San Jose General Reports

[Bandy]

The payment is even money for BJ.

I have seen people splitting 10's not only in Costa Rica, but also in Vegas, Atlantic City and anywhere and everywhere. There is no shortage of stupid people.

Bandy

[Jaimito Cartero]

I never saw this anywhere before but I saw guys splitting 10's in blackjack in costa rica??? very weird.

You haven't played in Vegas very much, have you? I see this way too frequently, and it drives me crazy. Most of the variants of Blackjack that I've seen in CR are a slightly different game. (Rummy, perhaps?) I don't know if they pay 3-2 for a BJ or not. I know they pay you extra for 3 7's, and have some other weird payouts.

[Mr Jetsetter]

I think it is great that CRT and the merits of its VIP membership can be so freely discussed on this ISG board. I highly recommend becoming a CRT member even if one is only planning a single trip to San Jose. Chase Star is absolutely correct -- CRT discount savings can easily offset annual membership costs in one single trip. Chase Star and R Brandon are prime examples of people who post valuable advice and info on both the CRT and ISG boards, and we all benefit. I have been an ISG member for three years and a CRT member for a little over one, and I'm a big fan of both boards.

I'm hitting San Jose next week for 8 days and will post my experiences. I'm delighted to hear that Club Kamur is under new ownership and has instituted set rates for onsite chica sessions: $50 an hour for the lady and $25 for the room. I even hear they have re-installed actual beds in the rooms! I think these prices are fair for a strip club, even in San Jose.

[Prolijo]

Sleep Inn is not chica friendly at all. If you searched at CRT, you would have found out the full deal on the Sleep Inn.

[Tasty1]

Always stay in Presidenete. They are booked. Any suggestions to choose between Clarion Amon and Sleep Inn will be appreciated. Read all postings and could not find answers.

[Prolijo]

I may get some flak from my CR buddies on this but to be fair the $75/nt is really just the casino rate. You can also go to http://www.casino-paradiso.com/acco.htm for details. It is a Clarion Hotel which is part of the US based Choice Hotel chain and so has much more the ambiance of a US based hotel that some people might prefer. The casino is closes at 3AM but I don't think it opens until 4PM which might be an issue if you want to get some early gambling in. But then who (besides Nixon) says you always have to gamble where you stay. The Barrio Amon is a nice neighborhood but the Amon Plaza is really on the bad edge of it. Zona Blue is 1 block away, but its a long enough walk to the DR that you probably won't want to do it after dark. It doesn't charge chica fees, but its not like there aren't other hotels that cost much less per night that don't charge chica fees either (e.g. the Presidente, the SL, or even the Morazon most of the time)

As far as the Pink Panther is concerned, the CRT card actually gets you free admission PLUS your first drink. Not having paid the admission I'm not sure exactly what it is but I believe it is only something like $2. Also not sure about drink prices, since I'll nurse mine for quite a long time in places like this. Girl drinks are 3500c or about $7. My undersanding was that it is 22K colones or about $40 for a HALF and an hour and 40K colones for an hour. Maybe they don't watch the clock as carefully if it's a slow night. Para llevar can be pricey due to the 5 drink bar fine (5X3500) with the rest being between you and the chica. Getting a number and arranging to meet her elsewhere after hours may be your best bet.

Now is it worth it to get a CRT card just to save a couple of bucks at PT? Obviously not. But taking into account ALL the other places and ways you can save by becoming a CRT VIP, I would say it is definitely worth it. Maybe not for a short visit but certainly for anyone that plans to be very active there for an extended period or multiple trips. All the ways you can save money are too numerous to mention here but just to highlight a FEW other ones besides the PT; there are even more significant savings at Kamur (free admission and every 3rd drink free), Tango India (free admission and 15% of your entire bill), a REAL 10% discount off the normal SL rates that could save you the cost of membership by itself in less than a week, something like $5-10 off the prices EACH time you go to Zona Blue that could offset most of the membership cost in just one trip all by itself (granted you probably wouldn't go to the ZB as often if you had to pay full price), and discounts at some really good restaurants such as Costa de Sol (10% off your bill). You also get access to their photo gallery which not only includes often grainy muff shots like you'll find here but facial pics of recommended chicas and even more importantly chicas to avoid (one in particular is known for "roofing" unsuspecting drunken gamblers and rolling them for all their dough).

