San Jose - 2005 Reports

[Rebel Man]

I have been to San Jose 3 times and planning on another trip soon. I have stayed mainly at the Presidente and I have never felt threatened walking to and from the Del Rey. But of course, I watch my back at all times. You would do the same in any big city in the USA. When you go to a third world Country, thats exactly what it is.

[Jerr Ttt]

My friend and I visited San Jose for the first time in July. We stayed at the Corrobici, which was a nice hotel but they charged a big fee for bringing in chicas. We went to the Del Rey during the day and at night. My impression was there were fewer and better looking women during the day. At night it was crowded and the women looked more hardend. We also got tired of the chicas sitting with us and hounding us while we were scoping out the scene and enjoying our beer. this happend mostly at night.

I am going back sometime next year and would like a recommendation of a decent hotel in the area. I also wanted to hit a strip joint or two. I seen a few billboards but never found any. Any info would be appreciated.

[ChiliMike]

Well....i started to write a response to your post...however i stopped due to the fact, i know CHASE STAR will take care of you bad mouthing our fun land...if you would of read more posts before going ,95% of the things you didnt like are all in black and white in the 1000"s of posts on these pages so you would of know what to expect..my first trip, some of the items you said i felt also, (kids on the streets, maybe its not safe) but as many have wrote before ...where ever you are in the world keep your wits about you and use your head.
Many other choices than the blue marlin .....just read my posts ....i have found many of them...hey, san jose may not be for everyone ...but to come in our section and bad mouth it ....is weak....if your such a world traveler you should of know better...

[Raul11]

Member #3831,

Well, you must be a very good looking guy or one with a very special taste. If you haven't found any good looking girl (or "fuckable" as you quote it) in the Blue Marlin bar, I guess you stayed at the wrong bar. Furthermore, the girls are not bad there, but very often they act in the same way as they are treated.

By the way: I fully agree that San Jose is not a very nice city. It's definitely not the place to hang around for more than 2 - 3 days.

But, regarding the girls, I would love to know at what place you might find a girl that "suits" you.

Pura vida,

Raul

[Dr Pureness]

Is San Jose overrated? I was there for a week and I didn't see one single good looking girl in Blue Marlin. I wouldn't rate any of them higher than 7. Girls at New Fantasy, Eros, Zona Blue were unfuckable for my taste but I found one fine cuttie at Idem and it was an hour of non-stop GFE session for $43. Most of BM girls agreed to $60 but I couldn't degrade myself to fuck these OK looking girls. On top of that, San Jose is the most boring city I've ever visited. There are quite a few attractive girls on the streets but there are absolutely nothing to do and see in San Jose. Avoid San Jose!

[Prolijo]

Rebel,
You're right. He probably meant Zona Blue. It was hard to figure a lot of what he meant but its much more likely he was referring to the other of the main gringo-oriented MP's than to the tico places on calle 6.

BTW, for other newbies, Rebel raises another good point. If you try to take a taxi to Zona Blue, the cabbie may try to convince you the place is closed (but just so happens to know a "better" place not too far away). Don't believe him. Also if he does take you there, don't let him try to walk in with you and convince the management that it was him that suggested the place to you in the first place. These guys will try all sorts of things to get commission payments, which invariably gets passed back on to the unsuspecting. Zona Blue has run into problems with guys claiming commissions who don't deserve it and rather than just pass it on to their clients they're fighting back. The result is that some cabbies try to steer you to other more "cooperative" places. One of the worst MP's in this regard is Eros, across the street from IDEM. If you take a cab there, either wait until they drive away before you go inside or check out IDEM first and go to Eros afterwards.

[Rebel Monger]

Wasi SJ in Oktober. Zona Rose was closed.

Did you mean Zona Blue? Did you stop by or just believed what the taxi driver told you?

A lot of girls into Del Rey hotel.

Some of them do go into the hotel, but most go into the Blue Marlin bar!

Asked 100$, agreed 60$ per hour. Plus room fee (close to Del Rey, 8$, very dirty).

Ok!

Impression - bad.

IMHO, you didn't do your homework!

It seems to me that stories about latin machos - is fiction. One hour means one time - one fuck only.

