The Thrill of Brazil: Life's a Beach Party

Brazil has more to it than football, beaches and the supermodel Gisele Bundchen - its property is tempting, too. Indeed, it seems to be helping the country ride out the global recession.



It's got the finest beaches in the world, the most robust economy in South America and a rapidly expanding middle class,' says Paul Irvine, of Dehouche, which seeks out South American travel and investment opportunities.

One of the so-called four ‘BRIC’ nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) that are predicted to experience an economic explosion in the years leading up to 2050, Brazil should show positive growth even in 2011, albeit by a small percentage.

Its hefty middle class fuels the country's demand for steel, coffee, beef, oil and even car manufacturing.

And according to the World Tourism Organization, Brazilian tourism increased by 170 per cent between 1995 and 2005 - three times the global average - which is good news for buyers. Holiday homes tend to partner tourism and many European investors have been attracted to £50,000 beach properties in the Natal region in the relatively accessible north-east of the country - eight to nine hours flight away.

This affordable part of the country has seen price rises of 20 per cent a year, but now a growing luxury sector is attracting top names in the hotel business.
Anyone who is anyone in the hotel world is trying to get into Brazil at the moment,' says Mr Irvine.

Brands said to be interested include the Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental and Banyan Tree. Dehouche will find buy-to-let new-builds in the economic powerhouse of Sao Paulo, penthouses in Rio, or beach properties. It will also help procure mortgages, which are not generally available for foreigners, although it is possible to get 80 per cent loans on a case-by-case basis (through HSBC).

The best neighborhood in Rio is Leblon, which enjoys views of Ipanema beach and the statue of Christ the Redeemer crowning Corcovado Mountain.



Beachfront apartments sell for £1,200 to £1,500 per square meter and designer Calvin Klein has just bought a £4 million penthouse there.

With good international schools and a more laid-back feel than Sao Paulo, Rio is popular with expats, many of whom have second homes on the nearby Costa Verde.

This lush-green corridor of virgin rainforest between Rio and Sao Paulo - with its huge frigate-birds lending it a Jurassic Park feel - has attracted interest from Amanresorts, as has the north-eastern state of Alagoas.

Alagoas is selling itself as a 'six-star' destination, turning down all-inclusive hotel brands in favour of top names such as Amanresorts and Six Senses Resorts, according to Felipe Cavalcante, president of ADIT Nordeste, which advises investors in the tourism and property sectors.

It has escaped the speculators and mass market tourism development of Natal,' he says. Bahia (a state farther south in Brazil) may be the most exclusive destination in Brazil, but it lacks premier brands.

Indeed, those after a more rustic brand of luxury head to the remote fishing village of Trancoso in Bahia, favoured by Naomi Campbell, Gisele Bundchen and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Beachfront cottages in the 'St Barts of South America' - which has its own landing strip - typically cost between £1.3 million and £2.5 million, and can sometimes costs even more.

Almost all our clients are European - golden boys from London, Russians, Israelis, Swedes, including the royal family, Spanish and Italian,' says Philippe De Smedt, of Brazil Estates.

Beachfront villas can rent for £2,000 to £3,500 a day, but most buyers are motivated by capital appreciation - prices have been going up steadily - and the lifestyle. Brazil's all about living life to the full.

And, with 7,000 miles of beach, an average temperature of 2771C and that famously laidback lifestyle, it certainly lives up to its reputation.



Visit Dehouche, to know more about Luxury Brazil Honeymoon

Let Dehouche, arrange your luxury boutique hotel and enjoy a whole host of insider tips on where to truly escape from it all on your honeymoon.

Dehouche S.A.,
Leblon,
Rio de Janeiro ,
Brazil.
www.dehouche.com

Dehouche Travel, Dehouche, Argentina Honeymoon, Brazil Honeymoon, Honeymoon in South America, Honeymoon in Argentina, Honeymoon in Brazil, IndSEO, Dehouche – Art of Travel, Brazil Honeymoon

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Choque De Ordem

There’s no doubting that since Eduardo Paes became Rio’s mayor at the beginning of the year 2009, the city has been seeing some changes; changes which have had reverberations not only for its residents, but also for the city’s visitors.

