Tomcal

i don’t think Rudolfo will pass up on a Friday nights revenue even if the place is not 100% ready! i would be willing to bet it will be open tomorrow night!

When i am in SP, if it is after 10:00pm i take Uber. the cost is immaterial when you are talking about safety and several people i know like have been robbed in São Paulo in the evening walking to/from the metro! just my 2 cents! Uber is so inexpensive it is not worth the risk to me to save a few $

i heard that last Friday formally their biggest night there were only 11 customers and they now owe 3 months back rent! I think the end is near! it is too bad as it is a nice venue if they could pull it all together!

as stated in the original post there are 11 suites, all have private showers and toilets!

The photos are pretty accurate of what i saw last Monday although i think he might have been looking for the worst shots! When i saw it it had been cleaned up for the day! The first photo is of the showers in the main room straight ahead and to the right is the downstairs bar. The second photo is golf the curved stairway going up the 3 floors. the third photo i think is some of the suites in the background, the 4th is the curved ramp from the lower entrance and is a ramp for disabled. and i have no idea what the last photo is! the suites are 90% done not sure why he would take 2 of the 5 photos of stairways/ramps and none of the suites which are all completely new? Also the stairs are wrapped in construction paper underneath that they looked like a nice quality wood! Remember there were no walls/rooms in this building! just 4 floors of open warehouse space! It is not the style layout i would necessarily would have selected BUT i am just happy there is a new sauna to take the place of Lagoa! I have been around many construction sites in my life and was involved in building several 20,000 + sq ft building and they all looked similiar to this at the same stage! I agree with SoulaceSoul that there is a lot to get done by the opening date, but enough will be done i think that there will only be minor inconveniences for clients! i asked Rudolfo what they would take with them from the old place and he indicated very little! outside of bar equipment l! they are getting brand new lockers, chairs, stools, beds, sinks and toilets(there are a lot of toilets in the new place!)

I think you are getting too far afield here! the place has been operating for 7 years no problems and is listed as a spa with massages. there is no signage on the outside of the building. prostitution is legal in brazil but no one but the prostitute can make money off it, so the spa’s cut(or sauna’s) they can say is for room rental/entrance fee which is what the saunas we are all familiar with do. the point of my post was to tell everyone about the spa and the guys working there not a in-depth review of how they operate/make their money etc! Just what we customers can expect when we go there!(every business in Brasil pay off the police, i know the saunas pay roughly $400.R/wk

this is a photo of the In-house spa building/entrance

It looks like a single family residence and we were there from about 2:30 to 4:00 pm on a monday and saw no activity of any kind going on. another positive feature is the taller apt bldgs to the side and back of the property have no window to look down and the house next door is single story as well as the 3td floor balcony overlooking the front now has the black metal over it as well as sound proofing insulation so that should take care of most objections from neighbors.

i have used uber exclusively the last 2 years in Brazil m(Rio/SP/Porto Alegre) love them!! When i left Lagoa in SP Monday evening the Bellman at Lagoa asked me if i would hire his friend rather then Uber i said no lo problem if he was close to the same price! He wasn’t! Uber was $68.R vs $120.R for Taxi!

I had heard about them before but did not really have a interest in going since 1) anonymity isn’t important to me 2) the number of guys is significantly fewer then in a sauna and 3) I enjoy the socialization that takes place in a sauna! 4) i don’t really enjoy the massages that much! When i have gotten one all i do is lay there and think about the sex i want to happen! :-) But knowing 3 guys that work there including two that had been to Mexico with me the past year i decided to go and was surprised by how nice it was and clean and professional. i opted for the hour of sex each time not the 50/50 massage-sex combo! Of the 7 of 12 guys working there that i saw 5 were very attractive to me and the other 2 were bigger Muscled guys that i was not attracted to, but i am sure many would be be!

