Royal vs. Atlântico

[CarloRio]

Hallo merry M4Mers,

 

As we had received many requests from a number of M4Mers to contact this brand new hotel in Copacabana, the Royal. We did so and here is what our thoughts are:

 

First of all, we managed to get very special deals on this hotel that Tomcal mentioned. Not only on this specific one (the Royal) but at the 4 other hotels of this group, all located in Copacabana.

 

As anything else this brand new hotel has its pros and cons, just like the Atlantico...

 

Pros:

 

Brand new, finely decorated, close to a subway station.

 

Cons:

 

Tax (15%) vs. 10% at the Atlântico

Rates are higher than at the Atlântico (a sglb at the Royal can cost as low as R$ 160,00 whereas in Atlântico both sglb and dblb cost R$ 140.00. A dblb at the Royal costs R$ 210.00.

Disorganized (since it's a brand new hotel - only 3 months old), they are still getting their things together, which is quite natural.

Not as close to Copacabana saunas as the Atlântico.

 

 

Aside from that it's another good option for M4Mers, and regarding visitor's policy (which is a very thorny issue for gay travellers), they agree on the following policy: it's ok to take one guest per night, but you'd have to pay an extra R$ 50.00 per guest and R$ 16.00 for breakfast, in case your overnight guest has breakfast with you. Therefore if you consider that, the Atlântico's policy is still better.

 

Another thought, now as we have deals in all five of the hotels of the Royal chain, I think you should consider their other hotel, the Mirador, for it's closer to the saunas than Royal is, and the price of the Mirador is compatible with that of the Royal.

 

Anyway we just wanted to put some insight on this topic and let you guys know that we can book you in any of these hotels with special rates for M4Mers.

 

Um abraço,

 

;-)

[Guest Brazil Nut]

Greetings Carlo,

 

Muito obrigado pela informação.

Thanks very much for the information and for checking this out with the Royal group. This is very useful and good to know, and I can see that we are being well taken care of by you. :-)

 

You mentioned the Mirador. Which are the other hotels in the Royal group?

 

Is the special rate that you can get the same at all of them, and is it the same as at the new Royal that Tomcal mentioned?

 

Tomcal said that the new Royal is like a 5-star hotel. Is the Mirador also at that level? And the other Royal hotels?

 

You said: >Tax (15%) vs. 10% at the Atlântico

Is it the tax that is different? Shouldn't the tax (city, state, federal) be the same for all hotels in Copacabana? Or do you mean the service charge/gorjeta?

 

I hope you won't mind answering these few other questions.

Obrigado,

Brazil Nut

[straightshooter]

Your portuguese is good enough to know that he referring to the taxa de servico. So why even ask??

 

p.s. Are you same BRAZIL NUT idiot who raised such a HISSY FIT last year when some enterprising m4mer opened a web site with the same name? And threatened legal action if he failed to issue a disclaimer? (which he ended up doing - a joke) What "reputation" were you trying to protect - do you think you own the rights to that name and that you are the ONLY gringo in town who obsesses on us and must pay for our services to get our attention?

[Guest Tomcal_]

>>Disorganized (since it's a brand new hotel - only 3 months old), they are still getting their things together, which is quite natural.

Not as close to Copacabana saunas as the Atlântico.

Aside from that it's another good option for M4Mers, and regarding visitor's policy (which is a very thorny issue for gay travellers), they agree on the following policy: it's ok to take one guest per night, but you'd have to pay an extra R$ 50.00 per guest and R$ 16.00 for breakfast, in case your overnight guest has breakfast with you. Therefore if you consider that, the Atlântico's policy is still better.<<

 

First, let me say, while I don't condsider myself an expert on hotels, the fact that the past 7 years for my company I fly almost everyweek and have stayed at hundreds of hotels across the U.S. and Europe and most are the Hyatt, Crowne Plaza, category...I found the Royal Rio to be comparable to any of them!! I think I can present a unbiased view, since I make no commissions, have no stock in any of the companies involved and none of my relatives are employed by said hotels! Saying that, there is absolutely no comparison between the Atlantico and the Royal!! Even for the 5% difference in Tax! As one of the M4M's said after we switched hotels last week, "I would pay 50% more to stay here at the Royal". One of my friends that was down there is a Plastic surgeon here in L.A.(not a M4M, so he doesnt' post here)after he saw my room he went back and checked out of the Atlantico and checked in to the Royal. His reaction was the same.

