Sun-worshippers listen up. Hotel Arpoador is on the border between Ipanema and Copacabana, making it the perfect launchpad to both of Rio's world-famous stretches of coastline and their accompanying beach bars. Not that visitors will be wanting for watering holes; Lapa, the city's disused aqueduct turned bohemian hangout, is a five-minute stroll from the hotel.

You might not spot Mama Ruisa at first, as it's cosseted by a thicket of palm-trees, but this 19th-century Brazilian mansion in Santa Teresa is not to be missed. Each of the mansion's vast rooms take a different Hollywood legend as inspiration and have been lavished with iconic fragments of Brazilian design (think Sergio Rodrigues furniture and Brunno Jahara glassware). Still not sold? They have a pool, too.

More than a hotel, Selina Lapa is a hive of activity. You'll find people tapping away in its co-working space, stretching out on the hotel's suntrap of a yoga deck or seeking refuge in the movie room. Tune in to its in-house radio station (yes, really) which plays local musicians, day and night.

Mama Shelter hotels have been sprouting in metropolises the world over, each one proving that good design needn't come with a weighty price tag. Its Rio outpost is a homely enclave - all tropical pot plants and raffia lamp shades against exposed brick. It's located in Santa Teresa, an area teeming with artists' studios and bars - try Bar do Gomes for starters.

When Parisian designer Lauren Gelis set his mind to renovating this iconic mansion, he did so while still paying reverence to the building's history. Here, original features such as chandeliers and reclaimed-wood floors serve as a backdrop to colonial-style antiques. It has a pool and a rustic restaurant, while the beautiful gardens of Museu Chacará do Céu are just next door. In other words: it's a total steal.

There's nothing in-your-face about the Ipanema Inn. It's the brainchild of local architect Bel Lobo, and is decked out with the firm's signature pale-wood panelling and simple colour schemes. The hotel's location mere footsteps from the shore makes it an appealing option for beach bums with exquisite taste.

Okay, it's not technically a hotel, but hostels don't get much snappier than Villa 25, a recently renovated 19th-century property in the upmarket neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, away from the city's more tourist-ridden haunts. Private rooms can be booked at a premium, but otherwise guests stay in dormitories. Revel in the building's elegantly restored architecture while reclining in a pool-side deckchair. Smug doesn't cut it.