San Jose General Reports

[Dr Travel Man]

Hi. I am a newbie and look forward to coming to CR for my third trip. I am looking to contact a girl named Michelle (or maybe Michell). She was working at IDEMS but the last time I was there the manager said she no longer works there. I believe this is the same girl that Dodger Bulldog wrote about in a trip he made to IDEMS in July of last year. She is a nice girl and I would like to spend some time with her if possible this trip; I was not aware of this website but hopefully someone on it can help me out. I believe she is from the Limon area.

The photo posted here is from the set that Dodger Bulldog posted last year.

Thanks for any assistance.

I was with the same girl at Idem last September. The last few times I have been I have not seen her either. Sorry I do not have any contact info.

[Smokers Rule]

If you might be in San Jose Aug. 9 to 17, let me know. I may be able to get you the Courtyard Mariott or maybe even airfare at 1/2 price because I have a voucher I need to use. PM me if you're interested...

[MrPenis]

Any of you monger done an ATV tour?

If you have please let me know how it was.

[Btranquilo]

Hi. I am a newbie and look forward to coming to CR for my third trip. I am looking to contact a girl named Michelle (or maybe Michell). She was working at IDEMS but the last time I was there the manager said she no longer works there. I believe this is the same girl that Dodger Bulldog wrote about in a trip he made to IDEMS in July of last year. She is a nice girl and I would like to spend some time with her if possible this trip; I was not aware of this website but hopefully someone on it can help me out. I believe she is from the Limon area.

The photo posted here is from the set that Dodger Bulldog posted last year.

Thanks for any assistance.

[MrPenis]

Guys,

Thanks for your input, I reconsidered, will not be renting a car.

[Sammon]

I have been to SJ total of 5 times. I have always rented a car.
Here are the Advantages,
1. I do not use the car for driving around San Jose unless it is a bit far. I stay at Presidente where they have parking. To go to DR it is a short walk.

2. I have made lots of trips away from SJ like arenal and all the vocanoes, jungle tour sites, Jaco, Puerto Limon etc. Many a times with the girl I picked up at DR or met at other places. I have even gone to girls homes for a day trip, But kept my mouth shut about where I met her. It was a very good experience. Some have really decent houses and land. The whole family is very hospitable.

3. I do get bored just staying in SJ all the time.

4. Apart from the city traffic in SJ, the countryside is easy to drive and generally safe.

5. The girls generally like being driven around to see the sites because they do not travel much.

Disadvantages.

1. Get a bumper to bumper insurance. Do not rely on your credit card coverage.
2. If you do get into a accident there will be problems i hear but persoanally i have never gotten into one. So i do not have experience with this.
3. I got stopped at Police check points couple of times. They only check the papers and let me go. Only problem one time was I did not have my Passport, so I had to explain to the senior officer my Passport info is there on the rental contract. No problem.

[BabyHuey]

Mr.Penis,

Since it seems you are set on renting a car, first let me wish you luck. Second, I will say that the guys that I have met at Sportsmen's that were driving just park on the street across from the entrance. There is a 24hr security guard out there that checks all the girls, and ticos, that come in. It's probably not even necessary, but I'm sure a few thousand Colones will insure that your car is left alone.

[Putaman]

Do not bother to rent a car. Waste of time unless you are headed to the coast. Even then not a good idea. From the Sportsman you can walk during the day, but at night I suggest you take taxis. Please note that the taxis are relatively cheap in the grand scheme of things and hell you will never find anything if you are driving yourself. No street signs, numbers or addresses. Plus a good way to kill a car is to drive it San Jose; pot holes, bumps and agressive drivers.

While at Sportsmens use their driver Jimmy. A good man that will not steer you in the wrong direction. He is employed/endorsed by the owner Bill and I have taken overnight trips with him and friends to the west coast. A nice van with DVD and he is armed if needed. The banditos will not mess with anything that says Sportsmes Lodge. Tell Bill hello from the Caymans..

[Professor 1]

Me and my friend will be visiting Costa Rica Aug 1 to 8 staying at Sportsmens Lodge. This will be my first trip to Costa Rica and I am thinking of renting a car.

If you plan to remain within the city, then you need not rent a car. You will find a taxi everywhere at all times.

[Underwriter]

It may or may not be lame but not for the reasons you suggest.

You don't seem to know what you're talking about. There are hardly "tons of joints just like this in San Jose." The rooms there are MUCH nicer than any other place I've been to INCLUDING ZB, NF and Idem. And beyond those few places which cater to the gringo crowd (as this one does), the tico places can be quite seedy and dirty. The original owners really sunk a lot of money into the place (it used to be the Bar Dandy). As you can see from the pictures, there is very nice wood paneling throughout the entire place. One thing you might not have noticed in the pictures is that some of the rooms even have a pole for your chica to put on a private display, although for that type of money I'd personally much rather she spent the time dancing on my pole. And, unlike all but the downstairs room at IDEM, the place is FULLY air-conditioned.

Overall, I was very impressed with the rooms when I visited there, what was it?, maybe 2 years ago, as are most guys I know that have been there. The problem was that most guys don't go to these places just for a nice room. They go for the chicas. And, unfortunately, the chicas they had there back then were not nearly as impressive. As a result, the original Pirates never really took off.

HOWEVER, it recently changed management yet again and initial signs are that things may have improved significantly. They say it has been completely remodeled, though I can't imagine much that they could have improved upon in that area. The website says that they now have private showers in all the rooms, which I don't recall their having when I was there and which you don't have at places like IDEM and NF. More importantly the chica pictures on the website certainly look much more promising than the ones I saw when I was there.

