Gotti

Some people thrives in controversy, sadly they believe this forum is their home.

No question about it, boys are what we are in it for, I just mentioned the stage because there is lots of attention towards it (including boys) and how excrutiating will be a drag revue on a 12 inch high platform cramped in a corner of 2 walls.
 

All this discussion about body types in a Lagoa topic and not a word on the type that made Lagoa a legend: the model!. Yes, they've been scarce of late (pos 2016?), If existent at all, possibly migrated to a different scene, the spa scene, only vaguely hinted in this space. Can somebody in the know please dissect it. We all need new thrills.
 

No question about it, boys are what we are in it for, I just mentioned the stage because there is lots of attention towards it (including boys) and how excrutiating will be a drag revue on a 12 inch high platform cramped in a corner of 2 walls.
 

Now that some reviews are in, I can figure out how precise mine was, that happened to be the first one. The stairs, that were on the title of my review, overwhelmed everyone and were  widely condemned, the rooms/suites had positive marks and thats about it. Surprisingly nobody mentioned the stage. A lesson? If you are selling encounters do not make it a vertical environment, in this case there is nothing that can be done, no renovations, re-arrangements, anything at all, the place is simply wrong from the get go. Unlike Rio, that is mostly buildings in the good areas, Sao Paulo has plenty of houses that even smaller, could offer a similar experience as the original one, instead the space that was chosen is simply puzzling.
I also noticed (but did not write about) the low rate boys/customers also 1/1 when I was there. I thought it happened because was the first weekend but it looks like a continuous situation, certainly unnaceptable. Who could ever predict that the mighty former Lagoa, just described by a fellow poster as "the best sauna of the western hemisphere" would play second fiddle for Rio de Janeiro's saunas. Hope to live to see Sao Paulo reaction!

Not forgetting that they leased Point 202 for around a year and manage it to nearly put it out of business, thankfully Junior returned and not only saved it but transformed it in the sauna with the best facility in Brazil, at least in the Rio/SP region. I was there last week and had a blast. He always dreamed in a disco-sauna and little by little finally achieve it. Brilliantly! Take that Rudolf! Take that Acyr and Jorge! By the way, never met any of these people.

The problem with the new Lagoa is not the fact that it's got smaller, there is nothing wrong with downsizing if it's well done, unfortunately not the case here.

Garotos' age is the least of the problem of the new Lagoa, the real issue is architecture, which means cannot be solved. A stupid decision was made from ground up. Hard to believe that people involved had decades of experience running this type of business. If they wanna make up for it, the only thing to do is lock the door and look for a new site.

I haven't posted in a while, several years if anyone is counting, but decided that the new Lagoa opening is a too big event to pass, and I'm sorry to say it was quite a disappointment. Not that I expected to be anything close of its former self, it would be unrealistic, but it supposedly took months, if not years, looking for a place and they settle for something completely wrong. What sets Lagoa apart was always the ambience, boys come and go, there was good night's and bad nights but the vibe of the place was always there. The heart of the new place, the area where the stage and the main bar is located looks like a medium size office with low ceilings and claustrophobic atmsophere located at an intersection of stairs, filled with cheap hard plastic furniture. Unlike 117, Point or even Fragata, there is not an comfortable seat to relax and watch boys by, and worse, if you have an eye on a boy, which you probably do, he might easily have escaped to 2 flights up or down and soon you will realize you are doing stairs all the time. Both saunas are bad, the dry one looks like a closet, the sound system is horrible and will never be fixed, is not possible in an office space. The dressing area is tiny, if you wanna sit to tie your shoes you will have to wait for your turn. Not to be unfair and say everything was horrible, the rooms were adequate for a sauna and the showers were  good and new, the boys selection was very weak, but is certainly might happen anywhere. I still don't think it will fail cause at the moment there is no competition in Sao Paulo, which makes the right time to somebody start something new. The top boys, if they ever come around, could easily be persuaded to go elsewhere. The location I think is more Higienópolis than Consolação, probably on the intersection. I paid R$60,00 on a Sunday and was told it would be R$65,00 if charge.

He better figure out how to recover this considerable investment among So Paulo customers and I hope is feasible cause most tourists, like myself, that included Sao Paulo in their intinerary solely because of Lagoa, Will be changing gears and staying most of the time in Rio, if going to Sao Paulo at all, which I hate to see it happen cause I love the city.

