Thursday, May 5, 2011

Hotels or motels, in which will you stay in Rio de Janeiro?

By Claudio Tostes


Just about anyone who is new to travel in Rio de Janeiro has to learn about some essential things when you are on your vacation. One important lesson to take note of is the distinction between hotels and motels as it pertains to Brazil. From an American standpoint, you likely would think that the main 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 find that to Brazilians, there is a difference. A big difference.

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

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

Now this could possibly change gradually as Brazil becomes economically more influential. As apartments and flats are popping up all over Rio. But then again, perhaps not 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 take advantage of motels as a less costly alternative and result in a cultural shift.

On the other hand, right now, during the time of this writing hotels mean sleeping 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 cleared up some uncertainty to anyone who might be coming to Rio de Janeiro and help them avoid a potentially embarrassing situation of which accommodations to use. But then again, perhaps you should look at some apartments instead.




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