As far as location, unless you have severaly limited mobility...it's six blocks from the Atlantico and there are literally hundreds of cabs going down Beratto Ruberio and $4.50 reais(1.75.U.S.) to the suanas. or you can walk it in 10 mins.

As far as guests, please read my previous posts, I had guests each afternoon and almost every night and paid nothing extra.

As far as getting their act together, there is in my mind,no place more disorganized then the Atlantico!! an example, there were 6 of us staying their in identical rooms with six different rates! and they had the reserv. mixed up. I am not sure what Carlos is referring to as far as the Royal goes "getting their things together", they were very professional, absolutely customer oriented. An example, at the Atlantico, where i referred many, many guys, they would never give me a late checkout without paying, the Royal siad no problem if I checked out at 6:00 pm and no charge.

[CarloRio]

Just some clarification...

 

As a travel agent it doesn't really matter for us which hotel a customer wants to stay, for we get the same comission rate in any hotel in Rio, thus it's of our utmost economic interest to suggest people to stay at more expensive hotels, for obvious reasons! But our goal is also to provide services, that's why we made those comparisons between the Atlântico and the Royal (we're no shareholders nor owners of any of these hotels...). And our view is as unbiased as Tomcal's, but from a different angle.

 

As TomCal mentioned the Royal looks much nicer than the Atlântico, and has a number of other nicer things about it such as two swimming pools (one heated), the rooms are nicely decorated.

 

And as far as the disorganization goes, which TomCal didn't notice, we had 6 customers complaining about a few things, but as I mentioned earlier, this is expected at any new hotel. As for the visitor's policy, that's what they agreed on with us, and probably due to their disorganization they didn't charge anyone yet, but they will. It's just a matter of time and organization. The manager of the hotel, a very nice and friendly person and willing to get gay business for his hotel, admitted that they are still getting their things together.

 

Of course you can always get away with sneaking some boys in (I know customers who succeeded doing that at the Copacabana Palace), but the policy is that, so if you ever get charged, don't be surprised.

 

The other hotels which belong to the same group are: Mirador, Real, Mirasol and Majestic. But the nicest and most luxurious one is the Royal. The others would fall more into the category of the Atlântico, as far as luxury goes.

 

As for rates, we got excellent deals on all of them and the rates at the Royal are somewhat similar to what Tomcal posted here. If anyone is interested in knowing them, check directly with us.

 

As for the tax, they charge an extra 5% as service tax. It's hotel policy, some hotels charge only 10%, others 15% and some no tax at all.

 

Another difference between their hotels and the Atlântico is that the the Atlântico charges the same rate for a sglb and a dblb (for 1 or 2 people), whereas at Royal hotels they have different rates.

 

I think enough has been said and as I mentioned previously we can book anyone in any hotel in Rio, be it the Caesar Park in Ipanema or the ones of the Royal chain in Copacabana, the final decision about where to stay always lies with the customer, not with us.

 

Um abraço,

[trilingual]

That's one of the nice things about Rio, there are accommodations of every type and price, so it's up to you where you'd like to stay.

 

I must say, though, that the Royal is very smart, indeed. I haven't been a guest there, but I've visited several M4Mers who've stayed there and I'm impressed with the rooms. SFTraveller, as we speak, is comfortably ensconced in the extremely attractive suite 1607, which I like even better than suite 1601 where a couple of other M4Mers recently lodged. The lobby and restaurant are both extremely inviting, and I could see the lobby bar becoming the Copacabana equivalent of the Bar de Hotel in Leblon, which has become a chic gay meeting spot in that part of town. (Divine for the "ladies-who- lunch" or the martinis-after-work kind of crowd for whom high style is important!)

[floridarob]

I agree with Carlo, don't be surprised if they start chatging $50 for a guest.

 

I was outside one day Tom talking to the bellman...very efficient as he knew every room # you guys were in.

 

I was looking for someone and he told me "oh, he went to the beach with a Brazillian friend at 10:30" then I asked for SFtraveller and he told me "he went to Corcovade at 11) and mentioned that Tom was in the area and will be back soon! I was very impressed and found out that he had worked at the Othon Palace and Marriott before.

 

He told me this place is better because you can bring "Guests" back for only $50 more. So I think this must be policy but they aren't enforcing it right now but like any new hotel, as they get more popular will start to feel like they can afford to get cocky and stick to their guns a little and back down only when someone makes a stink.

 

Carlo, is this rate a single rate is that the reason for the $50 charge? what if you booked a double like everyone does at Atlantico?