No chance of doing it at the new Lagoa

I haven't posted in a while, several years if anyone is counting, but decided that the new Lagoa opening is a too big event to pass, and I'm sorry to say it was quite a disappointment. Not that I expected to be anything close of its former self, it would be unrealistic, but it supposedly took months, if not years, looking for a place and they settle for something completely wrong. What sets Lagoa apart was always the ambience, boys come and go, there was good night's and bad nights but the vibe of the place was always there. The heart of the new place, the area where the stage and the main bar is located looks like a medium size office with low ceilings and claustrophobic atmsophere located at an intersection of stairs, filled with cheap hard plastic furniture. Unlike 117, Point or even Fragata, there is not an comfortable seat to relax and watch boys by, and worse, if you have an eye on a boy, which you probably do, he might easily have escaped to 2 flights up or down and soon you will realize you are doing stairs all the time. Both saunas are bad, the dry one looks like a closet, the sound system is horrible and will never be fixed, is not possible in an office space. The dressing area is tiny, if you wanna sit to tie your shoes you will have to wait for your turn. Not to be unfair and say everything was horrible, the rooms were adequate for a sauna and the showers were  good and new, the boys selection was very weak, but is certainly might happen anywhere. I still don't think it will fail cause at the moment there is no competition in Sao Paulo, which makes the right time to somebody start something new. The top boys, if they ever come around, could easily be persuaded to go elsewhere. The location I think is more Higienópolis than Consolação, probably on the intersection. I paid R$60,00 on a Sunday and was told it would be R$65,00 if charge.

Being favored for his/her looks I always thought is something we all knew since kindergarden, at the latest.

I agree, Point nowadays has better looking guys than 117, however, if you prefer a certain type of boy, 117 might have them in bigger numbers, so the best approach is go to both and decide which one is your thing. 117 should be tried on a Tuesday and Point on a Wednesday. Weekends? Try Sao Paulo or on a longer shot, Porto Alegre. If you must remain in Rio over the weekend, the only option is a place called The Week, you must be into techno/trance, is also a good pick-up place with plenty of hot boys, however you must be under 35, otherwise don't even bother. 
Another big change in Rio is the night-life, what was already weak became non-existent. The subway got a lot bigger, if you take into consideration only the Zona Sul (as you should), more than double the extension. The city also became even more violent, the favela tours, compared with ones from the past, became a lot more eventful, so to speak.

I should add that for a first visit, Rio is certainly an absolute must, the scenery (as a big city) can't hardly be beaten by anywhere on earth, but sex-wise, after spending so much money in such long trip a stop in Sao Paulo would make sense, since would not add substantially more expense and could be sexually more fulfilling, depending on personal taste and luck to a certain extent.

Not much has changed since your last visit in 2008, ten years ago.
However, Pointe 202 is currently more active and often has many good looking garotos available.  
Most garotos and clients now have smart phones that were not so popular when you were last in Brazil.   That should make communicating with the garotos easier if you know how to use a translator (assuming that you do not speak Portuguese).  
Also, getting around in Rio is about the same for using the metro but you now have Uber which is quite reliable and convenient and less expensive than cabs. 
Other than for the city being a little more dangerous than it was ten years ago, you will like the place. 
 

You forgot to mention that it was raining heavily in Sao Paulo today and tonight which kept clients and garotos away from Lagoa.  
You just happen to catch bad weather.  
Rain and cold often have an enormous negative affect on clients and garotos going out to the saunas.  
If you go again when it is not raining or cold, you will most likely have a great time at Lagoa.  

I also think Sao Paulo is cheaper in general, with the exception of Lagoa boys. Hotels is hard to figure out because location is as important as the hotel itself and is impossible to compare the location of such two dissimilar cities. Food is definitely cheaper in Sao Paulo, even a soda you pay more in Rio, subway is also cheaper in Sao Paulo, although not by much. Yes, the Lagoa boys costs more, but the quality is also better.

I also think Sao Paulo is cheaper in general, with the exception of Lagoa boys. Hotels is hard to figure out because location is as important as the hotel itself and is impossible to compare the location of such two dissimilar cities. Food is definitely cheaper in Sao Paulo, even a soda you pay more in Rio, subway is also cheaper in Sao Paulo, although not by much. Yes, the Lagoa boys costs more, but the quality is also better.

I always use Charles Schwab for my foreign ATM withdrawals, @Tomcal. Official rate + no transaction fees + unlimited reimbursement for ATM fees charged by any other bank worldwide. No minimum balance, no monthly fees. I can ACH funds into my Schwab account from any other bank and it's available in 3 business days.
If I remember correctly, they start the debit card with a limit of $500 but you can request it be increased to $1,000 without any argument. Depending what other business you have with them, you may have success convincing them to increase it higher than that.
It can take a little time to setup, so I wouldn't count on it for trips in the very near future, but if you've got a couple weeks or want to set it up for future trips, it's worth it.

