Brazil Opens First ‘Love Hotel’ For Pets

Did you know Brazil is home to 31 million dogs, making it the country with the second largest canine population after the United States? It’s no wonder then, that you’ll soon be able to find a hotel dedicated to the more hardcore puppy love in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Created by Fabiano Lourdes and his sister Daniela, “Animalle Mundo Pet” is set to open this week in Belo Horizonte. The eight-story building will have an entire floor for dogs to get it on, with dim lighting, red floor cushions and a heart-shaped mirror on the ceiling to set the mood. Not only that, the hotel will also feature a gym and venue for dog birthdays.

And unlike most love motels where you pay by the hour for a love-making space, dog owners can rent their pets a room for $50 per day.

“For many people, the dog is a child who must be well treated,” 26-year-old Fabiano Lourdes explained to the Telegraph. “Our market studies showed that people work all day long and they do not know where to drop their pets for mating.”

One million dollars was invested into the hotel, which has 60 employees, including veterinarians and biologists. Dog owners can also invest in luxury items like $1,000 Swarovski crystal dog collars.

Would you bring your dog to a love hotel?

[Image via wsilver]

4 unique accommodations in Japan

Accommodations like hotels, hostels, bed and breakfasts, and apartments are often the norm for people going on a trip. When traveling in Japan, however, there are a few lodging options that are a bit out of the ordinary, but are definitely worth checking out.

Ryokan/Minshuku

If you’re looking for an authentic local experience, a ryokan can provide that. This type of accommodation is a traditional Japanese inn. A minshuku is similar although it is more basic and usually family run. While very expensive, ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand per night, these types of accommodation can give insight into the culture. Also, multi-course meals for breakfast and dinner are usually included and can take you on a culinary tour without having to leave your room. Don’t expect eggs and toast for breakfast, as you’re more likely to be served seaweed, miso soup, pickles, and other Japanese-style options. Imagine sleeping in a tatami mat room with sliding doors on a pile of thin mattresses that are put away during the day, making the room feel very simple. There is also sometimes a low table surrounded by cushions for tea drinking.

One thing to keep in mind is that bathing is usually a communal activity. Not in the sense that there is one bathroom on the floor that everyone shares, but as in you shower in the open without stalls. First you wash yourself off to get clean, then you relax in a hot bathtub. Luckily, the rooms are usually separated between female and male.

Click here to browse ryokan and minshuku lodging.Love Hotel

You can probably guess from the name what type of accommodation this is. These are usually clumped together and can be spotted by their gaudy decor and flashy signs. You can choose between paying for a “rest”, which is if you’re in the mood for a quickie, or “stay”, which means sleeping overnight, usually from 10PM on. To ensure your privacy, there are no keys or sign-in involved. Instead, you choose your room from a panel of buttons on the wall. The rooms are often themed, sometimes going all-out and including rotating beds, mirrored ceilings, or being styled like a dungeon, classroom, or hentai anime room.

Generally you don’t make a reservation for a Love Hotel.

Capsule Hotel

Staying in a capsule hotel reminds me a lot of climbing into a big washing machine. The capsules are stacked two high in long rows and there is very limited space, although enough to sit up. A television is built into the ceiling and there is a small shelf for personal items. Luckily, there are lockers outside of the capsule to put your things, as well as communal baths, toilets, and a common room. Although this kind of accommodation is aimed at businessmen staying the night or people who have missed the last train home, staying in one can provide an interesting and affordable experience.

Buddhist Temple

While the room style and bathing situation are similar to that of a ryokan or minshuku, at a Buddhist temple in Japan your multi-course meals will consist of vegan fare. Not only that, but you’ll have the opportunity to meditate and chant with the monks early in the morning, as well as to explore the grounds which are often closed to the public.

Click here to browse Buddhist temple lodging.

Gadlinks (7.21.09)


What’s new in the world of travel news, you might ask? You’re in luck – we’re back again with this Tuesday’s installment of Gadlinks. What travel stories from around the web caught our eye today? Take a look below:

More Gadlinks HERE.

Big in Japan: Japanese-style love hotel in New York City

Earlier this week, Big in Japan brought you a how-to-guide for getting down and dirty in a love hotel (???????????????, rabu hoteru).

In case you missed the post, click here to get up to speed on the syrupy sweet yet delightfully sinful world of Japanese love hotels. Of course, if you’re reading this blog now, and thinking to yourself that Japan is awfully far away, than fear not as there may be a love hotel closer than you think!

Located at 51 Tenth Ave in Manhattan, the Liberty Inn NYC was recently voted in the Best of New York – 2008 issue of New York Magazine as the City’s BEST “by-the-hour” hotel.

Inspired by Japanese-style love hotels, the Liberty Inn NYC is home to twenty-eight uniquely designed rooms that are perfect for an old lover, a new partner or an adulterous tryst.

Can you feel the love tonight ?????(*??.??)(??.??*)?????

The history of the Liberty Inn NYC is, quite simply, awesome.

