San Jose - Hotel Recommendations

[Hammerin Hank]

Just booked Morazon for Nov. 6,7,8. I got room 501 (Jr. Suite) for $88including tax. NIce big room with balcony. Angie(desk clerk) has promised that the elevators are working. Also she promised running water(last 4 of July Morazon was without water for 28 hrs)

[Prolijo]

Caff,
Patience, boy, slow down and relax.

You might want to verify if they charge for bringing chicas back to your room (unregistered guest fees) and if so what those charges would be. I'd phrase that question as "please confirm that there are no extra charges for bringing 'visitors' back to the room" rather then inviting them to tack on some extra fees to the rates they already quoted. The casino rate at the Clarion should already have their usual very high chica charge waived but I also thought it was supposed to include the room tax which you say it didn't, so what do I know. The Morazon normally charges $3/ea for chicas but that rate is very inconsistent and some guys who are insistent have managed to get that waived.

For $75 (and normally over $100) obviously the rooms at the Clarion are going to be much nicer than the budget rooms at the Morazon. It is also in a much quieter neighborhood. I believe the Morazon was recently renovated but either way the rooms should be in fairly decent shape. As for quiet, that is on a fairly busy street. For greater quiet at any of these places and to get away from street (and possibly casino noise), try to get a room on a higher floor. And if you're a light sleeper and all else fails just bring some disposible earplugs along which you can pick up at any Walmart before you go for cheap (and probably in CR as well if you forget).

There are some ATM's that dispense dollars, but what does that have at all to do with paying your hotel bill. If you don't want to bring any more cold hard cash than you have to, then there is always your credit card. Besides, all the cash you bring will be going directly into a room safe right after you arrive anyway. Any service fees would probably be less for a direct purchase at a merchant hotel as opposed to a cash withdrawal at an ATM anyway. Some hotels provide discounts for paying in cash, but I don't think these two do. And while these places may list their prices in dollars, you can pay your bill anyway you want whether it is colones, dollars or plastic.

[Caffrey]

Thanks Prolijo,

Finally I got e-mail response from both morazon and clarion. I was quoted $47 (including tax) at morazon and $75 plus tax in clarion for standard room. Is the standard room in morazon recently renovated? And less noisy?

I noted in the forum all the prices are quoted in US $ including the tour operators. Does that mean I can't use the atm (which dispense only colons) for withdrawal. I prefer to use ATM even though there is a service fee tacked to it. I hesitate to carry too much cash. Thx

[Prolijo]

Need your help again Prolijo with morozan. Couldn't get through over their direct phone. No response to both e-mails. I am leaning towards clarion amon. What are the constraints with clarion amon for non spanish speaker like me for a first visit. How far is the taxi ride from delrey/keylargo. Is it easy to get a taxi in the night time. Do chicas from KL or delrey would accompany to clarion. Is there any short time place near kl or delrey. Thx

Before you give up entirely on the Morazon, you might want to try the new contact info WT just provided (although the new e-mail address doesn't make a lot of sense to me since their domain name is unchanged). Frankly, while a bit of an extreme, your problems contacting them is not that unusual. IMHO, this is a pretty decent hotel, with decent rooms, very fair prices and an excellent location within spitting distance of the HDR/BM/KL. They're biggest flaw, or Achilles Heel, is not related to their physical attributes as much as they are all management related - unreliable reservation system, communication problems, and inconsistent pricing. If you can somehow get past all of that, you should have an excellent stay once you check in.

If you're ready to give up on them and want to see if you have better luck at the Clarion Amon, you should start with the contact information contained in WT's listing post below (see #7). Be forewarned that if you don't go through the Choice Hotels/Clarion toll-free reservation system (which is reliable, efficient and very expensive) and try to book through the Casino instead you might run into as many problems getting a response as you have at the Morazon. This is Costa Rica and most business are not run with the sort of efficiency that we take for granted in the US. That said as bad as that is, I find it hard to believe, with all the contact information WT and I have provided you, you have not been able to get through or get any sort of reply at all from the Morazon.

A few final words on the Amon in answer to your questions. There are no constraints on non-spanish speaking first-time visitor to any hotel in SJ. These are tourism business and just about all of them have personnel that speak english, certainly all of them in your price class (the $10/nt Hotel Johnson is the only place I've stayed that didn't). How far is the cab ride to the BM? Its only about 5-6 blocks to the BM (a block less to the KL) so the cab ride is a matter of a minute or less. I've even walked that distance in the early evening, though I'd definitely recommend a nervous newbie like yourself to always take a cab after dark especially if you have a chica with you. You should have no problem at all finding chicas more than willing to accompany you back to that hotel (ie no need to resort to a s/t hotel like the Asia unless for some reason you can't handle the "walk of shame" at the Clarion). The chicas will probably hit you up for return cabfare at the end of your session (unless you want to accompany them back to the BM too). That always amuses me since I've just paid them $60+/- so you'd think they could manage the $1 fare. But what's a lousy buck. If they did a good job I make it part of their tip. If they were only so-so, I'll slip them a 1K note (worth <$2) which should more than cover the fare and make that their whole tip. If I felt they shortchanged me I tell them to take a hike and take it out of what I just paid them.

