Fasano, famous for its Sao Paulo hotel and popular restaraunt Gero opened up. Has anyone stayed there or better yet checked out their lounge "Londra"? This is supposed to be the nicest hotel in Rio now (as well as most expensive with rooms going for $450-$1200 per night).

I got a tour of it last time I was in town. It is without a doubt the new high-end in Rio. Rooms start at about $400 (US)/night and go up to $2500/night. The ocean view rooms are very nice, and start at about $550. The restaurant is first-rate (Italian with focus on seafood), as is the bar, but both are pricey! The Fasano group also owns Gero, the excellent Italian restaurant in Rio. The pool on the roof is awesome, but was populated with fat euro-trash when I was there.

http://www.lhw.com/FasanoRio

I was hoping to get comped to a room there through a friend who's a travel writer in São Paulo, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen.

That may be OK. GPs are going to double their asking price if they hear you're staying at the Fasano.

Haven't yet experienced Fasano in Rio, but its restaurant in Sao Paulo is my favorite, but only on a generous expense account. :-)

Apparently the lounge at the Fasano in Sao Paulo is quite the spot. I'm curious to find out if Londra, the lounge at Fasano Rio, is or will be a hot spot with locals...I'm also curious to find out if it is guest friendly...

The lounge is already a hot spot for the local patricianas. I didn't ask the manager whether it's guest-friendly, but the vibe seemed to be that if you pay our rates you can do what you want. OTOH, I'm not sure what would happen if you tried to roll in at 3 a.m. with a couple of Help skanks.

I was thinking of recruiting a couple of Centaurus' hottest for a Sunday afternoon mini-festa...I think I could pull it off...

Probably could, but the question then would be, why? Why drop $500 at the Fasano for a room when you can get the Millenium Suite at VIPS, with your own pool, a couple of sex chairs, etc., for less money?