Brazilians change their mind, just as do Americans

[mvan1]

Brazilians change their mind, just as do Americans - - -

A couple of weeks ago I reported the planned closure of Fragata, provided the sale of the building went through.

This morning I learned that Antonio (the majority owner of Fragata) and his physician partner have reconsidered selling the building because of unsatisfactory additional stipulations related to the sale/purchase.

So, as of today, December 6, 2013, Fragata is no longer slated to be closed.

Of course, this could change again but as of now, the owners of Fragata have announced that the proposed deal to sell has been cancelled.

What does this mean? For now, Fragata will remain in business. I hope.

Word has to get out that the sauna is not closing.

Previous announcements (by the owners) concerning the closure of the sauna caused a sudden and severe drop in the number of clients and garotos visiting the sauna. That has to be reversed if the sauna is to remain a fun place to visit.

My last visit to Fragata a couple of weeks ago was like visiting a sick friend. The place was depressing and had only a handful of clients and garotos. I will be returning to Brazil again next month and will visit Fragata and will do all I can to encourage friends and acquaintances to visit Fragata.

If anyone from this forum plans to visit Sao Paulo, please be sure to include a trip to Fragata. Like I wrote previously, Tuesday and Sundays nights are the best days to visit Fragata.

[TotallyOz]

I am very glad as I always enjoyed this place and met some of my cutest guys there. It always sucks if all the saunas but one close down. That is bad for the quality IMHO as they can dictate who gets to work.

[gap1972]

Good to know. Will be back for New Years again. Nice to have options. I never had any problems at Lagoa, how did the owners piss you off, mvan1? Just curious.

[mvan1]

Good to know. Will be back for New Years again. Nice to have options. I never had any problems at Lagoa, how did the owners piss you off, mvan1? Just curious.

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Since you asked:

I just completed my 113th trip to Brazil and I will be returning to Brazil next month.

During my earlier visits to Lagoa, my locker at Lagoa was rifled while I was away from it and in the sauna. When I returned to the locker, most of my money was gone. I went to the front desk to complain. In response, Edgarde, the one-third owner, did not offer any reimbursement but said that I should keep quiet about the incident because a theft from a locker might cause future customers to stay away from Lagoa.

Edgarde was not the least bit concerned that a frequent paying customer who brought many paying friends to the sauna had been robbed on his premises. His only concern was that bad news might get out and cause a drop in sauna business.

On a different visit to Lagoa, I was sitting in the back area of the sauna where the swimming pool is located. There are tables and chairs there as well as a television set. While I sat at one of the tables, a customer (who was in the swimming pool) was watching the television program that was showing. Along came Rodolfo and changed the station without asking others if they were watching a particular program.

The customer in the pool did not know that Rodolfo was an owner and shouted at him to put the television station back to the station it was. Rodolfo shouted some vulgar comment to the customer. The customer, again not knowing that Rodolfo was a part owner, shouted some profanity at Rodolfo. Rodolfo promptly ordered several sauna boys that were near, to tackle the customer, pull him from the water and throw him onto the floor while Rodolfo shouted at the customer to immediately leave the sauna. I am surprised that the customer did not call the police. I never saw that customer again at Lagoa.

If I treated my clients with such callous trashy disregard or with violence (having sauna boys grab a customer and toss a customer onto the floor), I would not have been successful in my business.

Lagoa has some great looking sauna guys available most of the time. However, it is not for the personalities of Edgarde or Rodolfo that brings me or other customers to the sauna. It is solely the garotos that cause clients to visit Lagoa. Take away the sauna boys from the sauna and what would be the purpose to visit Lagoa?

Despite my dislike for those two owners, I still visit the sauna along with friends and bring a fair amount of money to Lagoa which keeps those two owners happier than they would be if I did not visit there with friends and spend money in their sauna.

By the way, recently the entrance price of $R55,00 was reduced. Rodolfo and Edgarde decided to decrease the entrance price on certain days of the week, provided a customer pays with cash or with a debit card but NOT a credit card. Some days the entrance fee is $R40 if cash or debit card is used.

The entrance fee for the sauna guys has also been reduced from $R20 down to $R15. The owners had to do something about the high prices because they were losing too many customers, both clients and garotos.

I still enjoy visiting Lagoa and will continue to do so. I suppose I should feel satisfied knowing that my only problems at the sauna related to theft from my locker and my observing an outlandish act of violence against a customer.

Sorry you asked the reason?

[Guest parisrio2000]

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Since you asked:

I just completed my 113th trip to Brazil and I will be returning to Brazil next month.

During my earlier visits to Lagoa, my locker at Lagoa was rifled while I was away from it and in the sauna. When I returned to the locker, most of my money was gone. I went to the front desk to complain. In response, Edgarde, the one-third owner, did not offer any reimbursement but said that I should keep quiet about the incident because a theft from a locker might cause future customers to stay away from Lagoa.

Edgarde was not the least bit concerned that a frequent paying customer who brought many paying friends to the sauna had been robbed on his premises. His only concern was that bad news might get out and cause a drop in sauna business.

