www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Well, brothers in poon, I'm back from yet another fine and dandy trip to CR... Good to see some old buddies and meet some new ones!

So here's the situation... on Saturday night, my lady-friend and I get to her house 9pm to find that the whole place reeks of sewage... seems the plumbing in the bathroom was having some issues, and the stench was enough for me to say, "we gotta stay somewhere else tonight." It's almost 10pm and all the usual suspects in terms of respectable hotels are full, so I give the Castillo a call. The guy says he has one room available and so I take it.

First off, I tell him I'm CRT, but I don't have the CRT card. He tells me not to worry, that the room uausally runs for $89 a night, but since I am CRT, he will only charge me $70. The catch was that he wants cash UP FRONT and that I will have the last room in the outdoor courtyard, #18. I go in and, well, it's a dive. The room reeks of cheap cleaning products, the sheets feel... funny, and as soon as I turn on the bathroom light to take a piss, this roach comes out and scatters away from me, which I manage to mercilessly squash under my shoe. My lady-friend is NOT impressed, but beggars can't be choosers, so we make the best of the situation, order jagerbombs from the bar and wind up watching spanish movies and television for a while and call it a night.

Fast forward to today when I get home. I call an old CRT buddy of mine and I tell him about the night at Castillo, since he had recommended the place to me in the past. The most important part of this story is that he winds up telling me, "Bro, you got ripped off. Those rooms in the back courtyard run for about $50 AT MOST, and with CRT, I usually only pay about $38 a night." So my mind starts wondering... Why did he want cash up front?? My Spidey-Sense should have picked up on that, but I guess I'm rusty from not having been staying at hotels in CR for quite some time now.

So just to parlay the facts. The dude at the reception desk was this indian-looking guy with long hair. Seems he made out like a bandit with about half of my $70 cash, since the room really costed much less. For the record, the room was bad. It's never a good impression on me when the first thing I see in the bathroom are roaches scurrying at the first sign of light. The cable sucks, the sheets are comparable to the Del Rey, the bathroom has creepy-crawleys... And to top it off, a long-standing customer of that very same hotel tells me I got ripped off.

Two BIG THUMBS DOWN for the Castillo.

Comes to show, nothing compares to the Sportsman's in the gulch.

Ruffnutz

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EVERYONE'S A ROCK STAR IN C.R.!!
"Just when I thought I was out... They pull me back in." -- Ruffnutz on trying to quit CRT

Ruff, I am not doubting the veracity of your post, but this sounds like a complete twilight zone version of the Castillo I know. I love the place, and the Nica desk clerk you spoke of is a nice guy.

I cannot figure why your experience was so different from my experiences there.

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Providing humanitarian assistance to self employed chicas, one cash grant at a time.

I hope you got a receipt. If you did the fine management will make it right for sure. I am sure they wouldn't want to PO all the CRT members.
Paying cash upfront is OK if there is a receipt. Remember it is Costa Rica.

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Play Safe

Ruff,
Sorry you had a bad experience that night. Just wanted to chime in here, and say that it was good to see you and your lady-friend again, and thanks for the jaegar-bomb! Looking forward to seeing you on the "other side" again. Next jaegar-bomb's on me.

All the best,
MG

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

As for the rate of $70 for the one night you were charged, it doesn't seem out of line for a one night stay. Indeed, I remember being in the lobby of the Castillo this past January when a pair of eco-tourists entered the hotel and asked about a room for the night.....they were quoted $85. It is also customary to ask to be paid in cash, up front. As for the $38 rate your friend had told you was the normal rate.....I can tell you this, last January I was in the room beside you [17] for a period of one month, and the rate was considerably more than $38 per night. I'm certain there are rooms in the older, front part which are available in the $38 per night range. As for the "Indian-looking guy,".....his name is Danny, a long time employee there, a Nica and a perfect gentleman....always very friendly and helpful. As for the roach you saw, yes, I too had killed ONE of these roaches in my room over my January stay of 30 days. Keep in mind, these roaches are quite common in San Jose; indeed, you can even see them on the sidewalk while walking down the street. The room you were in [18] as you had mentioned, is in the "outdoor courtyard," where it is quite easy for an occasional roach to cross from the garden area and under your door. As for the poor quality sheets, the cable TV and odor of cheap cleaning products......I've never noticed or had a problem with any of these.

All things considered, in my estimation, the Castillo remains a good value for the money.

Zebra

Looks like Danny saw an opportunity to good to pass up and made him a few extra bucks.

I really doubt that.

It just goes to show that even nice ticos will take advantage when the opportunity presents itself.

Something is definitely not right. I would call Darren and refer him to this report.