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it was “Inhouse” and you get a full hour!

well...rumor has it that One of the suites is going to be called the “Tomcal Suite” :-) Actually one of the Brasilians that I am good friends with is also a good friend of Rudolfo and he came from Rio to SP with me this past.weekend and he arranged for us to get a Tour. There was also a Italian guy who visits from Italy for several months, several times every year who was with us I also went to a place that is called a SPA, and is in a building you get buzzed into, there are 12 guys working there all athletic to muscled builds who do a hour massage or 1/2 hour massage and 1/2 hour sex or one hour sex for $250.R $150 goes to the guy and $100. goes to “house”! 3 guys i know work there and told me i would like it! They were right!! They told me they have celebrities, tv stars, other wealthy people, that would never go to or be seen in a sauna like the anonymity and privacy they get in a facility like this. when you enter or leave they check to make sure no 2 customers are in the hallways at the same time! It is by appointment only and they will send you photos of who is working that day! I was impressed by the quality(the place has nicely painted walls, crown mounding in all the rooms) Most of the sauna guys do not know of these place although it has existed for 6 years! i likened it enough to have gone 3 of the 4 days I was in SP! i did not do a massage there instead opting for the Hour of sex! you can do two guys if you want. no negotiations, just double the rate!!

i only ever use Uber, but the metro station(s) are close.

Yes there is a metro stop very close but will have to find the name for you! I think Riobard posted it before! btw there is a nice airbnb a block away!

yes (i think everywhere that has a road in a city serviced by Uber is accessible by them)

I will be in Merida from the 4th to the 17th of December! i can definitely give you some leads for airbnb’s in the centro area where you can walk to everything you need except Flamingos! :-) you have to go about 45 mins by car to get to them! But over 80 restaurants , 4 gay bars are all walkable! PM me and i will send the info to you!

Rudolfo the owner of Lagoa took us to lunch and then to the new building. It took us exactly 30 minutes to get there from Lagoa in his car! Do not look for a green building! it has now black metal over the green outside walls and does look better! it is 4 levels has 11 suites and 4 non-suite rooms! i thought even in its unfinished state it looks pretty nice! it will have 2 bar areas one where the stage and showers are like the present Lagoa and another bar on the top floor where there is a video room and a second video room for watching the soccer games and a smoking area! One unique thing he did was provide one suite right past the entrance for handicap/wheelchair to access. the building was not only empty but also had no walls when he rented it! so it is truely a new sauna! They were installing all air-conditioners today. the question will it be done by the grand opening in three weeks?? i don’t know it will be close but may have the final finishes. We met the architect today and they had 15 people working there, mostly electricians and carpenters but it will be a completely new facility to visit!. my Brazilian friend estimated that the cost of the remodeling was in excess of $600,000.R but that’s a guesstimate! the neighborhood seemed very safe! there are restaurants within a block. They are the black building to the left of it!, There will be no name on the bldg but address written on a single story home next door with a orange stripe on it is 124, just look for the multi story black building next to the orange house!

I, 110% Agree with you but i think we are a dying minority!

this coming friday and Saturday i will be at the saunas! next Friday the 1st i will be at Lagoa

+1. another guy i haven’t seen in a year messaged me today saying he heard i was coming to Rio soon and were we going to see each other? Turns out he is driving Uber when he gets off his regular job and said he could pick me up lo at the airport and since i am getting in at 8:30 and he doesn’t start work until 1:00 we would have plenty of time to have fun! It took about a milasecond to agree!

he is a friend on Instagram and FB. nice guy(caveat i have never been with him, he’s not my type)but always has been a nice person to to talk to

I really like the size and layout of Lions, the third floor dance floor and bar is really large and has never been used although the intent was to open that one night a week at midnight as a mixed dance club. The reasons n it is not making it is 1) primarily lack of working capital! the number 1 reason why 50+% of new businesses fail! You should have a 1 years worth of money to fund operations w/o borrowing! Lions didn’t even have one month! Unless the landlord gives them another rent extension, they will be closing soon, but the opportunity is there for someone to take it over as all the renovations are done!

I will arrive in Rio next Friday(10/25) will be there for a week and then head to São Paulo! i will not be going to Porto Alegre this trip, but will on my next trip. I will be staying at the apt in Ipanema which i have been renting for almost 9 years! it is literally across the street from the General Orsorio Metro station in Ipanema and 2 blocks from the gay beach at Posto 9. This trip 2 of the guys from SP asked if they could come up to Rio for 4 days. So they will be my bunk mates and in the late afternoon they will go meet friends at the beach and I will meet friends at the sauna, and we will reconvene around 10:00 or so to meet up for dinner! Since both they and me have been to Rio many times we won’t been doing any tourist things with the possible exception of Hang gliding which i really like doing there! On friday November 1st i am going to SP for 4 days and meeting 4 guys there and plan on going to Lagoa before it closes at that location.

It’s official! Lagoa’s Grand opening opening is November 22, 23 &24th . This photo shows the building before the extensive remodeling! It appears to be a 3 story with a outdoor deck on the 3rd floor!