www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I walked in last night through 2 sets of sound-proofed double doors to obnoxiously loud music that was more a strip club than a bar. But instead of strippers, it's 90% young ticos.

Sat night primetime and hardly any girls. And hardly any gringos.

Bill must be rolling over in his grave. I give it 12 months before it's closed or sold.

No gringos maybe because of the shitty exchange rate. And expensive flights. But the noise level is bad.

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" Omit no happy hour that may give furtherance to our expedition."

I don't think your experience is the norm. I went there numerous times in February and I saw the usual crowd. But I never go late in the evening or when they have events. (the music has always been way too loud when they have events in my opinion)

Agree. Same true for me.

Bill had enough foresight to realize that times were changing and had Manfred to help guide to a more sustainable business model, in my opinion. There are some trends... Costa Rica is not the gringo paradise it once was - much more expensive in US dollar terms, and the country and city much less enthused with the mongering environment, and with mongers, and especially the reputation as a place for mongering. So if a place like the Sportsmens in going to survive the old model will not work. Hence attract more local business. So the bar business and featuring sports that are of interest to locals is a logical step. And the local guys like it - they can mess with the girls, drink and watch soccer, and have a good time. Girls don't really like the money they might offer, more often 40 mil or so, but some are friends, family, or whatever. And the bar makes some money.

The hotel business itself is not very lucrative, more money is in the bar business maybe, but to run the hotel you need to turn over a lot of money, large staff, etc. so they try to maximize revenue from special events and associated booze. The place holds a fair number of people, and when it is busy the booze flows, so perhaps it may survive. But staying as a de-facto gringo only place was not an option - it would be gone by now if they had tried that.

One thing we do have working in our favor is that Sportsmens and many of the other "gringo" hotels quote rates in dollars, which provides a buffer against the exchange rate.

Although there have been some increases in price in dollars as well. But in the short term you are right, at least the room rates are not moving daily or weekly for those with dollars.

Quoting in dollars isn't helping you, because the hotel is doing an informal exchange into CRC, then charging your card in CRC. This is especially bad in the Castillo, where you can't pay in USD and can only pay in CRC after the exchange has been calculated.

As for the Ticos in the SL, as Zeos points out, this was something that Bill started a few years ago.

And the price I was quoted at La Amistad for a sandwich was before the 23% taxes and if you pay with a credit card, the conversion rate is more. I bought a $10 sandwich that ended up costing me about $13. I guess it is clever marketing. Like their buy 2 beers get 1 free special. You are paying a premium for the first 2 Fortunately SL does not do this. When I was quoted a price, that exact amount was charged to my card including taxes.

I was at the Taormina back in January and my chica would leave at 5am. She would park her car in the basement and I would walk her down. Then I stopped at the first floor to check out the bar. It was packed with local men and some chicas. they were drinking and partying at this time of the morning and I didn't like the vibe of these people so I went back to my room.

I agree with your opinion and points well made. Better to have the locals keep the business alive so it's there when the Gringos arrive than to have it go the way of other places that didn't keep up with the times. For me personally, I'm not a late night partier, so if the SL can make money off the late night local crowd and keep their doors open, more power to them. I'll continue to enjoy it at what are more reasonable times of day for me. Live and let live. Pura vida.

Agreed also and I like and respect the local interaction. During my March trip met a very nice Tico at the bar on the weekend during lunch who I could chill and talk to. Most Ticos/Ticas some of the best nice genuine people make it worth it to keep going back.

Regarding the noise I not stay in courtyard area ever due to privacy and they cut the music off by midnight plus start turning the volume down after 11PM.

During the day very tranquilo. I wanted to test out their DJ controller and they not allow it LOL.

Either it's just another loud music club for locals - or a hotel. Can't be both (bc hotels are also where ppl SLEEP!)

Stayed there at SL a few months ago was the worst experience - the loud music affects EVERY room, regardless of whether you try to hide in a room in the back. It is THAT loud.

SL may be ok to walk through to see if any non-fat chicas are there, but do NOT pretend the SL is actually a "hotel" unless you're a zombie who doesn't need sleep.

I was in the SL bar last Friday, and it was like it was two different bars. The front part of the bar was full of Ticos, with strippers and a DJ. The back part had about 10 gringos and about 15 chicas. Personally, I think that's the sustainable model going forward. 10 gringos spread throughout the entire bar and the bar feels dead. All back in the back bar, and it feels hopping. Yeah, the music was kind of loud but it's no louder than the Cocal or the Taormina

Quoting in dollars does help, as you're protected from currency exchange fluctuations. While Castillo does take a vigorish by converting dollars to colones, it's reasonable, and it isn't affected by any change in the exchange rate. If you book a room for $129 per night and the exchange rate is 550:1, you're protected, even if the exchange rate falls to 400:1 after you book. If that price were quoted in colones, you'd eat a 35 percent price increase.

The way Castillo does it now, I pay about 3 - 5 percent extra when I charge to a credit card. That includes Castillo's exchange vig plus my CC bank's exchange vig (which is pretty small). But I never have to worry about the exchange rate itself. This works well for me because I can book a trip a year in advance without having to worry about a nasty surprise when I check out.

Quoting in dollars and paying in dollars have different effects. Paying in dollars is great if you're paying cash, but if you're paying by credit card, you're usually better off getting charged in the local currency rather than dollars. Thus, for a credit card, getting quoted in dollars but charged in colones is the best of both worlds.