As Zebra clearly pointed out, the larger rooms in the front part of the building are the less expensive ones that will go for $38 when paying cash. If a credit card is used then the management will have to charge various taxes and the cost for any room will increase accordingly.

I have stayed in both the front and back row rooms and I find the rooms in the front area much better because, although there's no A/C, they are roomier and nicer with larger bathrooms and shower stalls. I prefer rooms #10 and #7.

I am charged $38 cash for the rooms in the front and I remember paying about $54 for a room in the back row some nights ago. I have never been asked to pay more than that for any room.

So why was my fellow CRT Ruffnutz quoted a higher cost? Hell, the day/night was halfway gone by then... they should've charged him half price!

However, I still like it there because Darren and his staff has always taken good care of me.

Ruffy, I suggest that you bring this incident to the attention of the management (Darren) and I'm sure he will either explain if there is something different about those rooms, or was there a misundertanding. Either way, Darren will make it right by you I'm sure.

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Respectfully,

Muff

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Refer the matter to Darren and let him address it. Hopefully, you saved the reciept which should support the fact that there was some foul play afoot.

The beauty of a network such as CRT is that the tables are turned in our (the customer's) favor and the message that is sent out is "Business owner beware". I made it a point to not outright bash the establishment, but instead just give the facts of the night. I probably would not have thought anything of the price until, again, another loyal customer of the Castillo told me that I got ripped off. It's not something I even thought about until being informed of what I SHOULD have been charged.

In terms of the quality of the room, this is something I would have posted negatively about ANYWAYS, as the quality did NOT reflect a room that ran for $89 a night. Hell, I could have gotten a room in the new wing of the Sportsmans at this amount and the quality is, on all levels, far superior to what I got at the Castillo.

For better or worse, this was my experience at the Castillo and I wanted all of you to be aware of it and let it weigh on your minds whenever you decide to go visit CR again and have a choice on where to stay. Personally, I will NEVER stay there again and will NEVER recommend it to anyone, REGARDLESS of whether or not I really did get ripped off by the receptionist or not. The room was just, frankly, piss-poor, of the calibur of a $29-a-night or charge-by-the-hour "no-tell-motel" you find in seedier parts of any American city or interstate. It DEFINITELY was not worth $38, $70 and no less $89 a night.

Sorry to the guys who feel a sense of loyalty to the place, and this apology goes for newbies and vets alike, but I am simply conveying what I experienced myself. Everyone who's been on the board for more than just a month or two knows I give strong praises where deserved, but will also not hesitate to point out flaws in establishments as well. I strongly suggest we ALL do that, as it is our one sure-fire way of getting positive changes for the future within the establishments that value our money and a clear conveyance of the message that if service, quality or treatment sucks, your business will feel the repercussions. This is the strongest tool we have within such a forum as this!! USE IT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE!

Soapbox complete.

By the way, no receipt was given to me, simply a room key attached to a big wooden square with the room number etched on it and a key for the safe.

"Bob" Ruffnutz

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EVERYONE'S A ROCK STAR IN C.R.!!
"Just when I thought I was out... They pull me back in." -- Ruffnutz on trying to quit CRT

I want to hear what the response from Castillo is. Quite honestly, one of the facts is that you called the night of. I'm not saying they should charge you more but how much would any other hotel charge? I know the Sportsmens doesn't give any extra discounts, especially day of show. How much would Presidente charge to check in last minute even with CRT card? I don't know, I'm just asking.

I've seen Darren bend over backwards to accommodate customers and I've been looked at with surprise at Sportsmens that I didn't want to pay upgrade to a higher priced room because there was a mistake in booking.

Ruffnutz, you're a big SL fan and that is a fact. You are also good friend of the person that owns SL. We have all heard of incident(s) that were quite surprising happen at Sportsmens Lodge too. To act like what happened at Castillo is proof that the only place anyone should stay is SL rings hollow just as if someone has a bad experience at SL or Presidente nobody should stay there again.

Is the Sportsmens Lodge a nicer facility than Castillo? No doubt. Is the room you describe worth $70 a night over $89 plus tax at SL(if available) Nope, I would probably take the SL in that case. Do I normally have the option to choose a $40 room at Castillo that's clean and decent? Yes, if I call with some notice. Have I ever witnessed any of the circumstances you describe at Castillo(bugs, smell)? I don't believe so. Have we ever heard a story about Castillo like this before? I have not. Sounds somewhat like that room should not have been rented, or that you were not in the mood to tolerate any mishaps from Castillo by your saying you called all the usual suspects of "respectable hotels" then got around to Castillo. Since SL routinely refers people to Castillo when they are overbooked I would think they also consider Castillo respectable.

