Top picks: our annual survey reveals the best places in Latin America to work or rest

Latin Trade, Feb, 2005

If you had to guess where people were in Latin America this year, you could safely say Chile and Brazil, according to the LATIN TRADE annual Best of Latin America survey. When we asked our readers to name anything from the best airport to the best coffee, Chile and Brazil won over 60% of the categories. But there's good news elsewhere. The best beach was nowhere near South America. And an embattled Buenos Aires shines. Check out Latin America's best.

BEST BUSINESS CITY

In 2004 Sao Paulo celebrated its 450th birthday, and the readers of LATIN TRADE for the third consecutive year selected it as the best city to do business in Latin America. The list of reasons continues to impress: South America's biggest city, Sao Paulo has 10.5 million inhabitants (not counting the larger metropolitan area of Greater Sao Paulo, which has close to 18 million residents) and the third-largest public budget in the country. It's not surprising that traffic is chaotic: One out of four cars in Brazil is driving the streets of Sao Paulo. It's a city with a precarious mass-transit system, high crime levels and a smog problem, and there's better weather elsewhere in the country. But all this matters little when it comes to doing business and attending to the needs of business people who land here from all corners of the planet every day. Here is where 38% of the country's biggest private companies have put their headquarters; 63% of international companies are also here; 17 of the 20 largest banks; eight of the 10 biggest stock brokerages and nearly half of the 200 biggest technology companies. The stock exchange, the Bolsa de Valores de Sao Paulo (Bovespa), is South America's largest, and the commodities and futures exchange, the Bolsa de Mercancias y Futuros, is the sixth largest in the world in trading volume.

Long famous for being an industrial and financial center, Sao Paulo is also known today for its important role in the service industry. Fifteen million people take part in more than 70,000 business events in Brazil's economic capital. Of the country's 170 major trade fairs, 150 occur in Sao Paulo. In order to handle the flow of business travelers, the city has 50,000 hotel beds. In recent years, various international chains have opened their doors to meet that demanding market, including Hilton, Hyatt, Melia and InterContinental. After a hard day's work, there's plenty of cultural opportunities for the visiting executive, including 92 theaters, 11 cultural centers and 70 museums.

Sao Paulo is also known as the gastronomic capital of the country, with 12,500 restaurants featuring 46 cuisines, a reflection in part of the high number of immigrants to the country and the influence their descendants have had on the culture. A modestly-sized city for centuries, Sao Paulo exploded in population in the late 19th century, taking in people from all over the world. The biggest foreign communities are Italian, Japanese and Arabic. Sao Paulo later became the heart of the Southern Cone Common Market, known as Mercosul, and the major point of entry for foreign visitors to Brazil arriving by air. The Cumbica International Airport has 39 airlines and 1.3 million annual arrivals. As LATIN TRADE readers have noted, it's quite a place. Good luck on your next trip to the business capital of the region, Sao Paulo.

BEST BUSINESS HOTEL

A US$96 million investment, the Hilton Sao Paulo Morumbi opened in 2002 and remains high on the list of favorite hotels, according to LATIN TRADE'S business-traveler readers. "I stayed at the Hilton Morumbi, and it has the best service in Sao Paulo," wrote one reader who took our annual survey. Located in the city's newest business center, a 100-building cluster known as Berrini, it's close to the World Trade Center and the headquarters of various large multinational corporations. The hotel is inside a 28-floor tower and has 485 rooms and more than 2,000 square meters of space for conventions and events. The Morumbi, Moema and Itaim salons host corporate events and have modern equipment to assist visitors in making functions work. The modern, glass lobby has a 15-meter-high ceiling that lets natural light brighten the entire area. In addition to the prize-winning Canvas Bar & Grill (selected as the best business restaurant in Latin American in this edition), the hotel also has Caffe Cino, an Italian-style coffee bar, a piano in the foyer and another restaurant, Sol & Sombra. In the mezzanine there are several rooms equipped for business meetings. Nearby, the business center has every piece of equipment imaginable for a business visitor.

The room design was planned for business travelers, integrating comfort and work space. The rooms are divided into six categories, from the deluxe to the presidential suite, and all of them come with broadband Internet access, a CD player, flat-screen televisions, and a work area. In the upper floors, guests will find a gym and the Living Well spa for relaxation. The pool has a panoramic view of the city, South America's largest. On the 26th floor is the Executive Salon, offering special services for guests on the five business floors. Here you can register, check out or have breakfast in a private dining room. From the hotel, guests can reach several nearby buildings via underground passages, including the CENU shopping complex, Shopping D&D and the World Trade Center. Hilton's largest project in Latin America, the Morumbi is ready and able to host executives interested in doing business in Sao Paulo. "Stay at the Hilton Morumbi" wrote one reader. "The service is excellent" [55] (11) 6845-0000. www.hilton.com