[Guest Tomcal_]

The lobby of this hotel during the day seems very busy already, and with the house phones Past the front desk and next to the elevators and in front of the bar area, no one there seems to notice or care if a non guest walks by them. Also it would be easy to meet you "friend" in the bar area, and then head over to the elevator. At late night when there is much less activity, a non guest is going to be much more visible to the staff. Saying that, I didn't do that. I walked by usually about 1:30 a.m. past the night desk clerk to the elevators with someone different each night and no one questioned me!

Since I am the only one posting so far that has Actually stayed at the Royal I think my experiences are probably relevent! IMHO lol

There is however in my mind, absolutely no comparison between the two hotels, the Royal is so much better then the Atlantico, which really took our business for granted! The rooms have central air, thermopane windows, no street noise, beautiful pool area with food/bev. service, private internet center plus high speed access in the rooms, a way better breakfest...although I don't get up for that usually, but here I did as I kept waking up before 10:00 each day. King size beds, and great pillows!!! For those of you who have stayed at the Atlantico you know how crappy the pillows were, about 2" thick!! lol

The only downside is you will be walking a few more blocks to go to Estacao or Pointe. not a big deal, busy main street even late at night!

I do recommend using Carlos for your reserv. where ever you stay, he has done an excellent job for all the M4M's that have used his services!

[CarloRio]

I couldn't agree more with what Tomcal said. It's really important that people who actually stay at these hotels make their comments on quality, things that need to be improved, likes and dislikes etc... 'cause only by doing so, these hotels can improve and people can find out about alternatives to anything, be it saunas, hotels and even travel agents.

People many times just complain but don't get specific on their complaints which makes it very difficult to get things improved. One major complaint that I hear about Atlantico (aside from the ones that Tomcal mentioned) is about their phone system (which in fact sucks!).

 

As for the extra R$ 50.00 fee, Floridarob, if you book a dblb then you'd have the right to have 2 people in your room anyway, thus you'd not need to pay this extra. But if you don't plan to have anyone sleeping over every night, it doesn't pay to book a dblb room. And as both you and Tomcal noted, it seems very easy to get by unoticed with overnight guests. Thus I don't think it makes sense to book a dblb room as for now. Time and customers will tell how this visitor's policy is working there.

 

After all this forum is an excellent source of information, and you users (specially the most prolific posters such as tri, axiom, tomcal, gulliver, sftraveller etc...) are the best and most reliable source of info. here.

 

That's why it became an excellent source for travellers coming down here.

 

Keep up your good work and don't stop the comments!

 

Um abraço a todos,

[elpaso]

At the risk of being redundant...I will echo everything Tomcal said. I recently spent about a week at the Royal -- after having my last bout of crappy service (and poor resolution) with the Atlantico.

 

Ironically, I had mixed feelings about ditching the Atlantico (years of loyalty, and lots of fun memories). But that sadness disappeared the first time I hopped into the Royal's brand-new beds/received an actual telephone call without it having been lost a couple of times first/spent an afternoon by the pool (with bar service). There really is no comparison; the Royal would be a 3-4 star hotel in the US -- slightly downmarket in style from a chain like the W Hotels.

 

Other benefits of the location of the Royal: There is a Banco do Brasil that accepts Cirrus-based ATM cards 1 block away; it's 2 blocks closer to the beach than the Atlantco; it's 1 Metro stop closer to 117 than the Atlantico stop; it's 2 blocks from the gay kiosk in front of the Copacabana Palace (and the American and Continental ticket offices); and it's only steps away from the apartments of Tri and Gulliver.

 

As for the "boy policy," I had a young Brazilian friend staying with me each evening, brought in additional guests on a daily basis, and invited a Carioca guest to breakfast every day. I was never charged extra, and no one from the hotel staff ever asked a question, raised an eyebrow, or was anything but charming and professional to either me or my guests.

 

As FloridaRobb says, this lenience may change as the hotel gets busier. Or it may get spoiled if we or our amorados cause the management or other guests to become uncomfortable. (This is not the sort of hotel where sauna boys can loiter in the lobby, for instance.) But for now, unless you absolutely must sleep 2 blocks away from Pointe or Estacao, I would consider it a far superior experience.

 

Valeo,

El Paso

[HardnThick]

Anyone know the web sites for the Royal and the other hotels in their group? That would help make travel decisions.