Perhaps one of the biggest benefits is often overlooked. You can get a lot of good advice for free before you go both here and at CRT, but that isn't nearly the same as the advice you can get on the spot by guys who can point out the actual girls who they know to be good or bad. I haven't run into nearly as many ISGers IN CR as I have fellow CRTers and the CRT guys are very often the best for getting the latest on the spot intel. They'll probably help you out if you're a ISGer too but are more likely to spend the time to point you in the right direction if they know you're one of them.

[Sun Devil]

To answer your questions, the fee at the hotel is $75 per night, including tax, if you are a member of CRT. If not, I believe they ordinarily charge $144. The $75 includes a breakfast buffet that offers sliced fruits, i.e, papaya, pineapples, juice, omelettes, rice and beans, coffee, etc, which is little bit better than what the Sportsmen offered when I stayed there last year. The ambiance of the place is similar to that of the the typical Holiday Inn in the US.

Other good things about this hotel are that they do not charge any chica fees, unlike the Del Rey, which charges $10 if you take a girl to the room. It is located in Barrio Amon, where the Sportsmen, Hotel Don Carlos, and Hotel Santo Tomas are located. Also, it is one block from Zona Blue, which now has a bar that serves alcohol in the premises, and a couple of blocks from New Fantasy. Thus you can pretty much walk to these massage parlors, plus the Del Rey from this hotel.

The Pantera Rosa is a strip club with girls that you can do at the premises for $40 until you finished, be it an hour or 5 minutes. I was not charged an admission fee due to my CRT card. I went to another strip club last night, the Atlantis, and they were offering alcohol past midnight. I do not know who they paid, but this country is technically dry right now due to the election tomorrow. In fact, the only things that they are serving at the Del Rey as I write are juice, coffee, sodas, and water. Too bad the weather has not been as dry, since it has been raining for the past 3 days.

Anyway, I met some of the dancers at Pantera Rosa: Sasha, Joanna, Ingrid, out drinking at Atlantis and they invited me to their table. The reason they were there was because the Pantera Rosa was closed due to the non-alcohol law. Talk about a small city. Ingrid, a girl from Nicaragua, got totally drunk and started showing me her pussy. Needless to say I did not pass up this opportunity and started tonguing her and rubbing her clit, all this while in public. This occurred on and off for about an hour. Occurrences like these are the reasons why I love travelling outside the US, especially in Latin countries!

[Johnny Sax]

I am back in San Jose and am staying at the Clarion Hotel on Avenida 11 and Calle 3. The ambiance to the hotel is great and there is casino there that closes at 0300, but what is most important is that they have a decent enough gym, which is at the garage level, because I am workout freak.

How much per night? What do you like about the ambiance?

...we then went to Pantera Rosa, about one mile south of the Del Rey Hotel. I flashed the bouncer my CRT card and was able to go in for free. The other guy had to pay the entrance fee.

So this is a strip bar? How much is the entrance fee?

It is a fairly dim place but the girls are available for full service on the premises at $40,

Is that a $40 set price, for 1/2 hour, or what? Oh, and how much are beers or drinks there? Might have to check this place out. By the way, was your ************** card worth it, overall?

Thanks for the report!

[Sun Devil]

I am back in San Jose and am staying at the Clarion Hotel on Avenida 11 and Calle 3. The ambiance to the hotel is great and there is casino there that closes at 0300, but what is most important is that they have a decent enough gym, which is at the garage level, because I am workout freak.

After the direct flight from the US I changed clothes and immediately went to the Del Rey. The place was packed. I met a dude from California whose main vacation place is Angeles City in the PI. He deplored the fact that the girls here cost more than $20. I informed him that, if he had the opportunity, he could go to the massage parlors or other places besides the Blue Marlin. After suggesting so, we then went to Pantera Rosa, about one mile south of the Del Rey Hotel. I flashed the bouncer my CRT card and was able to go in for free. The other guy had to pay the entrance fee.

