Getting There

GOL Flight

The flight from Buenos Aires (EZE) to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) cost me:

Flight	522,76 BRL
Taxes	24,11 BRL
Total	546,87 BRL

Airport Transfer

I took the airport bus to Copacabana, which drove along Avenida Atlantica and dropped me off right at the corner where my rental apartment was located. Door to door service for just 6 BRL!

Accommodation

Gringo Management

A few days before I left on this trip, I tried to make reservations for an apartment with a Jacuzzi. David from Gringo Management confirmed the apartment was available, so I paid a deposit through PayPal. When he received the payment, David said he would send me the confirmation letter later that day. Instead, I got an e-mail saying: “I misread my calendar and the apartment is actually not available”.

When I enquired about another apartment, David said he’d get back to me tomorrow. Six days later, when I was already in Port Alegre, I finally got a reply. I didn’t like any of the alternatives David had to offer me. Not to waste my precious time, I finally agreed to switch to an apartment that looked damn ugly to me. But David assured me that the place looked much better than the pictures...

Someone from Gringo Management showed me to my apartment and... left straight away. I didn’t like the Internet pictures and I hated the actual apartment. Apart from a sofa and the bed, the place was totally bare. The walls were totally bare. The bedspread looked as if it was older than I am. This was the kind of place you’d be ashamed to bring a girl to!

There was no safe. When I took a shower... there was no hot water. But at least the Internet connection worked, so I could complain about this dump. Apparently, Nubia & Edna came round quite a few times to investigate the hot water situation. They never found me home.

Since the person who let me into the apartment left straight away, I’d only paid the deposit so far. David was sending me e-mails requesting to get paid in full. Not gonna happen! I wouldn’t pay up until the hot water problem was resolved. Even with hot water, I didn’t want to stay in this apartment for the full 9 days. I was already looking into other options.

David preferred to be paid by credit card. Not gonna happen! When I last rented an apartment from Gringo Management, the apartment was just fine. But after I got home, David tried to charge me extra for missing towels and cleaning a stain on the floor. I actually bought extra towels and left them in the apartment! And neither I nor any of my girls stained the floor. If David had my CC details, he could have put the extra charges on my card. Since I paid in cash, he didn’t have that option. I definitely didn’t want to give him the opportunity to put bogus charges on my card.

On Corpus Christi, the termas were closed, so I spent most of my time in the apartment. The doorman finally explained about the hot water. If I opened the shower at full blast, the water was cold... because the water heater wasn’t powerful enough. If I opened the water just a little, the water was... lukewarm.

So I had hot water... if only a little. But I still didn’t want to stay in this apartment any longer. Just when I’d decided to move to a hotel, I received an e-mail from David. The apartment with the Jacuzzi I’d originally made reservations for would be available from tomorrow. Great!

The following morning, I paid the balance for the apartment through PayPal and packed my bags. The girl from Gringo Management came by to pick up the keys. I specifically told her that I didn’t want to wait outside with my luggage. She assured me the taxi would be waiting to bring me to my new apartment. When we got downstairs, she rushed off with the keys and... left me stranded with no taxi in sight.

I tried to contact Nubia, but couldn’t get through to her. I soon got fed up with waiting and hailed a cab. I never heard from Gringo Management again...

BTW, neither the apartment I originally made reservations for nor the one I actually stayed in are currently featured on the Gringo Mangement web site:

http://www.gringomanagement.com

Ibis Hotel

The hotel opened its doors in May 2007. I was able to take advantage of the soft opening rates. Apparently, the rates have gone by up now.

http://www.accorhotels.com/accorhotels/fichehotel/gb/ibi/5534/fiche_hotel.shtml

	Weekend	Weekday
June 2007	99 BRL	119 BRL
January 2008	119 BRL	139 BRL

Wireless Internet is available for 12 BRL/24 hours. The rooms are small, but pretty and feature an empty fridge and a safe to store your valuables.

The hotel does not charge joiner fees. I called them to confirm that before I checked in. I had escorts turn up at reception. I had girls spend the night with me. No extra charge.

The hotel is close to Praça Tiradentes, which is a very convenient location. As many buses stop there, there are always plenty of people around, even at night and on weekends.

Formula 1 Hotel

The Formula 1 Hotel is right next door to the Ibis Hotel and is also owned by the Accor group. Their web site indicates dirt cheap rates of 40,69 BRL/night. From what I’ve heard, they currently charge 99 BRL/night (weekdays & weekends).

http://www.accorhotels.com/accorhotels/fichehotel/gb/for/5521/fiche_hotel.shtml

Next: Overview & Conclusions