belmond.com/hotels/south-america/brazil/rio-de-janeiro/belmond-copacabana-palace Another South American country, Brazil, also boasts legendary accommodations. Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Palace celebrates its centenary this year. A Belmond Hotel with 239 rooms and suites, it retains its reputation for alluring international celebrities. The hotel’s prized Golden Book chronicles the signatures of royalty, business and political leaders, stars of stage and screen, music and sports, who have stayed at the landmark hotel. Regal visitors have ranged from Edward the Prince of Wales (who later became King Edward VIII) to Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Princess Diana. The signatures on the page following those of the now King Charles and his former wife belong to another couple who also split apart – Nelson and Winnie Mandela. Surveying our room, we speculated about which celebrity guest formerly occupied it. Perhaps Errol Flynn, Walt Disney, Bing Crosby, Ed Sullivan, Orson Welles, Nelson Rockefeller, John Wayne, Gina Lollobrigida, Gene Kelly, Robert de Niro, Brigitte Bardot, Stevie Wonder, Ben Kingsley, Roger Moore, Madonna or one of the Rolling Stones? We sipped cocktails, as they did, around the hotel’s swimming pool, and crossed the road to relax on Copacabana’s famous crescent beach. The hotel provides guests with towels, chairs and umbrellas, as well as staff to take their drink orders and guard valuables while they go in for a dip. Both Carnival and New Year’s Eve are gala affairs at the hotel. In 2023, Copacabana Palace will host a series of culinary and cultural events to celebrate its 100th anniversary. The dazzling celebrations will offer many opportunities to become part of the hotel’s star-studded history. Horse lovers can book stable tours and horseback riding at Hacienda Los Lingues, located two hours and four centuries away from Santiago – Chile’s capital. King Philip III of Spain granted the red tile-roofed manor and 3,600 hectares of farmland to the original owner in 1599. The estate has remained with the same family for more than four hundred years. Germán Claro Lira, the current owner, invites guests to stroll through the gardens, play salon games and have tea in one of the antique-filled historic rooms. Meals include at least one Chilean dish, such as parrillada (charcoal-grilled meats) or pastel de choclo, a corn-topped meat and vegetable casserole. Bread – baked the centuries-old way in an outdoor clay oven – accompanies each meal. Flickering candles illuminate the china and the wine bottles on the heavy wooden tables in the stone-walled subterranean wine cellar. As we enjoyed dinner, we time-travelled back four centuries to the Spanish colonial era. Historic Spanish estate loslingues.com Celebrity magnet CSANews | SPRING 2023 | 17 Travel
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