Are you Latino?

If Your ready for the second time in ten minutes- You will see the surprise in chikas eyes.

Well, maybe she wouldn't be surprise with a Latino, it'd be expected! :-) (Just trying to be funny!)

Experience 2. New Fantasy. 18,000 colones per hour full service (appr 38$). But only till 22:00, then closed. Impression good. But the same - only one time fuck. The rest time massage, sauna, jacuzi etc.

Why didn't you go to a place like Oasis and got the chica for two hours? As ChaseStar told you, you must negociate everything upfront, and pay after you are done (it doesn't apply to MP).

Nobody chicas on the streets - transsexual only (9th avenu) - be careful.

That's not accurate, but most of us do not hunt on the streets.
You can have a lot of fun in CR, but you must do your homework before you go. Just give it another try!

[Prolijo]

KYJ,
This poor guy Sheriff just shows his relative ignorance and all you can do is mock him? Your subtlety probably went completely over his head and it certainly doesn't help out any other ignorant newbies from making the same mistakes.

For those of you that haven't figured it out, the "Zona Rosa" is a term used by some that refers the "Red Zone" or area in SJ (and other major latin american cities for that matter) that contains a concentration of "adult businesses" (bars, brothels, MP's etc). It is not a particular place that you can find or that opens and closes. OTOH, one can find many places in that general area that offer hour sessions for 10-12K colones (about $20-25/hr) or even less.

OTOH, Sheriff got the figures about right on the Del Rey. Its just that he didn't really add anything on that score that isn't already common knowledge on this board. I'm guessing that the $8 fee for a "dirty room" that he was referring to was the short-term Hotel Asia, since he revealed in an earlier post that he was staying way out by the airport. Obviously, any guy that does even a modicum of research here knows that there are other places to stay that are much closer to the action and which don't charge anything extra to bring back chicas over what they're already paying for their nightly stay. The fact that he still stayed where he did (and never got beyond the BM and NF) shows that he never really did his homework before he went.

What else? He popped his load in 10 minutes and was surprised to find he couldn't get a second pop out of the girl? This just shows he didn't do any homework AFTER he got there either. If he had done his homework, both before and during his trip, he'd have known he should have made it clear AHEAD of time what he was paying for. Always ask "una hora completo" in the bar and then only pay when you're done and got what you bargained for. If you're at an MP, the hora completo is already understood. But one should STILL ask in either situation "Muchas veces?" (pronounced "bay-ses") or "Muchos orgasmos para mí (y usted)?" Most girls will provide a full hour with as much activity as you can fit into that time (within reason), particularly if you don't go at them slam bam thank you mam and come in the first 10 minutes. But certainly there are also many that will try to get away with doing as little work as possible (which is again why you always have to do your homework). That look in the girl's eyes wasn't surprise that he was suddenly asking for a 2nd pop but rather surprise that he came so quick and she wouldn't have to work any harder because she never promised anything more than she had already delivered.

[KYJ]

Sheriff, I never go to the Zona Rose , come to think of it, I never found the Zona Rose.

I advise everybody to stay away from Costa Rico and go to Dennis Hofs Moonlite Bunny Ranch outside Carson City, Nevada instead.


Like you said "Nobody chicas on the street- transsexual only"

[Sheriff12]

Wasi SJ in Oktober. Zona Rose was closed. A lot of girls into Del Rey hotel. Asked 100$, agreed 60$ per hour. Plus room fee (close to Del Rey, 8$, very dirty).

Impression - bad. It seems to me that stories about latin machos - is fiction. One hour means one time - one fuck only. If Your ready for the second time in ten minutes- You will see the surprise in chikas yeys.

Experience 2. New Fantasy. 18,000 colones per hour full service (appr 38$). But only till 22:00, then closed. Impression good. But the same - only one time fuck. The rest time massage, sauna, jacuzi etc.

Nobody chicas on the streets - transsexual only (9th avenu) - be careful.

