RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 14 — With its gleaming white facade looming over Rio de Janeiro’s iconic beachfront, the Copacabana Palace is celebrating 100 years of welcoming stars, presidents, and royalty.

"The Copacabana Palace is more than a hotel, it’s an institution,” director general Ulisses Marreiros told AFP.

The epitome of luxury and old-world glamour, the hotel was inaugurated on August 13, 1923, with a performance by Moulin Rouge singer-dancer Mistinguett, the most famous French entertainer of her time.

Since then, dozens of celebrities, heads of state, and royalty, have graced its sumptuous suites and a balcony with a breathtaking view of Copacabana.

A gallery of portraits of famous visitors, redesigned for the centenary, includes images of Josephine Baker, Bob Marley, Freddie Mercury, Madonna, Walt Disney, Brigitte Bardot, Robert De Niro, and Queen Elizabeth II.

The guestbook — specially opened for AFP — is a veritable relic that is carefully kept in a briefcase. White gloves are needed to peruse its pages, full of illustrious signatures, such as that of late Brazilian football great Pele.

President shot by mistress

Designed by French architect Joseph Gire, the Copacabana Palace was inspired by some of the most emblematic hotels of the Riviera, like the Carlton in Cannes or the Negresco in Nice.

At the time, the hotel was practically the only building on an almost deserted Copacabana beach, now lined with prime real estate.

The inauguration was supposed to take place in 1922, for the centenary of Brazil’s independence, but numerous technical issues delayed works.

This did not dampen the enthusiasm of the hotel’s founder Octavio Guinle, whose family ran it for more than 60 years until it was bought by the Orient-Express group in 1989 and then in 2018 by LVMH — the world’s leading luxury group.

The entrepreneur lured artists like Edith Piaf, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra to sing in the mythical Golden Room.

When Rio was still the capital of Brazil — before it was moved to Brasilia in 1960, the hotel was also frequented by the cream of local politics.

This included a stay by President Washington Luis, who in 1928 was shot by his mistress in one of the hotel suites, requiring discreet evacuation to hospital.

The presidency later said he had suffered an attack of appendicitis.

‘Very Brazilian charm’

In another anecdote recounted by historians, screenwriter Orson Welles once tossed a typewriter out of a window overlooking a swimming pool, in a moment of frustration with writer’s block.

It was in the same pool that Janis Joplin went skinny-dipping in 1970, which saw her ejected from the hotel.

"It is a place of political and artistic meetings, which has welcomed celebrities from around the world, but with a very Brazilian charm and glamour,” said historian Thiago Gomide.

Monaco’s Prince Albert II is one of those who fell under the hotel’s spell.

"Every time he comes here he gives me a warm hug,” said Antonio Francisco dos Santos, who has worked at Copacabana Palace for 28 years.

"He likes to go for an early swim before enjoying tropical fruits, especially mango or acai, at his favourite table by the pool, which I reserve for him as soon as he arrives,” said the assistant manager of the Pergula restaurant.

The pool has just been revamped, with pale green-and-white parasols and deckchairs covered with matching cushions, with tropical motifs.

The facade has also been repainted to return to its original pearly white.

"We wanted to get as close as possible to the appearance of 1923, while using cutting-edge technology for a lighting system that enhances the beauty of the building at night,” explained Marreiros, the manager, who seeks to "honour the past while inspiring the future.” — AFP