For example, the Favelinha Hostel in the Pereira da Silva slum, or favela, offers rooms from $14 to $55 — far less than the $250 price tag at nearby hotels outside the slum. It has a 3.5 star rating on Travelocity, with 42 reviews.
“Breathtaking view of Rio with Pao de Azucar directly from the pousada. Very friendly and helpful international staff. The rooms are simple but clean. Breakfast very nice with tropical fruits, jam, ham, cheese,” one review stated. “The only disadvantage was the getting there. You have to walk either from Sta Teresa side 5 min steep up and down or climb up from the city about 10 min, very steep.”
The hostel management acknowledges that it is difficult for many to stay in a favela, but that perception has been changing.
"It is difficult to establish a hostel inside a favela, with everything that we know that goes on in favelas," Solange dos Santos, who manages the Favelinha hostel, told Reuters.
"But that is changing because people are coming and interacting with the people, and saying, 'Wow, this isn't anything like what we've heard about!' There is peace and tranquility here."
Many of the shanty towns are still extremely dangerous, with heavily armed gangs and a booming drug trade. The government of Brazil has, since 2008, been attempting to push gangs out of areas closer to the Olympic venues.
The effort to clean up the neighborhoods has been losing steam recently, and according to the United Nations, Brazil has the highest rate of gun deaths of any country.