This year’s summer was a real scorcher and as Rio’s residents, or Cariocas, flocked to the beach to cool off, Paes decided it was time to instil order at the Cariocas favourite playground. Following his ‘choque de ordem’ or ‘order shock’ programme, a beachwide ban saw an end to everything from ball games before 5pm to the sale of grilled cheese, matte and coconut water. However, Rio’s residents are known for their ‘creativity’ and it seemed unlikely the new regulations would have lasting effect. One way or another, the beach vendors have been slowly making a comeback.

In theory, fresh products such as prawns are now prohibited and all products sold on the sand should have a ‘best before date’. In practice, things are a little bit different. If you find yourself on holiday in Brazil, you’ll undoubtedly want to sample as many local specialities as possible, beach food no exception; but with so many beach vendors sashaying past, calling out the names of their wares to various tunes and tempting you with a waft of their products, how do you know which ones will please your taste buds without upsetting your stomach later?

Luxury travel experts Dehouche are based in Rio themselves and are by no means strangers to the city’s famous beaches. Allow Dehouche to take care of your itinerary and they’ll share their unrivalled knowledge gained through oh so valuable experience with you, so you know whether the unavoidable pineapple man’s novel sales techniques are worth succumbing to and exactly which the most refreshing flavour of ‘picolé’ (home made ice lolly) is.

Dehouche can help you plan your luxury vacation or honeymoon, enabling you to discover the best of Brazil according to your very own personal interests; whether you have a passion for underwater surfing, yearn to watch the sunset over Rio from a helicopter on your honeymoon, dream of jaguar spotting in the world’s largest wetland or simply crave some downtime on the beach consuming outlawed snacks, Dehouche have the inside knowledge to turn your wishes Into an unforgettable holiday.



Visit Dehouche, to know more about Luxury Brazil Honeymoon

Let Dehouche, arrange your luxury boutique hotel and enjoy a whole host of insider tips on where to truly escape from it all on your honeymoon.

Dehouche S.A.,
Leblon,
Rio de Janeiro ,
Brazil.
www.dehouche.com

Dehouche Travel, Dehouche, Argentina Honeymoon, Brazil Honeymoon, Honeymoon in South America, Honeymoon in Argentina, Honeymoon in Brazil, IndSEO, Dehouche – Art of Travel, Brazil Honeymoon

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Dehouche on Braving Brazilian Bikinis

One of the most universally recognised symbols of Rio must be that of a goddess like beauty wearing the smallest bikini imaginable, lounging on an idyllic beach and cradling a caipirinha; it's enough to strike body dysmorphia into the heart of any woman. If you're venturing to Rio from the Northern Hemisphere's winter, the very thought of squeezing your snowy white figure into one of these creations can be enough to make you want to turn around and get straight on the plane home.



However, luxury travel experts Dehouche, who base themselves in Rio, suggest you instead embrace the 'fio dental' or 'dental floss' bikini. Despite seeming alarmingly small at first, the styles produced in Brazil are actually kinder to most figures than European or US styles. What's more, the last thing you want when you arrive at Ipanema's glamorous posto 9 is to hear people whispering 'fralda' as you strut down to the water's edge (that's nappy or diaper to you and me). However, if you really don't feel ready to take the plunge and feel veritably naked at very the thought of donning a 'fio dental', Dehouche can recommend several stores in Rio where you'll find a halfway heaven of flattering, yet slightly less revealing styles.