We soon went in. I was hoping that this place would be like the upper end strip clubs in Monterrey, such as Prestige and Obsession, but it was not to be. It is a fairly dim place but the girls are available for full service on the premises at $40, a lot cheaper than the $200 I paid in Mexico. Anyway, I asked the mesero for one of the better looking girls at place, Johanna. She soon started grinding her hips on my pelvis and started to touch my private area. Even though I had not slept that much, I was game and paid the price.

In the meantime, the Californian I was with wanted to leave because he felt out of place and could not speak a word of Spanish. I told him that I wanted to go with the chick that I was with and asked him that if he could go back alone. He was game with that, thank God. It is occurrences like these that I like going by myself during my travels--I only have responsibilities to myself.

The room was right next to the dance floor and it had a couch. It was fairly comfortable and I had no problem with it. After the deed, we went out and she sat by me for about half and hour until I started nodding off. It was time for me to get back to the hotel. For those looking for night time activities other than Del Rey and the Blue Marlin bar, this might be an option.

[Prolijo]

Don't forget to ask about any extra fees such as for having a safe in your room or for bringing back guests. When asking, tell them you're just asking to make sure there wasn't and that either you (or a friend) had stayed there before and had not been charged anything extra (ie bullshit them). If they tell you there's an extra fee for either of those, try to get them to agree to waive it. More importantly ask them to confirm everything you both agreed to when they e-mail you your confirmation and then print out that e-mail to bring with you to show them in case they "forget". It may seem like stupid crap to have to do any of this, but the small hassle is worth it if it means you get away paying the least amount possible for your stay.

[Johnny Sax]

their direct phone number is 011-506-222-4622.

all hotels to one degree or another charge different rates for the same room. they have what they call "rack rates", which is their standard non-discounted rate, but they also have peak season vs. non-peak, weekend vs. weekday, aaa discount, aarp discount etc. etc. if a room-night goes vacant thats revenue they'll never recover so they try to adjust their rates to stay as full as possible and they try to discount selectively between guests so they don't have to lower the rates for everybody on a particular night. these various rates and discounts may seem fairly standardized at us hotels, but in places like cr business is run much looser than it is in the us. its even often possible to negotiate lower rates when you reserve or check-in to many places, a tleast during the non-peak season when there's lots of vacancies.

the morazon plays it a little looser than most when it comes to their pricing. if some dumb gringo doesn't know any better and wants to book a room with them at their non-discounted rate they're not about to stop them. locals aren't so stupid so the morazon has a long running special that they advertise in the local paper and all you have to get that same rate is let them know you know the score and insist on it. the "special" rate is usually somewhere between $35-39/nt depending on how hard up for business they are. someone mentioned they've gotten as low as $30/nt. i haven't seen that but its entirely possible. score that rate and they still might try to play you around for extra charges, like the chica fee or a safe fee. yes, its irritating but get it straight ahead of time and you'll probably get them waived and even if you don't its not that big a price to pay for get what is still basically a very good rate.

thanks for the info. the tico times does have an ad in there that says $40/night. i e-mailed them from the address in that ad, and asked about availability for feb 12 and got no response. guess i'll have to call them.

my pet peeve of the day: i hate when places advertise their e-mail address and then don't respond to e-mails! if you aren't going to check it daily and reply within 24-48 hours, then don't advertise your e-mail address!!

anyway, i'll call them and try to get a commitment for a coupla rooms at the $40/nite rate for my friend and i.

[Shadow 97]

Well, fellas. I booked a flight for me and my guys to SJ for 2/2 through 2/7. Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, was unable to book a hotel until last week. All the recommended hotels were booked up!!! Staying at the Balmoral, which was 5th on my list. How bad off am I? Please be gentle.

[Prolijo]

Their direct phone number is 011-506-222-4622.

