I just returned from a two week Rio trip with the wife in tow (as well as other family members).

I've written some trip reports in the past and don't care to get into this girl and that girl or I busted load on her face kind of stuff. If you are looking for that, you should stop reading now. I also don't post pictures anymore (nor do I take them) because it is too dangerous. Every time I have posted pictures of a popular termas garota it has come back to bite me. Most recently I was sitting in Centaurus in December with a garota who’d been away working in Lugano for a few years. She had lost a lot of weight and I commented to her that I had a photo of her when she weighed 5-7 kgs more from a few years back – she looks at me and says “oh, you are the one who posted my photo on the internet!” I talked my way out of it by telling her the photo I have of her is without her face showing so it was obviously not me…however I was pissed to say the least. I also don't care to have the pictures on my hard drive or memory stick, so I have gotten away from the practice.

For obvious reasons, I did not make this a huge mongering trip. I made 5 termas runs in 13 days by explaining that I needed to hit a Regus business center to make conference calls and download large files. You can find where Regus has offices by following this link:

http://www.regus.com

If you have an Admirals Club membership, you can obtain a free membership. The fact that Regus has offices in Botofogo makes an ideal excuse to get on the subway and head into centro.

Here are a few additional notes of interest:

The Sheraton Barra is wonderful. Everyone should stay there at least for a night or two and check it out. Despite being really far from Centro and Ipanema/Copacabana, the pool and suites are fantastic.

Nuth Lounge has turned into a club for 18 year olds. 5 years ago it was 20-30 something...not anymore.

If you want to see beautiful people, check out Acadameia da Cachaca after 11:00 PM on a TH FRI or SAT night. Another good spot is Devotos da Cachaca…live music, ICE COLD beer and cachaca mixed with honey.

A quick word about the Sheraton Leblon. There is a guy who stands near the hotel entrance and tries to double your price for a taxi on a pre-negotiated basis. (20 reais for a ride to Ipanema) I always thought the guy was a part of the rip-off culture of the hotel. In fact, the hotel has been trying to get rid on the guy.

Santa Theresa is a wonderful neighborhood, a great place that nobody on the board ever checks out (for obvious reasons, there are no termas/clubs and it is not close to the beach.) I think it is definitely the coolest neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. You can take the Bondinho (electric trolley street car) there from Centro. The neighborhood is full of colonial homes and home to the coolest hotel in all of Rio, Hotel Santa Theresa ( http://www.santateresahotel.com/ )

Best meals this trip:
Sobre Natural – Santa Theresa
Garota de Ipanema
Giuseppe Grill
Sushi Leblon
La Plancha (Barra da Tijuca)

Worst meals this trip:
Marius
Esplanade Grill
Rio Brassa

Best Termas for Women:
Centaurus (unfortunately)

Worst Termas:
Termas 65

A word about the talent. The talent at all the Termas was piss-poor. If you are looking for a locale with great talent, Madrid is far superior right now. I had some great sessions but I needed to be EXTREMELY selective. I thought 4X4 was the best bet - Centaurus is just really expensive.

Copa,

I've always had good experiences at the Esplanade Grill, and other than Marius being overpriced, please explain what the problem was. FYI, the guy who stands near the Sheraton Leblon hotel entrance has been there for years. He's still cheaper than the cars in front of the hotel [DO NOT USE them], however it's always cheaper to catch a taxi coming around the corner inbound to Copacabana for anyone not familiar with this situation. The VW bus taxis also run by there frequently and cost only a few reals, very cheap.

"Santa Theresa is a wonderful neighborhood"...totally agree. One afternoon Jag, Lucy, Latinalover and myself all went there for lunch and a pleasant afternoon. Quaint trolly car and great scenery and views, highly recommend for those that want a nice relaxing experience. Many quaint stores, places to dine.

(Message edited by copperfieldkid on June 14, 2009)

Marius is just terrible...such a waste of money...

I think the quality at Esplanade Grill has gone down over the past couple of years, the last two times I've been there, the steak hasn't really been that good. Compared to Guiseppe Grill, it costs more and the food isn't as good. Guiseppe Grill is a bit further away, and if you're staying nearby to Esplanade Grill, then walking over isn't a bad idea. But if you're cabbing over like most, just bypass Esplanade and go to Guiseppe. Much nicer ambiance as well, it's very nice inside.

Oh, make sure you try the cream corn, it's the best I've ever had anywhere. As far as the beef, I've tried 5-6 of their cuts. The baby beef isn't very good, but the picanha, prime rib, brisket - all excellent.

The Hotel Santa Teresa looks amazing. Very cool. I have put Madrid on my trip planner now. Whats the comparison on rates?

BTW, Giuseppe Grill has a Centro location that's within spitting distance of Cancun, and just a few blocks from 65 and 4X4.

R. da Quintanda, 49 Great for a nice lunch before hitting the termas.

I share the low opinion of Marius.

Copa,
One of the reasons I look forward to reading your reports is that they contain useful information beyond who and what. Thanks for the great suggestions.

Madrid is 80 Euros for a 30 min program...all the programs are usually longer than 30 minutes, though - there is no phone or anything like that.

So why no reports on Madrid?

patience grasshopper.....I just got hombre to add security to spain and romania. working on it....

I'm down for a Fall trip to Spain...

I've been to Spain a couple of times this past year and the only positive experiences were with brasilieras....the best being with outcalls. My experience in the clubs and bars was them treating me like a spaniard which meant wham bam and no thank you.
Very few of the women i met there were spaniards.
Loads of brazilian, romanian and ukranian.
Good to have tried it but no intention of returning.

Just to be clear there are no Spanish women working in Spain. They are mostly Romanian, Hungarian, Moldavian, and Ukranian...and maybe 10-15% enterprising Brasileras who take the time to fill out the paperwork needed to get a passport. (in addition to other Spanish provincials from the new world).

Jonesie, it is going to be a while before my next trip...we'll make one happen eventually.

For me, I'm not looking for the girl to act like a girlfriend longer than 30-40 minutes so if you are looking to pretend hot young women really like you and you want a girl to fake that she loves you, Brazil is a better place to play that game. In Spain, if you are selective, you can get some really attractive girls to provide really good sex during the session. They want repeat clients just like any business person, however, they already figured out how to make really good money just by the fact of being there and collecting euros instead of reis. The Brazilian girls working in Spain don't need to play the gringo assistance game when they make a few hundred euros per day.

Copa,

I went to Rio with the wife, but she was on business. So I did all my fun stuff at 4x4 between opening and about 5:30 PM.

I notice you did not mention anything about how you were able to swing it.

Also, I was in Madrid just last month. There area almost entirely Eastern Europeans and Latin Americans there. Opening price for half hour was very low,(30-50 euros), but then there is upsell.

I did not think it worthy of a trip report.

PM me and I'll share how I pulled it off. The places I went in Madrid were all 70-80 euros for 1/2 hour session (was more like 40-50 minutes). There are a few places where the talent is better than the best termas in Rio but you need to be selective because experience can vary from girl to girl.

The thing about Spain is that there is a much different non-mongering experience, albeit more expensive.