Quito

[QUOTE=Digits]Hi,

With respect to hotels and other accommodations options however, there seems to be less mentioned or discussed here on the Ecuador board than the other popular ISG boards. At this point, I have booked a room at the JW Marriott as a place holder until I find something more reasonable. While I like everything about a four star or five star hotel (who wouldn’t?), I would be perfectly fine with a clean two star, and given the price difference, would by far prefer the latter. So, if you have recommendations in this area, please let me know.
[/QUOTE]

I would imagine this is because chongos are spread all over the city. Hotels and Hostals are spread all over the city. You can't hardly go a block without running into one.

Search for hotels in the "Mariscal Sucre" area.

I stayed at the Monte Carlo (Quito Alameda - corner of Amazonas y Roca) when I first arrived. It is about $100 a night - on the high end but the rooms are nice, there is a restaurant right there as well as a casino. It's about 4-5 blocks from the main Gringolandia area. It's a $1 taxi ride.

Be sure to enquire in advance about their policies for girls (extra guests). They might charge more, might have no problem or might not let her in at all.

David

As I will go to Ecuador in May, I was reading some news. The municipality of Quito closed La Luna complex forever (see Tung list). Apparently, the reason is to let teenagers (under 18) work there:

If you spanish is good enough you can read it here:

[url]http://www.extra.ec/noticias.asp?codigo=20080405164356[/url]

Damn it!, I wanted to visit this place :cry:

Marc Europe.

[quote=marc europe]as i will go to ecuador in may, i was reading some news. the municipality of quito closed la luna complex forever (see tung list). apparently, the reason is to let teenagers (under 18) work there:

if you spanish is good enough you can read it here:

[url]http://www.extra.ec/noticias.asp?codigo=20080405164356[/url]

damn it!, i wanted to visit this place :cry:

marc europe.[/quote]
just fyi, they also mentioned this story today in el comercio. extra's article seemed to somewhat sensationalize the story, with interviewing the (****?) girls, etc. i think extra is more like a tabloid newspaper, while comercio is more like the new york times (ok, maybe it's not that bad, lol). anyways, here is the link to the el comercio article:

[url]http://www2.elcomercio.com/noticiaec.asp?id_noticia=182466&id_seccion=4[/url]

i went to la luna with tung a couple of times, and can honestly say i never saw one girl that looked **** when i was there. overweight, yes. seriously though, i'm not saying this story isn't true, but there are some things that don't make sense. you have to wonder if the owner of la luna missed a couple of payments to the government. in the comercio article, they mention they found a 16 year old girl working there in 2005, yet didn't close it down then. why now?

anyways, the best looking girls will probably just go work at other places; i remember that there were girls that worked at 122 and touch me working at coco bongos, so it seems like a lot of these girls move around anyways. and coco bongos had the best talent, the other two bars were pretty disappointing imho; i don't think you missed out on much.

looks like someone needs to update the fuckclub list!

I'll check with a buddy of mine about La Luna. He lives 5 minutes from there. If they are closed, he'll let me know if they re-open or move somewhere else.

[quote=marc europe]as i will go to ecuador in may, i was reading some news. the municipality of quito closed la luna complex forever (see tung list). apparently, the reason is to let teenagers (under 18) work there:

if you spanish is good enough you can read it here:

[url]http://www.extra.ec/noticias.asp?codigo=20080405164356[/url]

damn it!, i wanted to visit this place :cry:

marc europe.[/quote]

if it's true, i'm shocked they made it this long. pres. bush has put the pressure on all the countries to crack down on ****rs. it wasn't 3-4 years ago that the age was much lower here from what i hear.

david

[QUOTE=Digits]Hi,
With respect to hotels and other accommodations options however, there seems to be less mentioned or discussed here on the Ecuador board than the other popular ISG boards. At this point, I have booked a room at the JW Marriott as a place holder until I find something more reasonable. Digits[/QUOTE] I stayed here [url]http://www.hostalelarupo.com/[/url] (for $23, with tax and breakfast) in March 08. I did not attempt to bring in female guests, so I couldn't tell you about their guest policies. I loved the place, mostly due to location and value, and would certainly stay there again. If you try to book it in advance (I just walked in), I suspect you'll have to call and reserve by speaking Spanish. I emailed, and got nothing back, and did not encounter any English-speaking staff members. Once there, however, service and cleanliness were quite impressive.

If you want something a bit less "bed & breakfasty" than the above, but for much less money than the Marriott, the lobby, restaurant and rooms of the Hotel Sebastian ([url]http://www.hotelsebastian.com[/url]) looked very nice, and rates were in the $45-65 range. The location was also excellent. But again, I don't know about it's guest friendliness.

You're right, Quito seems to lack that "sure bet" monger-friendly hotel common in most other destinations. I suspect it's because the scene is much more on-premises than most places. Unless one's into non-pros (I'm not), take-out is the exception, and chongos are the rule (and... Chongos RULE!)

I owe this board a full trip report, but it'll have to wait a few more days. I think I'll title it "Newbie-o en el Troleo." But here's the short version. Dollar for dollar, Quito is a great mongering city. I'll definitely go back.

