I've made my corrections in parenthesis. Sorry if this was in part inaccurate.
At U.S.$72.00/night plus tax, the aging Hotel Europa is no bargain.
ADVANTAGES:(Paco Loco informs me below that the rate is $50.00 for a standard room, so maybe I was quoted the rate for a junior suite).
* Classic old school hotel. I would guess it was once considered elegant.
* No or low chica fees, although a bribe er, propina might be required
(No bribe/;propina/chica fee. As many as you want, as long as you want, as long as they don't trash the place or cause a disturbance for other guests...no fee).
* No upcharge for multiple chicas
* Central location
* Large rooms, well maintained despite the hotel's age.
* Short-time rooms available for 20K colones...expensive compared to the Morazan.
(Short time rooms are $25.00 for 2 hours, or CRC12,500colones, not $40.00 as stated in the original post).
DISADVANTAGES:
* Rack rates too high for quality/location of hotel.
* Bad neighborhood. While the hotel is centrally located (Av. 3 and c. Central), I wouldn't want to stroll the neighborhood alone, even in the daytime.
(Bilko says below that I'm wrong on this. Other CRT'ers have stated that this neighborhood blows).
* Name confusion. Unless you specify the old Europa downtown, the taxista will take you to the Radisson Europa near the airport.
(But ony if both you and the taxista are idiots).
As a last resort, if you need a room for a couple hours or a couple nights, this is an okay hotel, particularly if you need a place to stay while the Presidente or Sportsmen's clears a room for you. Not a first choice, IMHO.
(The above statement was me talking out of my ass. As I've never stayed there, I was only going on reports of other CRT guys and local friends who use the hotel for the occasional love-o-rama).
CRT'er Shamas seems to like it...maybe he'll comment.
Thanks, Paco and el Bilko!
