collection runs through the public spaces. There is an outdoor pool, an Asaya spa and a fitness centre, all wrapped in the greenery that defines the project.
It is expensive and it is a lot to take in, but that is the point. For design-led travellers who want São Paulo at its most ambitious, within walking distance of MASP, the Avenida Paulista museums and the boutiques of Jardins, Rosewood is the boldest and most memorable stay in the city.