Another point is, and I called an embassy (Peru) for verification of this, is that if your passport has less than 6 months left on it, you may be rejected from entering a country. Don't know about Ecuador. (There's probably a more generic forum for this kind of info, but just wanted to comment). Check your passport expiration data months b4 u leave. You can get a new one within days if you're willing to pay about $130 and can visit a passport center in a major city. You have to make a reservation and it is in total about a 1 week process (depending upon how busy they are). [QUOTE=Davidb3069]I re-entered Ecuador the other day from Colombia via airplane and customs was going to turn me away. My passport had a tear in it from years of travel and was beat up. They refused to stamp it with an "entrada". They are getting pickier about the passports apparently. There was a gov't person there that told me that. If your passport looks like it's on its last leg, you might want to replace it before traveling. I had to go to the Embassy and get a new temporary one - $75 plus hours of waiting/travel to the airport, etc. and it's only good for a year. Replacement of it with a full validity passport is free, however.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Gonzo]Another point is, and I called an embassy (Peru) for verification of this, is that if your passport has less than 6 months left on it, you may be rejected from entering a country. Don't know about Ecuador. (There's probably a more generic forum for this kind of info, but just wanted to comment). Check your passport expiration data months b4 u leave. You can get a new one within days if you're willing to pay about $130 and can visit a passport center in a major city. You have to make a reservation and it is in total about a 1 week process (depending upon how busy they are).[/QUOTE]

That's true. All countries i've seen visa requirements for require 6 months remaining on the passport.

David

So the story I got was that the cops were checking IDs, found 1 girl that didnt have one and when asked her age she said she was 20 but, after they took her out and confirmed her age it was 13.
Can't verify it, but that's the rumour.

[quote=mraughh]so the story i got was that the cops were checking ids, found 1 girl that didnt have one and when asked her age she said she was 20 but, after they took her out and confirmed her age it was 13.
can't verify it, but that's the rumour.[/quote]

sounds like more of an isolated incident than anything from that description. doesn't sound like they were making a habit of **** girls. a girl i asked though said she was aware of **** girls there.

hello everyone,

i'm a local, and the last week it was all over the news, la luna is closed forever, a lot of angry women ong are working to make this happen, the reason: **** girls were working there.

the complete report in a local newspaper, (spanish):

[url]http://www2.elcomercio.com/solo_texto_search.asp?id_noticia=118197&anio=2008&mes=4&dia=5[/url]

if you got any other questions and can give answers.

what does ong stand for? (it's not in the abbreviation list)

[quote=waroo]hello everyone,

i'm a local, and the last week it was all over the news, la luna is closed forever, a lot of angry women ong are working to make this happen, the reason: **** girls were working there.

the complete report in a local newspaper, (spanish):

[url]http://www2.elcomercio.com/solo_texto_search.asp?id_noticia=118197&anio=2008&mes=4&dia=5[/url]

if you got any other questions and can give answers.[/quote]

[QUOTE=Dirty Willy]What does ONG stand for? (It's not in the abbreviation list)[/QUOTE]

ONG is usually NGO in Spanish. Its not mentioned in the article though.

Macmasher & David3069,

Thanks for the feedback re. hotels.

On the massage question then, I will assume that average or above average massage may not be readily available alongside other services. I will report back if I come across any worthy of mention.

Digits

[QUOTE=Macmasher]I stayed here [url]http://www.hostalelarupo.com/[/url] (for $23, with tax and breakfast) in March 08. I did not attempt to bring in female guests, so I couldn't tell you about their guest policies. I loved the place, mostly due to location and value, and would certainly stay there again. If you try to book it in advance (I just walked in), I suspect you'll have to call and reserve by speaking Spanish. I emailed, and got nothing back, and did not encounter any English-speaking staff members. Once there, however, service and cleanliness were quite impressive.

If you want something a bit less "bed & breakfasty" than the above, but for much less money than the Marriott, the lobby, restaurant and rooms of the Hotel Sebastian ([url]http://www.hotelsebastian.com[/url]) looked very nice, and rates were in the $45-65 range. The location was also excellent. But again, I don't know about it's guest friendliness.

You're right, Quito seems to lack that "sure bet" monger-friendly hotel common in most other destinations. I suspect it's because the scene is much more on-premises than most places. Unless one's into non-pros (I'm not), take-out is the exception, and chongos are the rule (and... Chongos RULE!)

I owe this board a full trip report, but it'll have to wait a few more days. I think I'll title it "Newbie-o en el Troleo." But here's the short version. Dollar for dollar, Quito is a great mongering city. I'll definitely go back.[/QUOTE]

If you want a massage, professional-like, no sex, you'll need to go to a spa. There's a couple around Quito, and some in Cumbaya, (15 mins from Quito by bus) One of the ones I know of in Quito is on the street Azucenas off of granados. I dont know the exact address, but it's a combination gym and spa. I think there's one at the gym at Plaza de los Americas also.
Cumbaya has one at the Fybecca complex on Interoceanica and theres one more close to the central park area where all the restraunts are.

I've seen advertisements for outcall massages in the newspapers also. No idea on the prices. Those would most likely be sex/massage. Link below.

[url]http://www.lahora.com.ec/frontEnd/main.php?idSeccion=705409[/url]
Note that Masajes Medellin is listed there, which is a chongo. :)


[QUOTE=Digits]Macmasher & David3069,

Thanks for the feedback re. hotels.

On the massage question then, I will assume that average or above average massage may not be readily available alongside other services. I will report back if I come across any worthy of mention.

Digits[/QUOTE]