The latest style to hit Rio is the 'tomara que caia' which literally translates as 'hope it falls down' and is a strapless top, often twisted at the front and tied at the back, which allows Brazilians to properly show off those strap marks they've spent all their lives cultivating. In Brazilian culture, the more defined the tan line, the sexier, and these marks should be shown off at every opportunity. One word of advice from Dehouche is to just be careful when you go to play in the waves as when the current's strong, the 'hope it falls down' can very easily do just that. Ask Dehouche's personal shopper to help you find a style which mutates between the conventional and the 'hope it falls down' (by the means of removable straps) and you'll avoid this unwelcome fate.




Let Dehouche arrange your luxury boutique hotel and enjoy a whole host of insider tips on where to truly escape from it all on your honeymoon.

Dehouche S.A.,
Leblon,
Rio de Janeiro ,
Brazil.
www.dehouche.com

Dehouche Travel, Dehouche, Argentina Honeymoon, Brazil Honeymoon, Honeymoon in South America, Honeymoon in Argentina, Honeymoon in Brazil, IndSEO, Dehouche – Art of Travel, Brazil Honeymoon

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Dehouche infers “Hotel Bedrooms Rarely Make the Grade for a Honeymoon”

From four poster beds in colonial mansions to high tech beach bungalows with all the mod cons Dehouche the South American Honeymoon specialists have not just poked their noses in they’ve darn well spent the night in them all checking the finer points of shower pressure and mattress springiness – it’s a tough old job but someone’s got to do it!



Dehouche, based in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires are not generally sticklers for rules being very much of the opinion that breakfast should be served at anytime and drinks should certainly be allowed in the pool area – they do however always adhere to their 1st commandment “thou shalt strenuously test every hotel bedroom before recommending it” They say it’s amazing how many hotels look good but end up not making the grade – and first impressions can be misleading especially in South America where the most luxurious properties tend to be small independently owned boutique hotels that often have the prerequisite infinity pool and designer vodka bar but do the hot water pipes clank, and just how capable is room service at providing a chocolate pudding in the early hours?

At any one time there are apparently two Dehouche researchers tirelessly sleeping in the finest cotton sheets and washing their hair with the most exclusive Amazonian oils in marble clad bathrooms. Dehouche believe that until you have spent a nights ‘bedding in’ to a place you really can’t know what it’s like which rooms are actually best in terms of view and peace and quiet and yes anal things like water pressure.



Dehouche only visit the most promising new openings in South America and yet they report that only 1 in 5 of these properties make it onto their luxury itineraries. Apart from linens and views and food and waterfall showers and service and location etc. there is also something that they refer to as an elusive “X-factor” that certain ‘Je ne ce qua’ a vibe or a feeling where everything comes together just right to create another level to set a place apart as truly great – this is the nirvana that these tireless modern day explorers seek. And nowhere, Dehouche say is this X-factor more prominent in South America than in Argentina and Brazil. The mixture of the effortless chic and the genuinely luxurious do come together in places as far flung as Colombia and the tip of Chile but they do so time and again right across Brazil and Argentina from a beach bungalow beside a mangroves in the far northeast of Brazil perfect for a Honeymoon set on a secluded beach and with views out to sea from the bed to the icy climes of an exclusive Patagonian lodge with only 4 bedrooms one with a deck and hot tub with views out across a lake to the foothills of the snow capped Andes beyond.



Let Dehouche arrange your luxury boutique hotel and enjoy a whole host of insider tips on where to truly escape from it all on your honeymoon.

Dehouche S.A.,
Leblon,
Rio de Janeiro ,
Brazil.
www.dehouche.com

Dehouche Travel, Dehouche, Argentina Honeymoon, Brazil Honeymoon, Honeymoon in South America, Honeymoon in Argentina, Honeymoon in Brazil, IndSEO, Dehouche – Art of Travel, Brazil Honeymoon

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Dehouche on “A few top 'hoods’ in Rio!”