Apparently, they've also changed their rates. There is a one-time $10 membership fee, which kinda blows but it is half off that and 2nd drinks are free if you have a CRT card. The new rates are $60/hr ($100 for the "Captain's Quarters") which may seem on the high side when you compare it to ZB and NF. But this place is a night time place as much as a daytime place and it compares favorably to the usual rates at night time places like the the BM and SL (that Fantasy is so stuck on) or the new rates at IDEM (which is still only open until midnight) or the rates at the more reasonably priced higher end SJ nightclubs like Pantera Rosa and Kamur. Plus they have specials during the day that bring that rate down to $40 (Tuesday & Thursday Noon to 2 pm) which is actually less expensive than ZB and NF.

As for any "guy with a little $$$ and plenty of time on his hands" thinking he can steal a little action from the Blue Marlin but coming and going as the wind blows, it certainly has worked for Eddie at ZB even before he added his luxury suites. He has been a long term success story even without a "small hotel". So there goes that theory. And what if the Pirate Club does come and go (like Kamor or Casablanca/Tentaciones) because certain people are too closeminded to give it a try but prefer to limit themselves to the mercenary chicas at places like the BM and SL. That doesn't mean that places like this aren't worthwhile as long as they're around. I'll probably give this place another try when I'm in town next week and will report back my new impressions.

Thanks for the report. I enjoy seeing all of San Jose. The seedy to places like this. I am going to check it out when i go back in August.

UW

[Mr Jetsetter]

You learn something new every day. I just learned that San Jose is a shit hole you have to crawl into, one of the last places you should go to for GFE. This from a guy (a frequent visitor, amazingly enough) who appears to generally limit his San Jose mongering time to the Blue Marlin. Hey, everyone is entitled to their opinions, but they can be perhaps more diplomatically stated, without excessive reliance on exclamation points, on a board generally frequented by people who enjoy visiting San Jose and taking advantage of the myriad mongering opportunities this city has to offer.

[Grinder62]

Me and my friend will be visiting Costa Rica Aug 1 to 8 staying at Sportsmens Lodge. This will be my first trip to Costa Rica and I am thinking of renting a car.

Anyone know what is the parking situation at Sportsmens?

Do not bother to rent a car. Waste of time unless you are headed to the coast. Even then not a good idea. From the Sportsman you can walk during the day, but at night I suggest you take taxis. Please note that the taxis are relatively cheap in the grand scheme of things and hell you will never find anything if you are driving yourself. No street signs, numbers or addresses. Plus a good way to kill a car is to drive it San Jose; pot holes, bumps and agressive drivers.

[MrPenis]

I called SM and they said that they do have parking available. I want to get a car since I plan driving to the beach and visiting sites outside of San Jose. Thanks for your input, I might have to have to rethink this.

I'm pretty sure they don't provide any parking at the SL. There are public lots a few blocks from their hotel, but I'm not sure how secure those lots would be to leave a car overnight. There are also other hotels which DO have parking. HOWEVER, I'm not sure why you're even thinking of renting a car. Driving around downtown SJ really sucks - bad traffic, rude drivers, lots of potholes, few street signs and lots of one way streets. Plus the insecurity of parking your car while you're not driving it. Taxis are readily available anywhere downtown and dirt cheap. The most a cab fare should cost you is maybe $2-3 bucks so it takes a LOT of cab rides to match what it would cost to rent a car for the day, certainly more than you're likely going to need to take. Most venues downtown are reasonably close together and it often makes as much sense to walk to get to them (at least during the day), saving you even more cabfare. About the only way, I personally could see renting a car is if you're heading OUT of San Jose (and not just for the day). If you do plan on taking day trips out of the city there are plenty of other ways to do it other than renting a car. For example, say you want to go w/w rafting or to La Paz Waterfall Park, the savings for just 2 people don't really offset what the rental car would cost you for that day. OTOH, if you want to go see one of the volcanos, you could do that on your own with a rental car and save the money that a tour would cost, but when you factor in the hassle factor of having the car delivered, dealing with traffic and parking (and navigation), it hardly seems worth it for just 1-2 days. But that is just my humble opinion.

[Fantasy]

It appears that you have worn out this phrase......"I'm sorry if I seemed to be ripping on you personally."

So as many have suggested to me via PM, I am terminating this conversation from my end.

[Prolijo]

Dude, I would never call you an asshole (at least not yet based on anything you've just said). I can appreciate you're laying it all out there and saying it as you see it. I try to do the same thing and not always most diplomatically. So if that makes one an asshole, I guess I am one too.

Is Pirates a wannabe? It very well COULD be. However, there ARE other successful venues in SJ besides the HDR/BM and SL as you seem to maintain and Pirates COULD ALSO be one of them IF you (and others) decide to check them out rather than dismiss them sight unseen. Is SJ a shithole? Its certainly no garden spot but I've been to cities in places like Brazil, Colombia and all over Central America that are at least as bad or worse. And, like you suggested, if its really all that bad then why do you (and so may others) keep going back so often? As for the financial interest in Pirates, I wish...or maybe I don't, but I have absolutely no vested interest in the place. I only wished to give them a fair spot as a potential customer. You should note that, unlike you I've actually been there, though I did not stick around or partake, and my own assessment based on that earlier visit was far from all roses.