Ferradura Resort

Water curves round a horseshoe bay at Búzios, and the resort takes its name from that shape. The property sits close to the shoreline, its 84 suites arranged among gardens and pools rather than stacked into a single block. Each room carries air conditioning, a safe, a minibar and Wi-Fi as standard. The Standard suites, in the hotel's first wing, include some rooms with handcrafted flooring by the artist Francisco Brennad. Suites in the second wing look over the pools, and the Ferradura suite adds a sitting room, a private staircase and a double whirlpool bath facing both the main pool and the lagoon after which the hotel is named. Grounds hold six pools, three hydro-pools, a gym, a games room and a sand court, all set within walking distance of the beach. You can hear children's recreation running most days, part of a programme built around family stays rather than solitude. A hall on site takes up to 500 guests in auditorium style, so the resort doubles as a venue as much as a place to sleep. Búzios itself, a peninsula east of Rio de Janeiro, is known for its run of beaches and its old fishing-village lanes, a couple of kilometres from the hotel gate. Check-in details vary by season and package.