The renovation looks quite impressive, just a reminder:: An even bigger transformation happened a few years ago when the third floor was built from scratch, with the progress documented step by step with a slick power-point presentation projected on big screens in the disco area and voila, shortly after everything was ready, the control of the place was transferred to the guys from Meio-Mundo that in turn never invested a penny neither at the place they just took charge, neither at their own place, both went into accelerated disrepair. I frequently criticize Junior for the tacky ways Point operates, but I do admire his tenacity in improving his business and putting the money back on it, very different from Jorge and Acyr (I think this are their names) that in 10 years that I occasionally went to their sauna, never seen a dime returned to the business. What this transformation at Point will lead? Wish someone could figure it out.

Maybe the hotel owner figured it out that a new hotel in Rio is a very risky proposition, Airbnb is decimating the profits of the current ones, the luxurious building that was formery Meridien changed ownership at least 3 times in the last 5 years, after Meridien became The Windsor and now is a Hilton, Copacabana Palace is in the red, despite being owned by a huge international corporation (The Orient Express, yes, that Orient Express), even Donald Trump backtracked on his, although the official reason was shady practices by his partners (surprise!), the hotel finally opened with a different name after considerable delays (missed the Olympics) and is doing poorly with rooms being discounted on a permanent basis (the last time I checked it was $60,00 despite being in front of the ocean and having an infinity pool), with no major event on the horizon (what could be bigger than the Olympics and the World Cup?), a hotel in Rio looks like a dicey proposition, there is of course the option of a high rise condo, but I think not many people would fancy taking ownership on a high rise next to a favela(in this case the "Tabajara"- stray bullets anyone?), maybe the owners figured out that is best to allow whoever is paying the rent to stay put for the time being, but I don't have any solid information, these are all conjectures, hopefully makes sense and we will have Point for many years to come

Maybe the hotel owner figured it out that a new hotel in Rio is a very risky proposition, Airbnb is decimating the profits of the current ones, the luxurious building that was formery Meridien changed ownership at least 3 times in the last 5 years, after Meridien became The Windsor and now is a Hilton, Copacabana Palace is in the red, despite being owned by a huge international corporation (The Orient Express, yes, that Orient Express), even Donald Trump backtracked on his, although the official reason was shady practices by his partners (surprise!), the hotel finally opened with a different name after considerable delays (missed the Olympics) and is doing poorly with rooms being discounted on a permanent basis (the last time I checked it was $60,00 despite being in front of the ocean and having an infinity pool), with no major event on the horizon (what could be bigger than the Olympics and the World Cup?), a hotel in Rio looks like a dicey proposition, there is of course the option of a high rise condo, but I think not many people would fancy taking ownership on a high rise next to a favela(in this case the "Tabajara"- stray bullets anyone?), maybe the owners figured out that is best to allow whoever is paying the rent to stay put for the time being, but I don't have any solid information, these are all conjectures, hopefully makes sense and we will have Point for many years to come

The renovation looks quite impressive, just a reminder:: An even bigger transformation happened a few years ago when the third floor was built from scratch, with the progress documented step by step with a slick power-point presentation projected on big screens in the disco area and voila, shortly after everything was ready, the control of the place was transferred to the guys from Meio-Mundo that in turn never invested a penny neither at the place they just took charge, neither at their own place, both went into accelerated disrepair. I frequently criticize Junior for the tacky ways Point operates, but I do admire his tenacity in improving his business and putting the money back on it, very different from Jorge and Acyr (I think this are their names) that in 10 years that I occasionally went to their sauna, never seen a dime returned to the business. What this transformation at Point will lead? Wish someone could figure it out.

It might seem like a moral issue but is more likely a security issue, which makes sense in a city like Rio. What scares the hosts is not only the extra person per se, but who is behind them and women are even considered more dangerous than men because there is usually somebody else behind their operation. While you are asleep, your "guest" might run to the corner and have the keys copied in a kiosk on the corner (plenty of them in Rio), so they have access to the apartment and the building when you leave town and you won't even figure it out. Seems paranoid, but it does happen. Is a good idea to not leave the keys at the door when you are sleeping with somebody. Not only the owners might have an issue with guests, the other tenants are probably against it as well. The bigger the apartment more restrictions on the table. A one room apartment is more easy to get away with it, a two room, you gotta get lucky, a three room forget about it. (you probably don't need it anyway).