I'm looking forward to hearing what Castillo's reasoning was and if the employee was following some kind of policy, misguided though it might have been especially since you suggested he kept the difference- that's pretty serious if he did. I realize you're upset and feel cheated(I would too) but I think management will be able to do the math and that will take care of itself. It would seem like regardless of why this happened free accommodations on your next visit aren't going to be the answer. Tell them you want the suite at SL and throw party.

Ticafan, you are correct in the fact that I am a SL fan, but that's where your validity ends. One of the reasons I went on my "soapbox" on my previous post is to encourage people to speak of their experiences at ALL establishments.

I, too, have heard of alleged incidents that have happened even at the SL, but don't blame me for them not having been posted on the board... certain people are either too chickenshit, or just don't care enough to post about alleged bad incidents that have happened, and that is, frankly, none of my business since it didn't happen to me. If you choose to read any of my old posts, you'll see that I HAVE put complaints about what I experienced at the SL, and guess what... Bill and his staff almost always took the criticism and made adjustments wherever they thought my comments were valid (one of the reasons I think the establishment is superior to others in the gulch). Again, this wouldn't happen unless people voiced their opinion. For my part, my one-and-only experience at the Castillo sucked a fat dick, and I'm simply conveying my experience to the board and am stating the obvious, which is that I will never stay there again, nor will I ever recommend it to anyone else... that's just too bad if you don't like that. The sad truth is that the only people to blame are ownership/management/staff, and so it is what it is.

I'm not sure what you're really getting at with some of your commentary, but I don't particularly like what I think you're insinuating. If you have any reason to doubt my integrity or my word, then just say so and let the board judge. I know where I stand with everyone here, and know that those who know who I am will trust that my word is 100% accurate.

By the way, when I said respectable hotels, I never considered anything within the gulch (i.e., DR, ZB, SL, etc).... Castillo was actuallly the first place I called when all other "respectable" hotels were exausted... by respectable, I mean where my fiancee wouldn't mind being seen coming out of a room and something within reasonable proximity to her house that were OUTSIDE THE GULCH(she made the calls, so sorry, I wouldn't know what places she considered before I took over the phone... Not that any of that comes into play in any way, shape or form, but there you go. Your convenient spin to favor your argument on trying to assume I would compare SL as "respectable" vs. Castillo being NOT respectable is invalid, so that part of your post is out the window.. SL was never even considered or called. )

Anywho, bygones. As usually occurs in this board these days, the horse winds up getting beaten well beyond its respectable death, and in the process the purpose and true messege within the post gets lost in the chaos. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one, and we all tend to want to show our loyalty one way or another when topics like this come up. I DO welcome management to call me directly or respond on this board... the facts will not change... that part I can assure you on. I still hope that this plays into everyone's decision-making criteria when choosing where to stay the next time you're in paradise. Make it a point to demonstrate that we as a group want, no, DEMAND that we get the service and honesty we deserve.

For the record on one thing again, I DID NOT SINGLEHANDEDLY come up with the concept that I was overcharged by the Castillo. Again, the very idea that I may or may not have been swindled NEVER EVEN CROSSED MY MIND until it was brought to my attention by a frequent guest there that also happens to be a VIP member of CRT and a close friend. My substantiated issue is the quality of the room, PARTICULARLY at the price I was charged. The conspiracy issue is whether or not I was overcharged or not... I admit to not knowing that for a fact and truly welcome management or another member to tell me I was charged correctly. Funny that no one has said anything to that nature yet...

Ruffnutz

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EVERYONE'S A ROCK STAR IN C.R.!!
"Just when I thought I was out... They pull me back in." -- Ruffnutz on trying to quit CRT

Ruff - according to "word on the street",:wink: you can console yourself with the fact that at least part of the overcharge is going to the benefit of the newly formed alliance of the "Abandoned Kittens of San Jose".

Yes, the working girls of San Jose have now joined forces with the owners of various hotels, bars and casinos in an anti-Mman campaign to compensate in part for their lost income. In addition to the double charge for one-night hotel bookings, other measures now in effect include:

1) "Every other day" maid service during extended stays in popular monger hotels (sound business reasoning actually, as Mmen have far less need to have their sheets changed regularly)

2) Half-value chips at Casino Paradiso (50,000 col. buy-in now gets you 25,000 in chips) - they know you'd rather cash out early and go snuggle up in bed with your novia anyways...

3) Double-price jagerbombs at Zona Blue and Kamur (surprisingly, no one's noticed yet at ZB, & actually it's quadruple price for YOU at Kamur ).

So until you take pity on the plight of these poor, attention-starved kittens and show them some love, expect this shabby treatment to continue unabated...

GR

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