San Jose General Reports

[Fantasy]

Everyone here, except you I guess, knows that I am basically an asshole who calls it the way I see it, with no sugar coating. Some might call me an ass wipe, And I really don't argue these opinions of me because I think they are close to spot on, but my opinion is that Pirates is a "wanna be" that will not ever be another Zona Blue! San jose is a shit hole. A shit hole that I crawl into about four times a year for about four- five nights at a time. I guess you have a financial interest in the place, thats the only reason I can see for you spending so much time trying to change (correct) my opinion of it. Hey, at least we are getting coverage for the place!!

(Happy Travels)

[Prolijo]

Fantasy,
No where in your earlier post did you indicate you were merely indicating your personal tastes, rather you seemed to speaking in pretty absolute terms. You didn't say that Pirates was lame because it was not YOUR personal type of bar. You said it was lame because there were tons of places like it, that it was just a BM rip-off and that it was doomed to failure (all of which are factually wrong). In any event, I'm sorry if I seemed to be ripping on you personally. You certainly have your right to your opinion, just as I have my right to mine. And everyone certainly has the right to their own tastes and style of doing things.

If I was "ripping you" on anything, it was for certain facts that you've got mixed up, which suggest to me that you really don't have much idea what goes on beyond the BM or perhaps the SL. Your opening comment was that "it looks pretty lame to me!" My response was not that your opinion was wrong, in fact I said it might actually be lame. What I disputed was your basis for that opinion.

You said there were "tons of joints just like this in San Jose" when in point of fact there aren't. Now you said "The town is, for the most part, a shit hole". Again, I won't dispute your opinion, although I might counter that is all relative. SJ certainly isn't the nicest city in the world, but as far as neither are most cities in lesser developed countries where mongering is cheap. It kinda goes with the territory. And yes, like other such cities, it has more than its share of dives. However, Pirates is not one of those places that I'd put into that category and perhaps neither would you if you actually went there before casting your verdict.

You dismissed the owner of Pirates as just "A guy with a little $$$ and plenty of time on his hands thinks he can steal a little action from the Blue Marlin" and that it will only "work if you couple a small hotel with it" or otherwise it will "come and go as the wind blows." What you should have said was that it only works for YOU if you couple a small hotel with it. Again you certainly have a right to your personal preferences, but your remarks suggested that these places can't sustain themselves at all because YOU personally don't like doing it in their rooms. What about everybody else? Even you now admit that others have different approaches and that others might like doing it in such places and thus such places can thrive. Again, the simple facts refute your opinion. Sure some places come and go or at least shift in their level of popularity but many are still there and going strong, including IDEM, NF and ZB. ZB in particular is going stronger than ever and not because they added luxury suites. They added those suites as part of a wider expansion of offerings that resulted from their initial success as an MP. That is hardly dissappearing like the wind.

And your earlier comment about "stealing a little action from the Blue Marlin" is contradicted by your latest comments. First of all, I wasn't aware the BM "owned" that action or that competition was a bad thing. Secondly, you suggest now that the appeal of the BM is that it is any easy place for take-out, while places like Pirates are for "dining-in" which is not your bag, therefore it really is going after a different market or at least approaching that market in a wholly different way. Rather than looking at Pirates as some cheap knock-off, maybe you should look at it as an attempt to improve on the original (for others if not for you) or at least an attempt to offer something that the BM does not.

[Fantasy]

Yes I am. I go to San Jose when i want to be lazy, When I am in the mood to just drink a little and fuck alot. One of the last cities I would go to for GFE! The town is, for the most part, a shit hole, and I really don't get into fucking in a small room in a bar or casa too much. Some guys love it, I do not. That is why I give my opinion and you can have yours. Fantasy can decide what he is "stuck on", and Prolijo can do what he wants.
As far as me not knowing what i am talking about, i am calling it the way I see it, as I have since I have been on this Board. So i know exactly what I am talking about.
My opening comment was, "it looks pretty lame to me!"
I did not say that no one would enjoy themselves there.
Or keep out because the authorites would start tailing you.
Jackson has placed a feature on this site called the ignore feature. Just use it on my posts, you will not be the first and certainly not the last to do so.
And in closing, I will not rip you on your impressions or opinions, I will simply say, thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[Prolijo]

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?