[World Travel 69]

Fax: (506) 2222-4722. Old Email: info@costaricamorazan.com
NEW: info@hotelcostaricamorazan.com

Need your help again Prolijo with morozan. Couldn't get through over their direct phone. No response to both e-mails. I am leaning towards clarion amon. What are the constraints with clarion amon for non spanish speaker like me for a first visit. How far is the taxi ride from delrey/keylargo. Is it easy to get a taxi in the night time. Do chicas from KL or delrey would accompany to clarion. Is there any short time place near kl or delrey. Thx

[Caffrey]

Need your help again Prolijo with morozan. Couldn't get through over their direct phone. No response to both e-mails. I am leaning towards clarion amon. What are the constraints with clarion amon for non spanish speaker like me for a first visit. How far is the taxi ride from delrey/keylargo. Is it easy to get a taxi in the night time. Do chicas from KL or delrey would accompany to clarion. Is there any short time place near kl or delrey. Thx

[Prolijo]

Re: toll-free, I copied some bad info there. It kinda surprised me when I was typing that they now had a toll-free number. Apparentlly, they still don't. Have you tried the other number, e-mail (for either the hotel or Jose the manager) or website contact form. I should have given you more than enough to be able to make a reservation there.

BTW, for you and others, when it comes to calling ahead to CR from the US, to make pre-trip reservations and other inquiries (and when they don't have a US toll-free number as most of them don't), it really is worthwhile to purchase a prepaid calling card on the web. For example, www.pingo.com has a $10 card that will buy you nearly 3hours of calling at 6.2 cents/min. vs. about 3 minutes with my home Verizon account at $3.30/min. Pingo does have a $1 monthly maintenance charge that can eat up whatever minutes you have left over (some other cards don't) but it is hard to beat those rates and, if you go as frequently as some guys do, you usually have some minutes left over for calls for future trips. Your local phone provider's rates may a little better than Verizon, but I bet they're pretty sucky too. It is really easy to waste more than 3 minutes just on calls that don't go through all the way, follow-up confirmation calls, or trying to reach someone who speaks good enough English to understand you, etc. And with your left-over minutes you might also want to call a local driver to arrange for his services or call a tour outfit to ask questions directly rather than going back and forth in e-mails that might not get answered so quickly or call your "novia" to tell her you're coming down.

One last thing, though not strictly necessary, its also not a bad idea to have a spanish speaking friend nearby when you make the calls if you don't speak any spanish yourself, just in case you run into any language problems. The Morazon and most tourist-oriented businesses will nearly always have someone who speaks english even if its not the person who answers the phone, but some of the other places you might want to call might not. For example, I called a hotel near Rincon de la Veija for my last trip and ran into trouble finding someone who spoke decent English (it was a major hotel but caters more to Spanish speaking tourists from other countries like the Barcelo). Fortunately, on my earlier calls I understood enough spanish to get some answers to my questions, but it was not as easy as I would have liked. You don't realize how much your communications rely on the help of body language and gestures until you try to speak a foreign language over the phone. But, once again, I digress.

Anyway, what I have written should be MORE than enough information for you to make reservations at the Morazon.

[Caffrey]

Prolijo,

Thanks for your time and response. the 800 number you provided seems to belong to clarion hotel. do you happen to know the 800 number for Morazon.

[Prolijo]

Caff,

Thanksgiving (or any US holiday weekend) is a VERY busy time for mongers to visit CR. Book as early as you can (and hope it is not already too late). I believe all of the rooms at the Morazon have been fairly recently renovated (they've even reportedly fixed the quick elevator doors that had left bruises on my shoulders ). When I stayed there I used to try and stay on the 3rd floor so I could use the stairs. A lot of guys prefer the higher floors which might have a little less street noise. The room 501 junior suite is one I've heard some guys recommend and it has a nice balcony.

BTW, you should visit the CRT site and see about joining some of your fellow gringos for their big Thanksgiving dinner at the Sportsman's Lodge (even if you're not staying there).

Max,
Thanks a whole lot! Its because of guys like you and Caff that I stick around here even though because of the stupid arguments I too often get into with a small handful of others I often wonder why I still bother. I know I should let it go and rise above it, but I'm not that noble or find that so easy to do when I've become so frequent a target for some guys.

[Caffrey]

Thanks a lot Prolijo. I appreciate your time in clarifying the correct link and the toll free number for newcomers. Are all the standard rooms renovated or should I ask any specific floor or a junior suite. I am planning to visit during the thanks giving week nov 23-30. Is that a busy time to find room reservations or should I book early.