[sf traveler]

As I´m killing a few minutes before going off to breakfast with Jake and /Trilingual, I thought I´d offer a few words. The Royal is a modern up to date hotel, it has a safe like the ones you´d find in a good American hotel, the showers are better, the air con is better than the Atlantico--it´s just a better hotel. The staff is very nice without the spacey quality of the Atlantico´s front desk staff. As I think others have reported, it is a bit more upscale than the Atlantico so more discretion is in order. Last night I brought a boy home after Corujinha--Marcos, recommended by the Tomcal and very nice indeed. He has dyed blond hair and clearly looks like a rentboy. At 1:30am they stopped us and made him sign in and show his documents. Neither he nor they were upset at all, and of course it´s all for the guests´ protection. I´m sure I´ll be charged the R$50 since they asked my room number, but really that seems fair to me. If I don´t get charged, I´ll post again about it. In a day or two, I will also be making a lengthy post about all the other things I´d like to share with others about this trip which has clearly been my best Brazil trip yet and has really advanced by overall feelings about the place. Ciao SF Traveler

[Guest Brazil Nut]

>Your portuguese is good enough to know that he referring to

>the taxa de servico. So why even ask??

 

The proper response to your question is that it's none of your business either WHY I ask Carlo or anyone else a question, or THAT I ask Carlo or anyone else a question.

 

And I don't think that you were really looking for an answer to the question, but, since you DID ask,

 

Perhaps my Portuguese ISN'T "good enough." Or perhaps it is. How do YOU know how good it is, or that I knew the phrase "taxa de servico" that you cited? And how do you know that the 4-word phrase at the beginning of my post, the first 2 of which are known by now to everyone who reads this forum, came from my own knowledge of Portuguese, and not from a dictionary or some online translator? Is that the basis on which you are assessing my knowledge of Portuguese?

 

Perhaps the main purpose of my post was to express appreciation to Carlo for taking the initiative and the trouble to look into the matter, and to show him that his efforts were not being ignored. Or perhaps not.

 

Perhaps asking about the tax was just a subtle and polite way of bringing out what Carlo really meant for the benefit of the undoubtedly large number of readers here that do NOT speak Portuguese. Or perhaps not.

 

Perhaps my question was also just a subtle and polite way of helping Carlo to improve his English, a way of telling him the difference between 'tax' and 'service charge' without faulting him for choosing the wrong word, and a way of offering him a graceful way to correct his earlier comment. Or perhaps not.

 

Perhaps that is why the question contains the clarification of the mixup within it, rather than being a naive "Why isn't the tax the same?" Or perhaps not.

 

Perhaps all of the above. Or perhaps none of the above.

 

But, in any case, why does it matter to you? It's none of your business if I ask Carlo or anyone else a question, whether I already know the answer or not.

 

Were you hurt in any way by my asking for a clarification of "tax"? And does it call for your hostile remark?

 

No, I think rather that your question was just a pretext for you to be able to post on my post and to be able to drop the malicious little gratuitous attack that you put after it, misrepresenting my past posts and inventing things that I never said.

 

Regarding who I am and the past situation which you misrepresented, let me trouble you with the facts (which I am sure you know perfectly well, but chose to falsify), and also acquaint any other readers that you are trying to mislead with them.

 

THE FACTS:

Someone created a Yahoo group with the name BrazilNut and apparently posted a lot of pictures of sauna boys on it. I am not a member of that group. A few threads were started about it here. One of those threads became a very emotional argument over the propriety of posting those pictures, and one member in particular was extremely upset. That thread grew to over 40 posts without my participating in it or reacting to the name of the group. I also did not react to any of the other threads about the BrazilNut group.

 

However, then someone posted "I would also point out that the pictures you object to are on a different site that was set up by BrazilNut, so he's the responsible party there, not HooBoy." Since my handle in this forum is Brazil Nut, that is a direct statement saying that I had created the site, which was not correct, and that issues concerning it should be directed to me. In fact, I had nothing at all to do with it and no control over it. And it was the SITE that was named BrazilNut, not the person (one Nicola917) who set it up.

 

So at that point, after well over 40 posts in that thread by others, and after someone's posting that I was "the responsible party" for the BrazilNut site, I made ONE and only one post about the overlapping of names, which is cited here in full, as a comment on the post with the incorrect information, in order to correct the misstatement, clear up the confusion, and tell people who were unhappy about the site that it would do them no good to bring their complaints to me.

 

> > Hey, STOP RIGHT THERE.

> > I am Brazil Nut (with a space), and I have nothing to do with

> > setting up or running that site. That site was set up by Nicola917

> > of this board, and he stole my name for the NAME of that site.