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.

[Prolijo]

It looks pretty lame to me! I guess a good place to have a beer with ex-pats if you lived there, but hardly a place I want to go. Their are tons of joints just like this in San Jose. A guy with a little $$$ and plenty of time on his hands thinks he can steal a little action from the Blue Marlin. It can work if you couple a small hotel with it, as sportsmens has successfully done, but these others come and go as the wind blows!

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.

[Fantasy]

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?

I know that their are usually a few "HOT" chicas parked there!!!! have a great time!

[Fantasy]

Found this on Craigslist. Looks like it might be interesting.

www.pirateclubcr.com

UW

It looks pretty lame to me! I guess a good place to have a beer with ex-pats if you lived there, but hardly a place I want to go. Their are tons of joints just like this in San Jose. A guy with a little $$$ and plenty of time on his hands thinks he can steal a little action from the Blue Marlin. It can work if you couple a small hotel with it, as sportsmens has successfully done, but these others come and go as the wind blows!

[Prolijo]

I understand that Jackson may have his own agenda and as moderator of this board he can certainly "suggest that the author or another Forum Member consider posting a link to [such reports] in the Reports of Distinction thread." OTOH, I'm glad he doesn't take it upon himself to do that unilaterally. AND, going beyond that, I really think he should at least modify his recommendation process to only suggest that someone else OTHER than the author himself post that link IF they agree with that assessment.

[Fantasy]

Report of Distinction? Puh-leez! More like a clinical case study in paranoia. San Jose is far from my number one spot for mongering, but this report is over the top. I don't believe any of this poster's allegations. He appears to be highly delusional. Seriously, I think he needs help.

L

DID YOU EVER GET THIS ONE RIGHT. I have no further comment on this matter, Everone has a right to their own opinion, Even if they are full of _______?

[Mangera]

Well, now that we read the book, when is the movie version going to be released?

[Underwriter]

Found this on Craigslist. Looks like it might be interesting.

www.pirateclubcr.com

UW

[MrPenis]

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?

[Nixonbd]

It's obvious Big Bob 7's story has more to it than meets the eye. IMHO, he doesn't come off as a regular "mongorer" (sp?). Anyone who goes down there to "party with the locals" as he describes has a bit of another agenda and puts himself at risk. Those of us who go there strictly for the "tail" don't make waves to draw the eye (or ire) of local law enforcement. I'm booked for my 5th trip coming up in August and have never encountered questioning by anyone other than the girls out for a good time, like I am. I view SJ as having the same risks as any American metro area. My motto is: mind your own business, don't go places you're unfamiliar with, don't get blind drunk and you're pretty much going to get back to your hotel safe and sound. Again, MHO.

[Steveab]

In the DelRay and Key Largo there were a lot of obvious American undercover agents.

I tried to walk to the Radisson and make a call and they sent a motorcycle unit ahead to talk to the front desk and keep me from calling out.

I returned to the room and realized that the entire hotel had been emptied. There were no guests anywhere in sight.

I started using the Internet then after about 20 minutes the Internet stopped working.

I noticed six cops running towards me as if to grab me.

I was approached by a Nica hooker who was really undercover.

Undercover agents followed us everywhere that we went and stood at the edge of he dance floor watching us. There were from 6 to 9 of them at this point. Then they set up twenty four hour patrols of three motorcycle units and a police car and the big paddy-wagon with the siren on and circled the neighborhood for two and a half weeks straight. The whole town was in on it

When I got home I noticed a strong odor of cocaine in the back room across from where I was sleeping. I tossed the room looking for what they planted but couldn't find anything.

I knew then that the coke was probably in the frames.

At the airport a group of 6 agents followed me on the first leg of the flight. They just happened to all be seated around me.
I just happened to be seated next to a superfine twenty something model quality Nica (also an agent)

I agreed until we got off of the flight and three out of the six cops went running ahead of me towards immigration.

This was bigger than the task force the FBI used to nail John Gotti. Must have cost them a couple hundred thousand dollars. After all this trouble they might come to your house with a hit squad.

Classic case of methamphetamine paranoia

[Member #2666]

I had a hard time getting a lawyer to take my case because . n.

because you don't have a case