www.CostaRicaTicas.com :: View topic - Hotel Nuevo Johnson - your thoughts?

www.CostaRicaTicas.com https://forum.costaricaticas.com/

Hotel Nuevo Johnson - your thoughts? https://forum.costaricaticas.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=29002	Page 1 of 4

Author:	Think Freud [ Sat Jun 06, 2009 2:27 am ]
Post subject:	Hotel Nuevo Johnson - your thoughts?
I constantly see Hotel Nuevo Johnson listed as having only a $3-$5 chica fee and that it only costs $15 (!) per night. A bit far from the HDR, SL, etc. than most would care for but shouldn't be more than 1200-1500 colones for the cab ride. My question is : has anyone on this forum ever stayed there and if so, can you tell us what it's like? Would you be embarassed to bring a chica there?

Author:	El Silencioso [ Sat Jun 06, 2009 3:49 am ]
Post subject:
https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/search.php Type "Nuevo Johnson" Click "search for all terms" Hit Submit.... Amazing..... https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewto ... vo+johnson https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewto ... vo+johnson

Author:	Californicationdude [ Sat Jun 06, 2009 7:28 am ]
Post subject:
http://www.hotelnuevojohnson.com/ you get what you pay for. its not for everyone. next time in san jose, go see for yourself.

Author:	Hank [ Sat Jun 06, 2009 8:58 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Hotel Nuevo Johnson - your thoughts?
Think Freud wrote: I constantly see Hotel Nuevo Johnson listed as having only a $3-$5 chica fee and that it only costs $15 (!) per night. A bit far from the HDR, SL, etc. than most would care for but shouldn't be more than 1200-1500 colones for the cab ride. My question is : has anyone on this forum ever stayed there and if so, can you tell us what it's like? Would you be embarassed to bring a chica there? I visited the place and looked at the rooms. Man I know I couldn't stay there. Bad area after dark. No A/C , terrible looking rooms. I would recommend the Morazon. No chica fee and at $52 It's a much better choice than Hotel Nuevo Johnson. And as far as leaving things in your room at the Hotel Johnson, I would recommend taking your money with you.

Author:	Livincr [ Sat Jun 06, 2009 9:19 am ]
Post subject:
you may want to try the Hotel Posada Inn $25 a night

Author:	HikerTom [ Sat Jun 06, 2009 12:38 pm ]
Post subject:
The Nuevo Johnson is a typical basic Tico-style hotel. If you're on a tight budget, or simply want to spend as little as possible on a hotel room, and don't mind the minimalist style, then the NJ is for you.

