Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The options concerning hotels and motels in Rio de Janeiro

By Claudio Tostes


Anybody who is unfamiliar with travel in Rio de Janeiro should learn about some important matters when you are on your vacation. One vital lesson to take note of is the difference between hotels and motels as it pertains to Brazil. From an American point of view, you likely would think that the difference is price and quality of these kind of rentals and you may keep this thought for some time as you stroll the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana. But you will soon recognize that to Brazilians, there is a difference. A big difference.

What's this difference you ask? Well, to put it blunt and easy, hotels are for sleeping and motels are for love-making. There really isn't any other way to put it and this is a straightforward fact in Rio de Janeiro as well as the rest of Brazil. So should you be taking a holiday here, it's really something that you should know. If you're sipping that martini in a quaint little bar of Copacabana or Ipanema and anyone mentions a motel, you'll know exactly what they're speaking about

One may be inquiring as to why this is. While in the United States, motels are normally rest stops for vacationers who are looking for inexpensive quarters for the night. Just a place to snooze. In Brazil, you need to look at things from a cultural standpoint. Most people live in close quarters. It's not normal for Brazilians to have their own apartments, rentals or flats. Usually people can't easily afford these kind of accommodations alone, so it's very usual to live with their families.

Now this may well change eventually as Brazil becomes economically more influential. As apartments and flats are springing up all over Rio. But then again, not likely since this notion is so imbedded in the culture. Privacy is certainly something rare. Usually people in Brazil who are travelling on business are going to gravitate toward hotels anyway. Though, as infrastructure becomes more enhanced, you will have more people who have lower budgets. This lower middle class will likely be the kind that may utilize motels as a more cost-effective alternative and cause a cultural shift.

Nevertheless, right now, at the time of this writing hotels mean slumber and motels mean having sex. Simple enough right? Shouldn't be any more errors as to the function of this type of real estate. Hopefully this has settled some misunderstandings to anyone who might be coming to Rio de Janeiro and help them avoid a potentially unpleasant situation of which accommodations to use. But then again, perhaps you should look at some apartments instead.




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