[Max Mojo]

Prolijo, Haven't heard that one in awhile, it sure brings back laughable memories from the CRS board. You handled the recent heat wave well, amigo. Though I don't thing we ever met, I remember your sage advice from CRT where I posted under a different handle. As an original member of CRT and a member of CRS as well, I know the story and the truth is you were not responsible for the ruination of the forum. Trying to defend one's self on these forums is a lot like playing Wack-A-Mole. Let it go and rise above it.

[Prolijo]

Perhaps you missed it because I posted it right before I was drawn off-topic with a flood of posts but you should read what I wrote just a couple of days ago in the general thread regarding these websites: http://www.internationalsexguide.inf...postcount=1466. I occasionally make an informative posts.

In a nutshell, that first link that caffrey used (1-costaricalink WITH a dash) is a notorious ripoff site. Another member went through them to book at the Del Rey and was quoted the outrageous amount of $160 for a standard room, which was what prompted my earlier post. Apparently their quoted rates on the Morazon are equally outrageous. What makes matters even worse, if you go through them you have to pay in advance and are given a voucher to use at the hotel (I guess in an attempt to keep their customers from finding out what the hotels really charge) and they don't always pay the hotel. As a result several travellers have reported showing up with the vouchers only to be told by the hotel desk clerk that they did not know anything about their reservation or the voucher. Stay away from this outfit at all costs.

The other link (1costaricalink WITHOUT a dash) which WT69 originally provided is a valid one. This outfit is entirely reputable but, as Caffrey found out, no longer takes reservations for this particular hotel. The page for the Morazon is an old part of that site that is no longer updated. If you look closely, you'll see that the date range for the rates are way back in 2006. BTW, the rates listed were the RACK rates at that time. If you knew to ask, at that time they had a $35/night "special" rate that was always running. Anyway, if you go to the hotel index page on that site, you'll also see that the Morazon is no longer even listed on it. And when you click on the link to make a reservation for the Morazon from that old page, you're taken to another page that provides the number that Caffrey tried to use. Look carefully at the number too. It is also an old number that hasn't been updated. Sometime in the past year they've added an extra digit to ALL Costa Rica numbers.

And while I'm on the subject of websites not to use for booking at the Morazon. Do not confuse this hotel with the Hotel Casa Morazon which is nearby and unlike the Morazon NOT chica friendly.

The correct and direct web address for the Morazon itself http://www.costaricamorazan.com/fl_yes.htm. They have a toll-free number 800-575-1253 or their new CR number is 011-506-2222-4622 (note the extra 2). That will get you to the hotel front desk itself and not some middle-man agent. Unfortunately, they're notorious for not always picking up their phone (or maybe it's because they're busy on another line and have never heard of voicemail or answering machines). Anyway, you MIGHT have to try calling them a few times. Alternatively, you can also try reserving by e-mail at info@costaricamorazan.com or by using the booking form on their website and hope they're more responsive that way. And if all else fails you could try e-mailing Jose the manager at troyano111@hotmail.com.

One final note as to rates, their website lists their rates as $50/nt for standard, $75/nt jr suite, $90/nt superior suite and $130/nt master suite which do NOT include the 16.39% tax. I believe the current special rate for the standard rooms has gone up to $45/nt (or ~$53 AFTER tax) but you have to know to ask for it. I don't know what if any special rates they have for their suites. That special should include breakfast and if you pay cash you might even be able to get them to waive the tax. Also try to get them to confirm no extra chica guest fees or charges for a room safe when you book, which they sometimes try to tack on if you don't know any better. Depending on what time of year you go, how full they are and how regular a customer you are, there can be a lot of play in what you can get them to knock off or they try to add on. This place has always been rather funny with their inconsistent pricing and reservation system, which is my biggest gripe about it. However, even at the full rate, while it is not the steal it used to be, it is still not too shabby and is substantially less than the HDR for equal quality or better rooms while only 50 yards further away.And whatever you do, do NOT ask for the Soprano Discount, DO NOT!!!

I hope this helps. Did I miss anything?

[Caffrey]

Thanks. This link doesn't allow you to reserve and also not able to contact them via telephone. This link doesn't mention about the junior suites when compared to the other link.

This link says $53.
http://www.1costaricalink.com/eng/ho...azan/rates.htm

[World Travel 69]

This link says $53.
http://www.1costaricalink.com/eng/ho...azan/rates.htm

I am planning my first to CR in nov. Trying to book at morozan. How do you guys get the 45$ rate. Their link states $79. Any help appreciated. Can you one provide their actual website for booking.

http://www.1-costaricalink.com/hotel...costa_rica.htm

Thanks

[Caffrey]

I am planning my first to CR in nov. Trying to book at morozan. How do you guys get the 45$ rate. Their link states $79. Any help appreciated. Can you one provide their actual website for booking.

http://www.1-costaricalink.com/hotel...costa_rica.htm

Thanks