A whirwind tour of Brazil's hot spots

Your name might not be Lola, but with a stunning location and star-studded history, who wouldn’t want to call the Copacabana Palace home for a night? I certainly do, which is why I’ve made Rio de Janeiro the first stop on my whirlwind South American holiday.

Sitting on that famous stretch of Brazilian beach, with sumptuous art deco furnishings, potted palms and an air of nonchalant glamour, I’m keen to see why, 90 years since it opened, the Copacabana Palace is still rolling out its red carpet for the world’s superstars – and it doesn’t take long for me to find out.

The glitz begins by the pool, where beautiful people are shaded by umbrellas, their jewellery bigger than the drinks on the tables beside them.

The rooms are no less glamorous. I stay in a deluxe one-bedroom suite, complete with sitting room, private balcony and a pair of fabulous Brazilian slippers.

Over the next few days, summer storms thrash the city, yet somehow this is the perfect place to be idle, the lounge chairs cosy and stylish, the salty sea breeze filling every room.

The Thirties saw Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance their way across the Copacabana Palace in Thornton Freeland’s musical film Flying Down to Rio. Soon the hotel’s Golden Room was South America’s hottest show venue, with Josephine Baker, Ella Fitzgerald and Marlene Dietrich jetting in to perform.

After a lull in the Sixties and Seventies, the property was taken over by high-end hotel company Orient-Express.

Today, it’s certainly got its mojo back, with screen sirens and A-listers (including Tom Cruise, Madonna and Elton John) checking in, no doubt drawn by the hotel’s discreet charm, exotic location and ever-so-unflappable staff.

Just as well it’s undergone a massive $20 million (Dh73.5 million) overhaul, with Orient-Express refurbishing the rooms, as well as expanding and restoring the lobby. Now, guests can choose from 145 renovated rooms and suites, each with hand-crafted furniture, marble bathrooms and spectacular views across the Atlantic.

By the time I make my way down to the hotel’s celebrated Cipriani restaurant, I’m already feeling like a star. I haven’t dressed for rain, but it doesn’t matter – an otherwise-invisible staff member is waiting to escort me across the sodden courtyard with the biggest umbrella I’ve ever seen.

As I dine on fresh ravioli at Cipriani, well-dressed guests mingle by the pool outside, covered by a canopy. Others queue nearby for an evening at Rio’s most exclusive nightclub – the Bar do Copa.

It’s the second leg of my South American tour, and in front of me thousands of tonnes of water are crashing noisily over the side of an 82-metre cliff.

This is the Iguassu National Park – home to over 1,850 square kilometres of Unesco-listed rainforest, a waterfall more impressive than Niagara, and plenty of pumas, jaguars, giant otters and anteaters.

I still can’t believe I’m seeing this. It’s certainly the most incredible experience I can think of. I knew I was somewhere special when, after travelling on a red-eye flight from Rio, the gates of Iguassu National Park were opened especially for me. The park opens to the public at 9am and shuts at 5pm, but as a guest at the Hotel das Cataratas, I am able to come and go as I please.

Later the concierge booked me and my husband, Stu, on to the Macuco safari I’m on now – a boat tour that takes you right under the waterfalls.

We hear the falls before we see them; the dull roar almost deafening. At first, the ride is relaxing, as we navigate winding rivers and gentle rapids. Then we get to the good stuff… We zoom down the river: Argentina on one side, Brazil on the other. We jet by a few waterfalls, a clutch of private helicopter tours circling above.

Then, with a shout to ‘hold on!’ our guide plunges our boat underneath the Three Musketeers waterfall.

Having just swapped seats with Stu so I can get a better view, I’m now facing thousands of metres of crushing water, head-on. We swing through the falls and then back out again, drenched, battered and thoroughly exhilarated. The next few hours are filled with shrieks, laughs and photos.

The rest of the day is spent meandering between the pool, the lawn and the hotel’s Ipê grill restaurant. For dinner, I go gaucho, choosing from an eye-popping selection of Brazilian meats, sauces and side dishes.

With thundering waterfalls, tropical animals and one of the most exclusive locations I’ve ever seen, Hotel das Cataratas really is unforgettable.

Mod Squad

I’m in the Skye Bar on the roof of Hotel Unique, a happening place in the suburbs of São Paulo that everybody’s talking about.

Looking a bit like a spaceship that’s landed in the city’s most expensive quarter, this designer hotel whispers “cool” so quietly that if you can’t hear it, you really shouldn’t be there.

Being a guest at the hotel meant I could arrive at the bar by lift (which is pitch black inside so you don’t have to worry about avoiding eye contact with strangers – appropriate when a place is full of beautiful people, because I might have been tempted to stare). Everyone else has to queue up outside while the bouncer checks that they’re the correct clientele.

Slowly they trickle in: men in linen, sweaters hung loosely around their shoulders, girls with tumbling honey-coloured hair and boat shoes. Others gather after an afternoon by the rooftop pool – which turns from blue to red as the sun drops – and wander towards the dance floor, picking up wood-fire pizzas and bowls of olives as they go.

It’s also different to any other hotel I’ve stayed at. When I checked in, I was welcomed with a fresh coconut; en-route to my room, I wandered in total darkness, the only light coming from small round windows at the end of the corridor – another of Ohtake’s design tricks, this meant that when I finally found my door and opened it, I was overwhelmed with light (and relief that I wasn’t walking into the wrong room).