Cross Posting this here where it belongs (in "General as well)
fenix is unique in its dumpiness. if you would read my reports under managua and not here you'd (he'd) have known a) not to bother and b) where to go.
c$200 is the low end price in a clean joint like claudia #2, and c$400 is the other end, caribena morena, clean private showers, air and nice girls.
the ones not to go to i have listed - gloria, bellmary's, elegante spa, for rip-off pricing. gringos especially.
lorena is passable as is claudia #1 (the original) - c$300 and c$250.
many of these places are listed in the nuevo diario classifieds, also available online.
i have never recommended solid gold (and the last time i was there last year we got in and drank for free and i still won't recommend it. nor hollywood, nor elite due to high covers and overpriced drinks, e.g. $18.75 you must be joking, as a bottle of gran reserva costs us$5 or $6 in a gas station.
however i have on more than one occasion said vale todo (i) - the original in msr. leszcano and cueto club are manageable with small or no cover and reasonable drinks (for you - do not buy girl drinks, give them c$30 instead - they make more than from one drink and you save 8 bucks).
cueto club only has a salida of (last year) c$375 and vale todo is a good place to arrange day dates, as the in club/take out prices are absurd. the girls get less than 1/5th of the takeout price for example.
in the bad(der) part of town, if you stay sober and are aware of your surroundings, polanco is worth seeing and club venus is not bad, across the street from polanco. both clubs you can have a girl on premises for c$500, not totally out of hand.
i get tired of repeating myself - is it possible you are only reading this section and not managua?
notes/corrections: the strip is not called zona hippos, the area with hippos (lousy) and woodys and a few other restaurants is called that. the main strip on c.masaya running from north of metrocentro to the shell station before the underpass is called the zona rosa. includes the star and pharoahs casinos, the hollywood complex with its casino, the strip clubs and assorted restaurants like tgif and the like.
you don't need internet access to get the mp listings as the daily diario is 5 cordobas, and you need a phone, good spanish and the ability to decipher the managua address system.
most of the mp's are cleaner and nicer than fenix, hell all of them are cleaner and nicer, and there are plenty of girls.
note the sw's who are on c.masaya south of the casino and near texaco are frequently ****, the police are stopping cars with young girls and even the conquistador will bar you with minors. those that are not **** are dogs or thieves. tread carefully as it is hard to find the diamonds among all that rough.
there are also a lot of travestis in a group that look pretty good so be careful if you are loaded that you haven't picked up a surprise. all in all the whole street scene is a waste of effort. too much work.
hotel el almendro/things in general
Im still going nuts figuring out where to go DR or Nicaragua but Im experiencing minor potholes along the way.
Hotel El Almendro which has been mentioned here before just emailed to tell me they do not allow guests in the rooms. Im still waiting the response from hotel el conquistador.
Also worth mentioning is hotels in mangaua in general are not cheap. You are looking at $60/70 at least if your looking online (Ive looked all over) [url]www.centralamerica-smallhotels.com[/url] is a great place to start for other CA countries as well.
I guess you could always get a room at "fantasia" recommended by grand pollo but then you would have to get a good deal with the chica to make it reasonable. I havent read great reviews of the mps but I know they do exist.
I could even say screw managua and leave it only for tourism then head to san salvador for a week but theres not a whole lot to do in san salvador Ive already been.
All in all Id rather spend time in santo domingo if Im paying the same hotel prices and the total price comes out the same. Ive been spending way too much time trying to figure this out. There is always something to consider and Im looking to stay someplace for at least 3 weeks so money becomes a factor.
Ecuador had all the right elements but then you had to deal with altitude sickness. Go figure