On a different visit to Lagoa, I was sitting in the back area of the sauna where the swimming pool is located. There are tables and chairs there as well as a television set. While I sat at one of the tables, a customer (who was in the swimming pool) was watching the television program that was showing. Along came Rodolfo and changed the station without asking others if they were watching a particular program.

The customer in the pool did not know that Rodolfo was an owner and shouted at him to put the television station back to the station it was. Rodolfo shouted some vulgar comment to the customer. The customer, again not knowing that Rodolfo was a part owner, shouted some profanity at Rodolfo. Rodolfo promptly ordered several sauna boys that were near, to tackle the customer, pull him from the water and throw him onto the floor while Rodolfo shouted at the customer to immediately leave the sauna. I am surprised that the customer did not call the police. I never saw that customer again at Lagoa.

If I treated my clients with such callous trashy disregard or with violence (having sauna boys grab a customer and toss a customer onto the floor), I would not have been successful in my business.

Lagoa has some great looking sauna guys available most of the time. However, it is not for the personalities of Edgarde or Rodolfo that brings me or other customers to the sauna. It is solely the garotos that cause clients to visit Lagoa. Take away the sauna boys from the sauna and what would be the purpose to visit Lagoa?

Despite my dislike for those two owners, I still visit the sauna along with friends and bring a fair amount of money to Lagoa which keeps those two owners happier than they would be if I did not visit there with friends and spend money in their sauna.

By the way, recently the entrance price of $R55,00 was reduced. Rodolfo and Edgarde decided to decrease the entrance price on certain days of the week, provided a customer pays with cash or with a debit card but NOT a credit card. Some days the entrance fee is $R40 if cash or debit card is used.

The entrance fee for the sauna guys has also been reduced from $R20 down to $R15. The owners had to do something about the high prices because they were losing too many customers, both clients and garotos.

I still enjoy visiting Lagoa and will continue to do so. I suppose I should feel satisfied knowing that my only problems at the sauna related to theft from my locker and my observing an outlandish act of violence against a customer.

Sorry you asked the reason?

I posted a thread about Lagoa last year. I went there and found the place horrible. I'm not surprised by anything you're saying. I just had uniformly bad experiences all around there. The staff is rude, even many customers are rude; it's overpriced. The facilities are bad and it didn't seem especially clean. Worst of all, the boys were ugly as well as thuggish. There's no comparison for example to 117 (although for some reason 117 was not great in quality last spring either). I didn't end up hiring anyone there.

One time during a cab ride away from the place, the cab driver, an old guy, explained to me that the owner was sick and that since he had stopped scouting for talent in the south and bringing in hot/clean boys, the place had filled up with "vagabundos" and that the new management was crap. He also told me that many of the hotter boys were doing work only on the internet now, so maybe that's why Sao Paulo saunas are not doing great. I don't know how much of this is true, but it sounded right, Lagoa really sucked when I was there.

[mvan1]

I posted a thread about Lagoa last year. I went there and found the place horrible. I'm not surprised by anything you're saying. I just had uniformly bad experiences all around there. The staff is rude, even many customers are rude; it's overpriced. The facilities are bad and it didn't seem especially clean. Worst of all, the boys were ugly as well as thuggish. There's no comparison for example to 117 (although for some reason 117 was not great in quality last spring either). I didn't end up hiring anyone there.

How unfortunate that you found Lagoa so distasteful to you.

Although the two owners are not nice to most customers, I cannot understand how you found the sauna, itself “horrible.”

The staff, for the most part is rather friendly and efficient. The facilities are clear and the atmosphere is entertaining.

I agree with you that the place was over-priced but that has been remedied recently by allowing customers to pay cash and receive a substantial discount on the entrance fee.

As to the garotos being “ugly” and “thuggish,” I cannot disagree more. Of any sauna in Brazil, past and present, the garotos at Lagoa, by and large, are the most attractive of any sauna. Therefore, I am at a loss to understand your comment.

I realize that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” however, it is rare to find an unattractive garoto at Lagoa, in my opinion and in the opinion of anyone I heard of who habitually visits Lagoa.

While it is true that the two owners are ill, I do not believe that either owner formerly was “scouting for talent in the south.” The reputation of Lagoa speaks for itself. It is not necessary to scout for garotos. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising or scouting for the sauna.

It is correct that many garotos use the internet for meeting clients. However, I doubt that most garotos use this method to engage clients. The internet allows too many exaggerated advertisements by garotos. Most clients prefer to “see in person what they are getting” rather than rely on some photos that could very well be fake photos. It is not at all uncommon to find that garotos use the photos of others.

Even though you did not have a good time when you were at Lagoa, it was probably just an “off day” at Lagoa or perhaps your expectations were too high.

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[Guest parisrio2000]

How unfortunate that you found Lagoa so distasteful to you.

Although the two owners are not nice to most customers, I cannot understand how you found the sauna, itself “horrible.”

The staff, for the most part is rather friendly and efficient. The facilities are clear and the atmosphere is entertaining.