A recent survey carried out by Brazil’s ‘Veja’ magazine questioned Rio de Janeiro’s residents, otherwise known as ‘Cariocas’ on the topic dearest to their hearts, their very own city. The survey sought to discover which neighbourhoods of the city were preferred by residents and also offers some insights for those wishing to travel to here, say locally based luxury travel specialists Dehouche. Everyone’s heard of Copacabana and Ipanema; most international visitors tend to flock to Rio’s beachside neighbourhoods, yet the marvellous city has many more charms at her disposal if you care to look a little harder say Dehouche.

1) Lagoa – Sandwiched between the Atlantic coast and Corcovado mountain, the neighourhood surrounding Rio’s lagoon, was voted by 33% as the best place to keep children entertained and by 44% as the best place to keep in maintain their legendary ‘Carioca shape’. Dehouche are not about to quibble; circled by dramatic peaks and lush green hills, Lagoa is replete with outdoor activities: from cycling and running to skate parks and tree climbing in Parque de Catacumba, the choice is endless and the view unparalleled.

2) Centro- An overwhelming 71% of those interviewed voted for Rio’s business district as the best place to take in cultural events. An eclectic mix of towering skyscrapers interspersed with colonial gems, Centro swarms with crowds of business people in the week and negotiating the pavements awash with street sellers, professional flyer purveyors and market stalls can become social Darwinism; yet come sundown it empties as quickly as it fills to become an out of hours ghost town. Dehouche suggest taking care at evenings and weekends, though there’s no need to bypass the place altogether. The historic centre boasts some 39 cultural venues, including museums, exhibition centres, theatres, historic libraries, music and event venues, monuments, churches and cinemas, as well as a wealth of colonial architecture. The reopening of Rio’s ‘Theatro Municipal’ in centro’s Cinelandia has helped to enrich the cultural scene and the imminent opening of Pinacoteca do Rio on Praça Mauá and the ‘Museu do Amanhã’ (Museum of Tomorrow) designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrva should serve to further reinforce this.

3) Jardim Botânico - The neighbourhood which shares its name with the Botanical gardens at its centre, also shares many characteristics with those gardens; foliage abounds with a third of the neighbourhood covered by forest and 68% of Cariocas agreed Jardim Botânico was Rio’s premier green space. The park itself, some 137 hectares within which dwells over 8000 species of plants isn’t the only park either point out Dehouche. Just down the road at the foot of Corcovado mountain lies ‘Parque Lage’, a wild expanse of gardens, caves and waterfalls. Jardim Botânico is also home to some of Rio’s finest restaurants and bars, whose occupants bask in resplendent views ‘Wherever I look, it’s green.’ comments one Carioca. The neighbourhood allows you to feel as though you are in fact, outside the city.

4) Lapa - The birthplace of Bohemia and the epicentre of Rio’s nightlife. Known for its unmistakable white arches, samba clubs and drinking dens, Lapa beat even Leblon and its luxury restaurants to the title of best place to ‘fazer a festa’ brazilian style. In some senses Brazil’s answer to Shoreditch, on a Friday night the streets of Lapa swarm with all manner of characters who gather here on their way to enjoy live samba, choro, forró and hip-hop shows. The neighbourhood sees such of an influx of revelers at weekends that the local council has resolved to make a great number of the streets traffic free on such occasions; thus allowing the bars and their patrons to spill out onto the pavements and/or into the gutter at ease. Arrange a bespoke luxury holiday with Dehouche and guarantee your table at one of Lapa’s top nightspots.

Visit Dehouche. to know more about Luxury Brazil Honeymoon.

Dehouche S.A.,

Leblon,
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.

www.dehouche.com

Dehouche Travel, Dehouche, Argentina Honeymoon, Brazil Honeymoon, Honeymoon in South America, Honeymoon in Argentina, Honeymoon in Brazil, IndSEO, Dehouche – Art of Travel, Brazil Honeymoon

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Battle of the Opera

This weekend saw the reopening of Buenos Aires famous ‘Teatro Colón’ following a seven year restoration, costing $25 million US dollars. The refurbishment of the ornate 2700 seat theatre began with the measurement of its acoustics back in 2001, just as millions of Argentines were plunged into poverty.

