General Info

[QUOTE=Junior;1700154]You can pay everything by card, but there is usually a quite steep surcharge for using a credit card.[/QUOTE]The 30 % surcharge is because the CC transaction is registered and hence the terma has to declare / come up with an excuse for this payment officially.

Cash payments 'don't exist' officially.

Do not tip people in termas except the lady in changing room in MC-she's cool as fcuk, old and doesn't earn much and has such a great, helpful personality.

No one else gets any. 4 X 4 are obsessed with it-they only get away with what you allow them to-and many do hence the safado attitude and cheekyness.

Bartenders there are crap, service lousy and many drinks wrong-and they still want tips. GTF out of here. LOL.

Went on a mad one yesterday from 9 pm to 5 AM-went to boate be / W in Bonsucesso-decent girls-deep zona norte-then went to Olimpo-big outdoor and on-pro club with zero gringos and ended up at Villa Mimosa where I got a nice light-skinned.

Chick for 1 hour-100 Reais. BBBJ.

Nina, the change room attendant at Monte Carlo, has been there forever. She is more attractive than some of the girls who work upstairs. She is sweet as they come, always is in a good mood and helps you any way she can. Please tip her generously. It also wouldn't hurt to give her a hug and a couple pecks on the check while telling her she is "linda" if for no other reason than to see her smile and blush.

Fully agree with other posters that tipping request have become absurd in many termas. People who have provided no real service or even worse whom I have never seen or spoken to before are asking for tips. Passing the cleaning lady on the way to a suite and you may get asked for a tip. Cashiers asking for tips just for adding up your bill incorrectly.

I am certainly not a cheapskate and have no problems tipping people who provide good service. That could be the ladies or the staff, but the numerous requests for tips from everybody is really annoying.

So just say "No" unless you feel a tip is warranted.

Having said that, tipping the right people can be a good idea if you frequent the same place numerous times. In my view the right people are the ladies, the manager who can sort out any problems and very importantly the lady who manages the rooms and will knock on the door when time is up. Her, you want to keep on your side.

One thing that I have noticed is that in Rio there seem to be more and more of the monster ass thunder thigh women. When I have commented about a girl with a small or normal bubble butt to a Brazilian guy, they told me she was cute but not for them. Throughout Europe the Brazilians I have encountered have been normal sized. Even in the US, the Brazilians I have met were mostly of normal size. This leads me to conclude that Brazilian women take steroids, get butt implants and workout because they find it attractive and attractive to others whether be it male or female. This also seems to be a growing trend in the termas. Used to be that there would be 3-5 large women out of 30. Now it seems like it is 10 - 15. Could be when the Real got strong and fewer foreigners were coming to Rio they catered more to the Brazilian market. Also, African Americans who like big asses. I have a buddy whose girlfriend's ass should have its own zip code.

For those of you who haven't looked at airfares lately I just noticed today that airfares toward the end of the year have dropped $400 to $500 rountrip from New York area to Rio. Now of course YMMV depending upon your dates and origin location. For example I saw Tam at about $750 RT and AA at about $850, these are not bad fares and some of you may even be able to do better than that. Hotel prices are coming down too. Some hotels are about the same price as some apartments being offered or not much more.

It has been my experience that prices like this usually don't last long, could be days or even a couple of weeks but prices will go back up. Recently I noticed a $700 price drop to Rome in the afternoon, I thought about it for a couple of hours and purchased the ticket by 7:00 PM. That night at about 11 PM I checked the price again and it went back up to where it was so I was lucky I grabbed it.

I had various plans for Rio this year and already have a ticket using points, I may cancel that ticket and get a cash ticket rather than use points and I had another trip planned too, if I'm going to do it I'll probably do it by the end of the day today. I'm also waiting for the stock market to come down and that hasn't happenned yet but it will.