I agree with you that the place was over-priced but that has been remedied recently by allowing customers to pay cash and receive a substantial discount on the entrance fee.

As to the garotos being “ugly” and “thuggish,” I cannot disagree more. Of any sauna in Brazil, past and present, the garotos at Lagoa, by and large, are the most attractive of any sauna. Therefore, I am at a loss to understand your comment.

I realize that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” however, it is rare to find an unattractive garoto at Lagoa, in my opinion and in the opinion of anyone I heard of who habitually visits Lagoa.

While it is true that the two owners are ill, I do not believe that either owner formerly was “scouting for talent in the south.” The reputation of Lagoa speaks for itself. It is not necessary to scout for garotos. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising or scouting for the sauna.

It is correct that many garotos use the internet for meeting clients. However, I doubt that most garotos use this method to engage clients. The internet allows too many exaggerated advertisements by garotos. Most clients prefer to “see in person what they are getting” rather than rely on some photos that could very well be fake photos. It is not at all uncommon to find that garotos use the photos of others.

Even though you did not have a good time when you were at Lagoa, it was probably just an “off day” at Lagoa or perhaps your expectations were too high.

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It was during Carnaval week, maybe a bit after Carnaval for around 10 days; I was told the good-looking guys had left for Rio. That's possible, but I went to Lagoa with high hopes and the quality of the garotos was really bad, like on a really bad day at 117 or a day at 212 in Copacabana. And not just bad-looking but aggressive, nasty, etc.; if I'm in Sao Paulo I will definitely try it again, but who knows.

There are certainly disadvantages to doing this on the internet, a sauna is better. But Lagoa, from what the cabbie and some others told me, used to get celebrities and important people from Sao Paulo coming in. And it no longer does, which makes me think about, where do the rich and powerful in Sao Paulo now find handsome boys? This has made me think that there is a secret high-class sauna that's invitation-only or word of mouth, but I don't have the contacts to find out if this is the case.

[docbr]

I'm glad that Fragata is no more to close, at last officially. It would be terrible for SP (where I'm living now) to be left with only one Sauna with boys. I think Fragata has a more friendly staff of workers and boys - and Lagoa being alone in the business would do no good.

As for personal opinion, three year ago there was a better quality of boys at Lagoa (and also on Fragata)... I find many of the boys that go now "unfriendly" and somewhat more uninterested than the boys at Rio and even those who work on Fragata... Also, I agree you can find some handsome boys at Lagoa, but in my personal opinion the better ones are on Rio now - like ripped Thiago and handsome Fernando at Club 117.

[Guest parisrio2000]

I'm glad that Fragata is no more to close, at last officially. It would be terrible for SP (where I'm living now) to be left with only one Sauna with boys. I think Fragata has a more friendly staff of workers and boys - and Lagoa being alone in the business would do no good.

As for personal opinion, three year ago there was a better quality of boys at Lagoa (and also on Fragata)... I find many of the boys that go now "unfriendly" and somewhat more uninterested than the boys at Rio and even those who work on Fragata... Also, I agree you can find some handsome boys at Lagoa, but in my personal opinion the better ones are on Rio now - like ripped Thiago and handsome Fernando at Club 117.

Are we talking about the same Fernando? When I was there he was the best looking boy at 117, and best looking boy I had seen there in years. He is godlike

[gap1972]

Having your locker broken into is horrible. Hopefully it's just one loner employee. The other incident doesn't alarm me much.

People's taste vary, so it's rather futile to argue which sauna is the best. I can't wait to see some new boys at Lagoa this Friday. When I went in October 2011, there were more my type than new year 2013. Unfortunately I can only get away from work during Christmas break these couple years.

So far for me, Lagoa and mezzaninu stand out both in facility and quality of boys. 117 has great looking boys too, but the facility is off a little. São Paulo also has much more affordable hotel choices.

[mvan1]

Having your locker broken into is horrible. Hopefully it's just one loner employee. The other incident doesn't alarm me much.

People's taste vary, so it's rather futile to argue which sauna is the best. I can't wait to see some new boys at Lagoa this Friday. When I went in October 2011, there were more my type than new year 2013. Unfortunately I can only get away from work during Christmas break these couple years.

So far for me, Lagoa and mezzaninu stand out both in facility and quality of boys. 117 has great looking boys too, but the facility is off a little. São Paulo also has much more affordable hotel choices.

Hi Gap1972:

I see that you are using the Banespa Bank Building from Sao Paulo as your avatar. As you know, that building was once the tallest building in Sao Paulo - now the Edificio that houses the Italian restaurant is the tallest.

From your avatar, I gather you like Sao Paulo. It is a marvelous city, isn't it?

There is so much to do there. In addition to the sauna life, there are 80 museums in Sao Paulo and countless concerts and other forms of available art and entertainment.

Have a wonderful time on your upcoming trip.

Please post about Fragata if you go there. I won't be back in Sao Paulo until next month. I am curious if the new announcement of the sale being cancelled will revive the sauna business and bring back the lost clients and garotos.