Maison d´Hôtes, blissfully unpeopled, as if you were in your own house.

by Antonella Kann

You really don´t have to stay in one of the expensive or tourist-trap hotels in Rio on your next visit. You may not have considered, but there are several other options off-the-beaten track which come in handy when you have no desire to melt your credit card: guest houses and hostels have been popping all over the scenery, offering cozy, intimate and luxurious accomodation within range of the city´s interesting places.

Although this alternative doesn´t come out cheap, it´s still a good choice. Because instead of being a tourist, you might prefer to feel like a local. And in your own house.

Last month I visited the Maison d´Hôtes ( Estrada das Canoas 2600 http://www.tuakasa.com.br/) in the neighborhood of São Conrado – very close to where I lived for most of my life, actually. The location, blissfully unpeopled, seems to be in the middle of nowhere, but even if you are an urbanite, the exciting sites are only ten minutes away by car. By coincidence, this exceptionally charming guesthouse belongs to a friend of mine.

It was starting to pour heavily when I arrived at this spectacular house partly designed by well known brazilian architect Zanine. When Claudio Chagas Freitas met me at the gate, he was as surprised to see me as I was to meet again after more than three decades. Rio is a small town, we cariocas use to say. When you least expect, you bump into someone you´ve known as a teenager!

Well, Claudio used to live in this beautiful three story house with his son Matteo. A few years ago, Matteo came back from Switzerland with a hotelier degree from one of the most prestigious schools. Of course, he had an idea in mind: to transform their home into a guest house.

Needless to say that it took quite a lot of persistence and work to neatly refurbish what is now one of the most stylish hub for a tourist to entice his holiday in Rio.

It´s intimacy in a luxurious setting is combined with incredibly comfortable suites . The hospitality, as if you were staying with pals, is provided by both father and son.

But nothing can prepare you for the awesome views from the terrace over the Pedra da Gávea…It´s even more impressive during a thunderstorm…