However, not even an economic crisis could derail the ambitious refurbishment of the theatre, modelled on Milan’s ‘La Scala’ and the building closed at the end of 2006 so that stucco facades, columns and French stained glass could be painstakingly restored. Experts were brought in to ensure that the work in no way interfered with the delicate natural acoustics for which the horseshoe shaped theatre is world renowned.

The theatre, which hosts ballet and opera performances, was originally opened in 1908 when Argentina was among the world’s richest nations and initial projections had hoped it would reopen in time for the 2008 centenary. However, the careful restorations were only finally complete some two years later, a little behind schedule for the centenary, but fortunately just in time for Argentina’s bicentennial celebrations to commemorate independence from Spain.

This weekend saw thousands of Argentine's gather outside the theatre for the grand reopening, which included a 3D film projected on the theatres exterior wall, showing key moments and performances form the theatres history. Inside, the chandeliers and Italian pink marble stairwells had been returned to their original splendour, giving Europhile Argentines reason to once again be proud of their cultural icon, located in the very heart of the ‘Paris of South America’.

Luxury Latin American travel experts Dehouche offer tailor made tours of Buenos Aires as part of wider tailor made luxury family vacation and honeymoon itineraries with a local guide who actually worked on the restoration of the theatre, giving you an insider’s perspective on the cultural side of Porteño life.

Curiously, Argentina’s rival neighbour Brazil also has the official reopening of its iconic ‘Teatro Municipal’ in Rio de Janeiro, scheduled for later this month. The theatre, which was inspired by Paris’s ‘Opéra’ underwent a similar restoration costing R$70 million (about 38 million US dollars) and enjoyed a limited reopening at the beginning of the month after a two and a half year closure. Rio’s theatre had also originally been scheduled to reopen last year, in order to coincide with the building’s centenary, but suffered a ‘small delay’. Combine a trip to Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro with Dehouche and admire both renovations for yourself.

Let Dehouche arrange your luxury boutique hotel and transportation requirements, allowing you to enjoy a whole host of insider tips on where to truly escape from it all on your vacation.

Dehouche S.A.,
Leblon,
Rio de Janeiro ,
Brazil.
www.dehouche.com

Dehouche Travel, Dehouche, Argentina Honeymoon, Brazil Honeymoon, Honeymoon in South America, Honeymoon in Argentina, Honeymoon in Brazil, IndSEO, Dehouche – Art of Travel, Brazil Honeymoon

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A Guide to Honeymoon Packages

After all the stress that a wedding can create, it is essential that your honeymoon allow for relaxation, romance and fun.



Step 1

Decide together what type of honeymoon you want. Do you crave a relaxing beach vacation? Or, Perhaps, A High-Energy Sight-Seeing Trip?

Step 2

Choose a destination that is new to both of you.

Step 3

Call a travel agent. Many travel companies have developed prearranged honeymoon packages to make planning easier.

Step 4

Do allow ample time between booking and travel to ensure that all of your dream accommodations are available.

Step 5

Build in plenty of time for rest and relaxation. Avoid overbooking day trips and tours.

Step 6

Schedule your departing flight two days after the wedding, instead of the day after. If you must travel the day after, leave in the middle of the day instead of the early morning.

Step 7

Ask a lot of questions of each potential hotel or bed-and-breakfast. Request an oversized bathtub, a double bed and a romantic view wherever possible.



Consulting with the Honeymoon Planning Company, Dehouche about a Brazil / Argentina / South America honeymoons may be a good idea. This travel company specializes in putting together a Brazil / Argentina / South America honeymoon package to suit each client's needs. Their experts know how to formulate a honeymoon package that will be both romantic and memorable without going beyond the budget.

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