When we first sent someone to review the best hotels in Brazil, the Mofarrej business hotel in São Paulo didn’t come close to making the cut. Now completely revamped as the Tivoli Mofarrej São Paulo, it has a different face and attitude to show off.

“Although in theory, the São Paulo Mofarrej has been around for some time—it spent more than 25 years under the aegis of both Sheraton and Gran Melia–the hotel had the recent good fortune to land in the hands of Portugal’s Tivoli chain. After spending seven months closed for (much anticipated) renovations, the new and very much improved Tivoli São Paulo Mofarrej reopened in February 2009 to great acclaim. Within months it joined the exclusive Leading Hotels of the World club and was named by the Quatros Rodas guide (Brazil’s equivalent of the Michelin) as one of the top hotels in the country.”

We don’t automatically add hotels that have paid to be part of the Leading Hotels of the World marketing group, but it’s a good sign, as is the addition of a spa run by Banyan Tree. Since our contributor Michael Sommers lives in Brazil and is a guidebook writer, his endorsement tipped the scales and we’re happy to add this rejuvenated hotel in a great location to our reviews of the best hotels in Brazil’s capital. See our full review of  Tivoli São Paulo Mofarrej.

Our hearts go out to those Chileans affected by the horrible 8.8 Richter Scale quake that hit the country over the weekend. For those in the center of the action, all the preparation in the world could only do so much.

Thankfully there was plenty of preparation, however, so the news has been quick to compare the relatively small death toll in Chile compared to what happened in Haiti. Most people have reacted by saying it was worse in Haiti because they are so poor. But Time magazine says those people have it backwards: some countries are just more committed to a government that has its act together, which is exactly why they aren’t poor.

“Chile is more developed because it’s doing things right. The same goes for Brazil, Uruguay, Costa Rica and a handful of other Latin American and Caribbean nations that have decided in the 21st century to stop running their societies like medieval fiefdoms. They’ve conceded that niceties like rule of law, accountability, education, entrepreneurial opportunity and administrative efficiency actually have merit. And they’ve stopped making worn-out excuses, like the threats of communism or U.S. imperialism, for not modernizing their political and economic systems.”

Many investors are missing this point, thinking these countries are just doing well because they have a lot of commodities to sell. In fact they are doing well because their citizens are getting wealthier each year and have more money to spend. That can only happen with a stable, transparent government in place. With that happening, growth is almost a sure thing. (As opposed to Venezuala and Bolivia, countries that have plenty of commodities but a corrupt and backward-looking government.) Argentina could go either way, but right now it’s not looking promising.

Read the full Time article here.

We continue to expand our luxury hotel coverage in Brazil with the two top hotels in Salvador, Bahia. One traditional and large, one modern and more intimate.

The best-known luxury hotel in Salvador is Pestana Convento do Carmo. In 2005 the former sprawling 16th-century Carmelite convent on a hilltop was converted to the Convento do Carmo hotel, mixing the historic gravitas with expected new conveniences.

All 79 of the Convento’s rooms occupy former monk’s dwellings. Polished floor boards, cathedral ceilings, heavy wooden shutters and doors, and thick stone walls conjure the previous inhabitants’ ascetism. However, there’s no need to self-flagellate when you’re surrounded by creature comforts such as Egyptian sheets, glossy marble bathrooms, unobtrusive plasma TVs (with a basic smattering of cable channels), and a slyly camouflaged minibar stocked with the fundamentals.

Next up is Zank Boutique Hotel, a fashionable spot focused on fine design and sweeping views.

Zank is owned by three sisters who are as stylish as the hotel they coaxed out of an aging, colonial-style mansion. It sits in Salvador’s upscale Rio Vermelho neighborhood, a bohemian area that the celebrated Brazilian writer Jorge Almado once called home. In the past few years, the area has emerged as a popular Salvador nightlife spot, and for good reason. It is filled with a variety of restaurants, bars and music venues. Luckily for Zank guests, all of these are just a short walk or cab ride away from the hotel.

See all our reviews of luxury hotels in Brazil.

If you put cash into the U.S. market or in European funds early in 2009, you had a very good year for that money.

But if you put cash to work in Latin America, you had an especially good reason to pop the bubbly on New Year’s Eve. According to this Wall Street Journal article, Latin America was the standout region of the world in 2009 for investors. “Mexico’s IPC index approached all-time highs in December and Argentina’s benchmark index more than doubled.”

As in the rest of the world, this didn’t come without a roller coaster ride though. The MSCI Latin America Index rose 98% on the year, which looks huge until you realize that it went down 53% the year before. So if you were in that market at the beginning of 2008, you are pretty much back to even unless you were actively moving the investments around.

Here’s how a few markets did in 2009:

Argentina +115%
Brazil +82.7%
Colombia +53.5%
Chile 50.7%
Mexico +43.5%
Canada +30.7%
USA (Dow) +18.8%

The Leading Hotels of the World just put out its new directory for 2010 and it includes four new hotels in Latin America. Fortunately for you, we’ve got reviews of three of them.

Banyan Tree Mayakoba, Riviera Maya, Mexico (pictured above)

Grand Velas All Suites & Spa Resort, Riviera Maya, Mexico

Bristol Buenaventura, Buenaventua, Panama

I don’t always agree with which hotels they sign up as “leading” and the fact that it’s a paid membership program can skew the results. I’m skeptical about the fourth new one—Tivoli São Paulo Mofarrej—but overall the group is pretty good at including large hotels with plenty of amenities and a good reputation for service. We’ll keep an eye on the Tivoli to see if it’s worth adding to our reviews now that it’s gone through a renovation.

See the full list at LHW.com.