[Prolijo]

$12 from the airport and no need for a tip. Certainly not a 25% one. Cab drivers are not normally tipped at all in CR. I usually just pay with 1K notes and 500c & 100c coins and let the driver keep the small change. Give the cabbie a buck a bag extra for your trip from the airport if that makes you feel better and you'll still come out ahead of $16. There is no real reason to use the hotel driver, particularly seeing as though the hotel is right on Paseo Colon and is easy to find and it will cost $4 more.

Since you're staying in that area you should definitely check out Oasis MP (also VIPS, Veronicas and Manitas) and Machu Pichu Restaurant

[NastyBoy]

It was $12 from the airport to downtown via the Orange cabs when I was there last October. I know taxi rates went up, but from the airport they were supposed to remain stable. Tip the driver and you come out about the same as having the hotel pick you up.

NB

[Brent Gort]

Thanks for the support my brothers. Very good information. I booked a room at the Hotel Rosa del Paseo
Paseo Colón witin 28 y 30
San José, Costa Rica

Looks nice enough on the web. About $80 after tax.

How much is the cab from the airport? The woman at the desk told me $12 over the phone so I have the hotel driver collecting me for $16. I thought I would go for it without knowing the cost for sure. What do you gentleman say?

Thanks
bg

[Le Spuff]

I would never bring my girlfriend or loved one to San Jose. Unfortunately to me its a gem but, most "normal" people would say that its on the opposite end. Its probably one of the best cities in Central America but, thats not saying too much. If you want to see cities stay in North America, Europe or Asia. Though I've heard BA is really nice and safe. I feel most women wouldn't really like the urban latin american enviroment. Its something to see and experience but, not for a long stay with a loved one. Ladies love beaches, pools, scenic stuff etc which downtown SJO does not have to offer.

[Prolijo]

I agree with Viper on this one. Why reveal to your GF what goes on in the Gulch? The Prez may have non-mongers, but there are enough old gringo guys going in and out of there with young chicas that even a blind woman could figure out what is going on. Even staying at a more purely mainstream tourist hotel would not prevent her from seeing what goes on as guys walk their "Novia del noche" back to their hotels.

Barrio Amon is nice and quiet, but it is not that far from the Gulch. Probably at some point when taking a cab or going somewhere you both will pass through the Gulch. Maybe she won't notice, but why take a chance. If you're still interested in this area, nice mainstream hotels include the La Amistad, (the SL is great but not for couples), Castillo and Hemingway (both budget-end), the Don Carlos (my personal favorite downtown non-monger hotel), the Dunn Inn and the Amon Plaza (Clarion). I've taken my family to the Don Carlos and the women loved it. My mom probably wouldn't have even noticed what the DR was if my stupid brother didn't keep knowingly ask me "What's that place?" with a stupid smirk on his face everytime we drove by it.

You might also consider going just a little further north (on the other side of the river) into the Barrio Tournon. The Hotel Villa Tournon is a nice hotel that is very close (within walking distance) of El Pueblo with all its restaurants, bars and clubs. It sounds like more of a family hotel, but I believe they have a pool if that matters to you.

Sabana/Rohrmoser is also nice being close to the large park but not as many hotel options. The Hotel Corobici on the corner of the park is in an ugly building that used to be the Playboy Club, but is supposed to be much nicer on the inside with an atrium, etc. A little closer to town is the Paseo Colon area. I don't know what yor budget is but the Hotel Grano D'Oro is very nice. Machu Pichu restaurant (excellent Peruvian food) is just up the street on the other side of Paseo Colon and if you can sneak away for an hour or so Oasis MP is directly across the street from Machu Pichu in an extremely inconspicuous building. The Hotel Petit Vitoria is in the same area and is a less expensive B&B.

I'm not sure what sort of "clubs and shopping" you are looking for, but if you want upscale shopping and fancy restaurants that is away from the traditional mongering routes, Viper has the best suggestions about checking out Escazu. I can't really help you out with any suggestions in that area. You also might want to check out the newly re-opened White House (formerly Tara) in the hills above Escazu overlooking the valley. Their restaurant is supposed to be very good and the views are outstanding. The BW Irazu is along the hwy into town from the airport. It is okay if you want US Hotel chain consistency but is a bit rundown and lacking in any character. There is nearby shopping and a Denny's in the hotel itself. I've stayed there once and lets just say was not overly impressed.