> > The BrazilNut (no space) over there is the name of the SITE, not

> > of a person. Please do not come to me to do anything about it

> > because I have no control over it or connection with it.

 

That's the whole of my post, nothing left out, and it's the total of what I said on the subject of the names, despite your attempt at wild misrepresentation.

 

I think that's reasonable under the circumstances, and it's hardly a "hissy fit" as you mischaracterize it. I was merely correcting the misinformation and indicating that I had no connection with that site; and that was my ONLY post on the subject of the names. Where did you get "hissy fit"? or "threatened legal action"? or a demand to "issue a disclaimer"? You made it up.

 

> And threatened legal action if he failed to issue a disclaimer.

??? ROTFL!! LMAO!!

No such thing. You made up that allegation. You cannot and will not find any post of mine that says anything even REMOTELY like that.

 

Aside from which, it is obviously a silly threat. No legal action could possibly be taken in a situation like that. How could I or anyone else make such a threat? You made that claim up, and it is laughable.

 

I refer you and any other reader to the thread in question for what REALLY happened there, as opposed to your fabricated version.

http://babydb.male4malescorts.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=9&topic_id=1205&mesg_id=&page=&mode=full#1257

 

> What "reputation" were you trying to protect...

I was not "protecting" any "reputation," and my reputation did not need any protecting.

I was merely correcting some misinformation and telling people not to come to me if they had problems with that site because I had nothing to do with it and could not address their issues regarding it.

 

Speaking of reputations, your own might be enhanced if you did not engage in gratuitous attacks and misrepresentations like those above, and if you kept your sour attitude out of this forum (this is not the first example).

[+ Axiom2001]

TomCal posted the website of The Royal recently along with the yahoo group's website. I have yet to venture to the former web address but will. More than likely that will be the place that I'll stay next time I'm in Rio, and I'll more than likely request Carlo to make these reservations for me.:-) :9 :-)

[Guest msclonly]

The missing ling at the Atlantico, and inabiltiy to find them in an local dept store was the lowly wash cloth, that is taken for granted in the US. Do they provide them at the Royal?

 

Do from now on will pack one!

 

:+

[trilingual]

Wash cloths aren't commonly used in Brazil (I guess people just soap up directly, or they use bath sponges if they bathe with shower gels). If wash cloths are important to you I strongly recommend you bring a couple with you.

[Guest msclonly]

"From now on will pack one."

[Guest elvisyuen]

i was in rio last year, and i found that there was quite a few laundries in copacabana area, and they were very cheap too.

they usually charged you by the weight of the clothes, or in other laundries where you can choose leave the clothes to the staff or self-service.

[+ Axiom2001]

On the recommendation of CarloRio, I took my shirts and underwear to a cleaners/laundry that is very, very near to the Atlantico. It's on the side where the juice bar is and near a hardwear or bathroom fixture shop. The rates weren't bad for what I had. I can't speak Portuguese, but I managed to leave them there and communicate (in some way) without difficulty.

 

When I returned to pick up, the lady remembered that I was staying at the Atlantico and handed me my bundle of clothes. I graciously sauntered up the street carrying my goods.

 

BTW How did this topic get into this thread?

[HardnThick]

Royal Hotel Website

 

Somehow I missed the website for the Royal. Would someone please list it again? The other hotels in their group, too, if possible.

 

Thanks!

[+ Axiom2001]

RE: Royal Hotel Website

 

I read all of this last week. Perhaps it's noted in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Riotravel. All of the hotels in the chain are listed; CarloRio wrote the info. If you still can't find-- do a check at this site under Royal... Copacabana or send Carlo and/or Tom an email via this forum; go to Profiles... Hope this helps! Axiom

[trilingual]

RE: Royal Hotel Website

 

It's supposed to be http://www.royalrio.com.br but I'm not having luck connecting to it. Perhaps it's still under construction and it'll be on the air soon. In the meantime here's some other contact info:

 

Royal Rio Palace

 

Rua Duvivier, 82

Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Brasil

 

(21) 2122-9292

(21) 2122-9293

 

reservasroyalrio@ig.com.br

 

However, to get the best rates you probably should contact Carlo or ask for the rate Tomcal negotiated. Otherwise you could end up paying rack rates, which are fairly high if the price list behind the desk is to be believed!

[Big Daddy]

This link will take you directly to the Tomcal Palace (Royal Rio).

 

http://www.royalrio.com/port/