Announcing the scheduled opening of Botanique Hotel & Spa, located in Campos do Jordão just outside São Paulo in Brazil, on November 1. In a press statement, the company said that this is “the first hotel of its kind, showcasing the best of local Brazilian design, furnishings, culture, cuisine, and experience, and the only one to embrace an authentic Brazilian approach in a region populated entirely by European-style hotels”.
The property was conceptualized by entrepreneur and published author Ricardo Semler and his wife Fernanda Semler; David Cole, co-founder of AOL; and Gordon Roddick, founder of the Body Shop
Located two hours north of São Paulo and overlooking the Campos do Jordão area, Botanique is surrounded by 700 acres of mid-Atlantic forests and botanical gardens. The property’s architecture has been described as “contemporary yet reflective of the natural beauty of its surroundings”. The property features triple-story glass walls at the main building, locally sourced chocolate slate and stone, and 120-year-old timber beams. Bounded by a kitchen garden of 400 raised beds, accommodations include six suites in the main building and 11 stand-alone villas.
The restaurant, Mina, is overseen by executive chef Gabriel Broide. The restaurant that offers 180° views of the mountains and river valley offers pre-Castro 1957 Dunhills and a selection of Brazilian cult Terroir cigars. Botanique also grows and roasts its own coffee and presses its own olive oil.
Cut into the hillside is the 10,000-square-foot Spa at Botanique, which offers eight treatment rooms that include wet rooms, dry rooms, and couples treatment rooms, as well as a swimming pool, a wet sauna, and a dry sauna that feature glass walls and breathtaking vistas.
The hotel grounds feature hiking and mountain biking trails, an outdoor swimming pool and swimmable lake, plus clay tennis courts, a private equestrian center with Brazilian and world champion horses, and bird watching. Indoor amenities include a listening room, private cinema, and library of books by Brazilian novelists.