[QUOTE=RioBob;1702674]For those of you who haven't looked at airfares lately I just noticed today that airfares toward the end of the year have dropped $400 to $500 rountrip from New York area to Rio. Now of course YMMV depending upon your dates and origin location. For example I saw Tam at about $750 RT and AA at about $850, these are not bad fares and some of you may even be able to do better than that. .[/QUOTE]I am afraid that your analysis about airfares is flawed because you picked NYC as the originating destination. Airfares from NYC are the cheapest in the country for all the international destinations. Why, you may ask? Heavy competition among US and overseas airlines. That is it. No airline in the world is large enough to control the NYC market.

All other major hubs in the country are monopolized by one major airline. E. g. , United in Chicago, DC, SFO. American in Miami, Dallas, Philli, (due to US Air merger) Delta in Atlanta, Detroit. Etc. Good luck getting good prices at these destinations. On top of that, you add 'codeshare' and you are royally screwed

An United/Air Canada flight to Montreal from DC is more expensive than flying JFK-GIG.

[QUOTE=Tiradentes;1702677]I am afraid that your analysis about airfares is flawed because you picked NYC as the originating destination. Airfares from NYC are the cheapest in the country for all the international destinations. Why, you may ask? Heavy competition among US and overseas airlines. That is it. No airline in the world is large enough to control the NYC market.

All other major hubs in the country are monopolized by one major airline. E. g. , United in Chicago, DC, SFO. American in Miami, Dallas, Philli, (due to US Air merger) Delta in Atlanta, Detroit. Etc. Good luck getting good prices at these destinations. On top of that, you add 'codeshare' and you are royally screwed

An United/Air Canada flight to Montreal from DC is more expensive than flying JFK-GIG.[/QUOTE]I said NY to Rio there was no analysis, LOL. Too bad for you that you can't take advantage of it.

[QUOTE=RioBob;1702674]For those of you who haven't looked at airfares lately I just noticed today that airfares toward the end of the year have dropped $400 to $500 rountrip from New York area to Rio. [/QUOTE]The USA airlines drop fares from mid September till March. They increase fares again from April. Happens every year. But if the demand during the 'slow' season picks up, then they may increase the fares. I have noticed that some overseas airlines also drop fares during that period.

Fellas, last time I checked the real was closer to the dollar and prices in Rio were about what one would find in the US.

Has the situation changed dramatically. What can I expect to spend now in terms of compensation for the girls and a nice hotel room?

Is Brazil currently a better value? Thanks!

[QUOTE=Kafka;1705270]Fellas, last time I checked the real was closer to the dollar and prices in Rio were about what one would find in the US.

Has the situation changed dramatically. What can I expect to spend now in terms of compensation for the girls and a nice hotel room?

Is Brazil currently a better value? Thanks![/QUOTE]Brazil keeps pushing their prices up as Real loses value but is decent value ATM yes. The Petrobas collapse has seen the Real freefall with rumours it will drop to 6 reais for 1 £ -that's 4 to a $ by end of the year.

That means 1 hour in VM would cost me. Ehhh 16 £. That's nuts.

[URL]http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2014/11/19/move-over-kim-kardashian-indianara-carvalho-crowned-miss-bumbum-2014/[/URL] Enjoy!!

[QUOTE=FuckAfMedDig;1705324]Brazil keeps pushing their prices up as Real loses value but is decent value ATM yes. The Petrobas collapse has seen the Real freefall with rumours it will drop to 6 reais for 1 -that's 4 to a $ by end of the year.

That means 1 hour in VM would cost me. Ehhh 16 . That's nuts.[/QUOTE]Thats great!

I am looking at an August trip, any idea whatthe preferred hotels 4 stars and what is the best way to book?

Next Monday and Tuesday are holidays. Do any of you down in Rio know if the casas will be open?

Obrigado,

SS

[QUOTE=SunsetStrip;1707493]Next Monday and Tuesday are holidays. Do any of you down in Rio know if the casas will be open?

Obrigado,

SS[/QUOTE]Only Monday and Tuesday in Brazil. It lasts 360 plus days in the USA.

[URL]http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2015/01/20/women-bare-their-breasts-in-rio-to-lobby-for-right-to-go-topless/?intcmp=obnetwork[/URL]

Interesting, but I doubt there will be any change on the current law in place.