AWA Boutique + Design Hotel

Glass, pale stone and clean lines define the lobby at AWA. The hotel sits on Avenida Pedragosa Sierra, on the strip of land between Brava and Mansa beaches, close enough to walk to either shore. It was built as the first boutique hotel in Punta del Este, and the design still reads as deliberate rather than decorative: plain furniture, air conditioning throughout, and windows that open onto the street or the pool. Rooms come in three grades. The Superior Deluxe measures 22 m2, with a double bed or two singles and a smart TV. The Executive Room adds two square metres and breakfast. The Deluxe Suite runs to 45 m2, split into a sitting area with a sofa and desk, and a bedroom with a king bed facing a console-mounted screen; its bathroom has a hydromassage tub. Wave Spa occupies part of the ground floor, with a heated pool and both wet and dry saunas. Life Bistró serves breakfast and dinner on site, and Imarangatu, the hotel's night restaurant, doubles as a start to an evening out. Shops and restaurants line the surrounding blocks. Check-in is straightforward and the location does the rest: beach on both sides, the town centre a short walk away.