The new Dior Spa at Copacabana Palace expands the house’s wellness presence into Brazil through a partnership with Belmond and local dermatology expertise
Dior opened its first spa in Latin America on November 3, 2026, at Copacabana Palace, A Belmond Hotel, in Rio de Janeiro. Located within the hotel’s newly renovated Pool Wing, the Dior Spa marks an expansion of the house’s Haute Wellness offering into Brazil and builds on a relationship with the city that dates back more than six decades.
The spa is part of the hotel’s new five-storey Wellness Club, introduced alongside the renovated Pool Wing following a 19-month renovation led by Brazilian interior architect Ivan Rezende. The hotel, which opened in 1923 overlooking Copacabana Beach, has long been a landmark of Rio’s cultural and hospitality landscape. Its latest development combines the property’s historic identity with a broader focus on contemporary wellness and Brazilian craftsmanship.
Dior’s connection to the city includes a 1961 Haute Couture presentation by Marc Bohan in the gardens of Copacabana Palace, followed in 1975 by a swimwear collection photoshoot on Copacabana Beach. The new spa extends that history through a permanent space that brings the house’s approach to beauty and well-being into a setting shaped by local materials, art, and culture.
The spa features six treatment rooms, including one double room, alongside a boutique offering Dior skincare, makeup, and fragrances. A lounge provides space to explore the house’s Haute Wellness collection and a selection of couture accessories and jewelry. The interiors combine Dior’s restrained palette with Brazilian woods and natural stones in botanical tones, while works by São Paulo-based artist Fabiana Preti, whose sculptures and paintings draw on the floral world associated with Christian Dior, introduce a contemporary artistic dimension.
For the opening, Dior partnered with Dr. Maria Bussade, founder of Bussade Health in São Paulo and a specialist in aesthetic dermatology. Together, they developed two signature treatments informed by the needs of local clients, including sun exposure, busy schedules, travel, and frequent social events. The Couture Radiance Facial combines facial massage, exfoliation, micro-current stimulation, cryotherapy, and red LED treatment, while the Carioca High Body Sculpt draws on Brazilian body-sculpting traditions, incorporating maderotherapy, suction cups, body gua sha, and LED technology.
The spa also offers established Dior protocols, including Kobi-Dior, a facial treatment developed with Dior International Wellness Expert Hadda Akrim and inspired by the Japanese Kobido technique, and New Look Dior, a body treatment combining sculpting, drainage, and micro-stimulation. A separate experience, the Healing Heart Ceremony, was created exclusively for the Rio location. Inspired by the ocean, the holistic ritual incorporates meditation, sound therapy, semi-precious stones, and herbal tea, extending the spa’s offer beyond traditional skincare and body treatments.
The opening reflects Dior’s broader expansion of its wellness business through partnerships with established hospitality destinations and local specialists. For Belmond, the addition brings a luxury beauty and wellness brand into the hotel’s renewed facilities, while for Dior, the Rio location establishes a presence in a new regional market through an experience adapted to its setting and clientele.
