The Copacabana Palace Hotel is celebrating this glorious anniversary in a very special way, with the new publication of “Copacabana Palace Hotel, A Hotel and its History”. The economic, political, and social development of the city of Rio de Janeiro is seen from its very hub, past and present: the Copa, that´s completing honorable eighty years old.

Award-winning journalist Ricardo Boechat has mined the Copa’s archives and struck gold; his lively, impeccably researched text propels the reader through the fortunes of this monumental hotel. Heavily illustrated from the Copa’s rich visual archives, the contemporary photographs constitute a visual essay in their own right and carry the talent of Sergio Pagano. Published in English by DBA Melhoramentos, the book’s design was made by Victor Burton who coalesces the diverse visual elements into a stunning publication.

March 2008 - Built by Octavo Guinle at the behest of the President of the Republic, the fortunes of the hotel are meticulously charted, from the early days of the 1920s when it stood alone in solid and solitary majesty, the only edifice on Copacabana beachfront, to the present day, which sees it magnificently restored, the southern hemisphere jewel in the Orient-Express collection, and, according to the Official Hotel Guide, the best luxury hotel in Latin America.

The hotel has been the set for many  dramatic scenes. From political intrigue to illicit amorous adventures. Orson Welles’s behaviour was outrageous, if endearing. Carmen Miranda inspired pity, despite her extroverted public image. Marlene Dietrich found her dress was too tight; Jayne Mansfield did, too, with revealing consequences. The line-up of celebrities who have made the Copa their home goes on forever: Rudolf Nureyev, Janis Joplin, Mick Jagger, John Grishan. Years ago a Prince of Wales who would later relinquish his crown left his heart here. More recently, another Prince of Wales stayed at the Copacabana Palace with the one whose heart now belongs to the world, Diana. The stories are legion, the anecdotes endless; hard to believe they all took place under one roof.
“Copacabana Palace Hotel, a Hotel and its History”: a fitting tribute to the first eighty years of a special hotel.
The book can be purchased at the Signature Boutique at the hotel or at bookstores throughout Brazil.