The hotel was first constructed in 1908 as the Strand Hotel, which soon become a rough and ready boarding house for sailors and prostitutes. During the Prohibition Era, the building lived several interesting lives as a speakeasy, a go-go bar and a social club. By 1969, it reverted back to its original purpose, and was renamed the aptly appropriate ‘Hide-A-Way Motel.’

Today of course, the Liberty Inn NYC is attracting a slightly more discerning clientele. Indeed, you and your better half can enjoy:

– Stylish rooms with romantic decor
– Mood lighting with adjustable setting
– Dramatic wall/ceiling mirrors and mural
– 37″ Plasma TV – Satellite TV and XM music radio
– 2 person whirlpool in “Romance Interlude Rooms”
– 6 selection in-house adult movie/video system
– Air purification system in every room

Not bad for an hourly motel!!

A two-hour ‘rest’ costs $60, though you can maximize your love-making time by shelling out the extra ten bucks for the third hour. For a more intimate escape, you can check in for night – prior to 11PM a standard room costs US$180, though you can save forty-five bucks by stopping by after hours. For an extra bit of spice, consider upgrading to the ‘Romantic Interlude’ rooms for only US$15/40 more per rest/stay.

The Liberty Inn NYC can be reached by A and E lines at 8th Ave, and the 1, 2 and 3 lines at 7th Ave. From either station, you can walk or take 14 St crosstown (M-14) bus west across 14th St to 10th Ave. Of course, if you really want to impress your near-future lover, it’s probably better to take a cab!

Note that reservations are not possible, though this shouldn’t be a problem as love and lust are always better when they’re spontaneous. Also, Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover cards are accepted, though if you’ve learned anything from the whole Eliot Spitzer affair, you’ll agree that it’s probably better to pay by cash.

For more information, you can contact the Liberty Inn NYC at (212) 741-2333 or check out their website by clicking here .

** All images were taken from the website for the Liberty Inn NYC**

Big in Japan: How to get down and dirty in a Love Hotel

Today’s posting is rated R for strong sexual content. Viewer discretion is advised.

There is no shortage of the weird, the wacky and the wonderful here in Japan. Indeed, you’ll find strange, strange things in the Land of the Rising Sun that have no real equivalent in the West.

For instance, Japan is world-famous for its love hotels (???????????????, rabu hoteru), a special type of short-stay hotel that puts North American hourly motels to shame. When you want to get down and dirty with a special friend, yet secrecy is of the utmost importance, head to a love hotel. Here, you’ll find that entrances are discreet, interaction with staff is minimized and cash changes hands without so much as eye contact.

And of course, while hourly motels in North America have a certain lewd stigma to them, Japanese love hotels are fanciful affairs. Both inside and out, love hotels have romantic and oh-so kitschy themes to help you set the mood, and there’s no shortage of added perks to help you enhance your love-making. Indeed, you’ll find pretty much anything your heart (and loins) desires in a love hotel, from rotating beds and mirrored ceilings to sex toys and S&M gear.

On that note, I present to you a quick and easy how-to-guide for getting down and dirty in a love hotel…

Step 1: Find the lucky Japanese girl or guy.

This is a whole separate post in itself, but might I suggest partying in any of the bars and clubs in Tokyo’s famous entertainment district of Shibuya. This is a good place to start your night of love and lust, especially since it’s close to Dōgenzaka (道玄坂), home to the aptly named ‘Love Hotel Hill.’ Which of course brings us to…

Step 2: Find the right hotel.

Love hotels are garish buildings often distinguished by tacky neon lightings, small or covered windows and occasionally bizarre shapes like castles, boats and even UFOs. Once you find one that suits your fancy, keep in mind that love hotels offer a room rate for a rest (休憩, kyūkei) as well as for an overnight stay. The period of a “rest” varies, typically ranging from one to three hours, while overnight stays only become available after 10pm.

Step 3: Get down to business.

Inside the love hotel, you’ll be prompted with a digital screen containing pictures of the various pleasure quarters . After choosing your selection, pay the proprietor behind the frosted glass, take the keys and get to it! Even if your romantic rendezvous was somewhat spontaneous, take comfort in the fact that most rooms in love hotels come stocked with condoms in all shapes, sizes and sometimes flavors. And, in case you’re feeling a bit kinky, most rooms stock ‘extras’ that can be purchased for a small fee.

Step 4: Party like a rock star.

The best part of staying in a love hotel (aside from the random sex) is enjoying all the extra perks you’ll find in the room. Feeling a bit unclean? Take a Jacuzzi with your partner in crime. Want to stretch your vocal range? Turn on the mic and belt out some karaoke. Want to ignore your date and do some gaming? Fire up the Nintendo Wii or Sony Playstation. Want to get hammered? Raid the mini-bar and pass out in drunken delight.

Step 5: Do the walk of shame.

Again, this is a whole separate post in itself, but depending on the visual quality of your date, you might want to make a quick exit in the morning. Trains in Tokyo start running around 6am, though you can always jump in a cab if your beer goggles were a bit fuzzier than usual.

On that note, feel free to post any good stories of lustful trysts you care to share with all of us in the online world! (^^>”

** Images courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project **