All hotels to one degree or another charge different rates for the same room. They have what they call "rack rates", which is their standard non-discounted rate, but they also have peak season vs. non-peak, weekend vs. weekday, AAA discount, AARP discount etc. etc. If a room-night goes vacant thats revenue they'll never recover so they try to adjust their rates to stay as full as possible and they try to discount selectively between guests so they don't have to lower the rates for everybody on a particular night. These various rates and discounts may seem fairly standardized at US hotels, but in places like CR business is run much looser than it is in the US. Its even often possible to negotiate lower rates when you reserve or check-in to many places, a tleast during the non-peak season when there's lots of vacancies.

The Morazon plays it a little looser than most when it comes to their pricing. If some dumb gringo doesn't know any better and wants to book a room with them at their non-discounted rate they're not about to stop them. Locals aren't so stupid so the Morazon has a long running special that they advertise in the local paper and all you have to get that same rate is let them know you know the score and insist on it. The "special" rate is usually somewhere between $35-39/nt depending on how hard up for business they are. Someone mentioned they've gotten as low as $30/nt. I haven't seen that but its entirely possible. Score that rate and they still might try to play you around for extra charges, like the chica fee or a safe fee. Yes, its irritating but get it straight ahead of time and you'll probably get them waived and even if you don't its not that big a price to pay for get what is still basically a very good rate.

[Sirtonkaoffuk]

I think they have different high and low season rates, or some times it just depends how busy they are (kinda like the airlines ). The last number I have for them is 506 221-9083.

[Johnny Sax]

Hey johnny sax... i have stayed at the morazan 4 times in the last 10 months and plan to stay again on my next trip...Some pointers...1. If you make your resv. on line, call them direct or you will get a outfit that isnt part of the hotel ...just call them give them your dates and your card # and everything will be all set. 2.When you check in , tell them why you chose them was due to the fact they charge no chica fee( i tell them that every time i check in)3. When you are making any deal with the girls from b.m. or key largo it really helps on the price when they know you are so close . 4 You will save money (not much on taxi rides) but if you get drunk its a short walk(from b.m or key largo)5. The rooms are clean and the price is right 6.They have a cool little bar that is open 24 hours and has alot of local people in it ..i have found pro"s and non pro"s in there all the time.7 Nice little casino to kill some time and they have the best sports book in the town there( if you are interested)8. i feel safe there ...except for the time i took 2 lesbo back to my room and had to kick them out ..when they thought they had a dumb gringo and threaten to call the police on me...never have i had any trouble with the hotel itself...9 Also (hasnt happen yet) they have some knockouts working as maids, dealers and wait staff and i have got to know them so could be some non pro action for me on this trip... on my last trip i got the 30.00 a nite deal ( maybe 35.00) not sure what it is now i dont think for a single it evers goes higher than 49.00 , look in the tico times and you will find a coupon for 10.00 or 15.00 off the weekday price.If you need anymore info give me a shout as i have found much better places to go than the b.m ..but the key largo is still a great time, also go back thur the san jose forum and look for the "MAP" IT REALLY HELPS as i find it easy to get lost there and less than half of the cab drivers will understand what you are saying ...unless your spanish is better than mine.....good luck and we hope to read about your trip...

I cannot find a home page for the Hotel Morazan, and the site I am looking on seems to have TWO different listings for the Morazan!

http://*******.com/8vzms

AND:

http://www.1costaricalink.com/eng/ho...azan/rooms.htm

They both seem to have the same name , only it says one is $42 and the other is $65! Looking closer, the $42/nite page has a 2005 date at the bottom , and the $65/nite page has a 2006 date at the bottom. Is it possible that they raised their price from $42 to $65??!! If so, we should boycott this hotel, that is an outrageous price hike!

Anyone have a direct number to this hotel so I can call and straighten this out? If they have raised it $23/night, I will tell them that is ridiculous and I won't be staying there any more due to this gouging price hike.

The Gran Hotel de Costa Rica did this a few years ago. I stayed there one night, had a great room for $45/ night. Then the very next year I checked again and they were charging $60-something ($69, I think it was?) for the very same room! I let them know they had lost my business, and indeed I will never stay there again unless they lower their price.

But of course the unfortunate fact is people WILL PAY the higher prices, so they don't care...