Author:	Prolijo [ Sat Jun 06, 2009 7:07 pm ]
Post subject:
I've stayed at the NJ several times, usually when I was catching an early bus (they're within walking distance of most of the bus stations). I've always been able to pay their old rate of $10/nt, maybe because I'm an old customer. So I can't really tell you what they'll charge you. I can tell you most of the commentary here on the NJ is by guys who have NEVER actually stayed there themselves. Like Cali said, you get what you pay for. The NJ rooms themselves are adequate but no more and hardly what I'd call cheery. They're fairly large and roomy, and reasonably clean but not spotless. I have seen a couple of bugs there, as you can just about anywhere in the tropics, but its not overrunning with them and most importantly I've never had a problem with any bedbugs (as I had once at a $25/nt place in Managua). The TV is not cable and only gets fuzzy spanish language channels. The hot water in the shower runs out fast, so either get up early or take a very fast shower. You can ask for a room on the street side, which gets extra noise, or on the inside, which doesn't get as good air circulation. You have to ask for a fan for your room (they'll give you a noisy standup floor fan). Otherwise, the rooms can get pretty stuffy and the only air circulation comes from the window. The door locks seem reasonably secure, but if you get an inside room on the 3rd (2nd? the floor right above the lobby/mezzanine floor) the rooms conceivably could be accessed through the windows from the central vent space. Personally, I've NEVER had a problem with ANYTHING being stolen from my room and Hank, who hasn't even stayed there, doesn't really know anything about NJ's security. The staff at the hotel are all Nicaraguan and are very nice. Be sure to ask one of the maids for extra towels as they're rather stingy with what they give you at check-in. The location is half a block south of the central market and not an area you want to be wandering around late at night, after the neighboring businesses close and the streets empty, but then you probably should be taking cabs whenever you go out at night in SJ anyway and cabs are easy enough to hail from the front door of the hotel. During the day, walking around the area is reasonably safe but you should watch out for pickpockets as you would in any other crowded urban area. Personally, I usually prefer lower end places (I've even stayed at an $8/nt place in San Isidro once), but I think there are better values in SJ. The Hotel Doral is not that much more than the $15/nt they charge now at the NJ, but is a world away in terms of quality. They charge $30/nt (including tax but not the $5 chica fee). Large spotless rooms, and quite pleasant with wood wall paneling in some rooms and no bugs ever spotted in any of them. Cable TV with CNN and english language movie channels and wireless internet. Sufficient hot water in the showers. The outside rooms can get a fair amount of noise from the street and nearby nightspots, as can a lot of hotels downtown (INCLUDING the Morazan). But I always ask for the outside corner room below the restaurant on the top floor (I believe that is Rm #506 but Rms #504-505 will also do) as they're furthest from the street but afford an excellent view of the mountains to the south. The rooms don't have a/c but all have reasonably quiet ceiling fans that are more than adequate to keep the room cool (actually, I don't recall but I think the inside rooms might have a/c). Most people will tell you that a/c isn't really needed in the CR highlands if you have a well ventilated room, particularly not at night which is mainly when you'd be in your room. The rooms are very secure with electronic keycard door locks. And, like at the NJ, the staff is very nice and helpful. The location is just a block and a half south of the NJ, but is a little less sketchy. It is located on the new Avenida 4 pedestrian mall (ie no buses and more regular police patrols). The rooms themselves here are as nice or nearly as nice as the much more expensive rooms at the other hotels CRTers normally stay at. The only significant difference is the more distant and somewhat sketchier location (and the chica fee, but if you're only bringing back 1 chica per day, the Doral is still much cheaper than the more popular alternatives). BTW, comparing the Morazan at $52/nt to the NJ at maybe $20/nt after chica fee and cab fares is like comparing apples and oranges. Of course, the Morazan is going to be much nicer. It costs 2.5 times as much. A fairer comparison would be against the Doral, which has similar quality rooms but is nearly $15 cheaper even after chica fees and cabfares. The Morazon USED to be a deal when they had the $35/nt special ("Soprano Discount" ). IMHO, at $52/nt, there are many other arguably better value choices. The biggest thing it has going for it is its proximity to the HDR, but that is not the only place you'll be going. The Castillo can cost the same or less, depending on which discount program you get (cash, CRT, weeklong, etc.) and it is convenient to the SL and the NF. As for its distance from the HDR, both the NJ and the Doral are a bit of a walk during the day. Personally, I don't mind the exercise and the walk is along the Pedestrian Malls so its not so horrible in terms of sights and traffic. At night, like I said before, you're probably going to be taking cabs wherever you stay (unless you're walking from the Amistad or Castillo to the SL) and the fare to the NJ or Doral is not much more than the 1km minimum base fare (about a buck, but NOT "1200-1500 colones"). As for being embarassed about bringing chicas back to either of them, have you seen where some of these girls come from? Who are you trying to impress? And why? So they can think you have lots of money to throw around? Believe me, they're much more concerned about what you're paying (and to a slightly lesser degree how long it will take to get to your place and back to the BM). Besides, if you stay at the NJ, your claims of poverty will be a lot more credible when they ask for a tip. The room quality matters much more to you with your 1st world values than it does to any chica you might project those value on. My picks would be the Doral for a few nights if you're on a budget and don't mind being a little further from ground zero but don't want to go the shoestring route of the NJ. The Morazan at $52/nt is no longer really in the budget category but is not a bad choice for those whose visit revolves almost entirely around the BM and KL (mine don't anymore). And, IMHO, the Castillo is the best choice for extended stays of a week or more. The CRT/cash/weekly discount brings it down into the range of more budget-oriented hotels, while still offering reasonable good quality in a good location. The NJ is perfectly fine for a night or 2 to save enough money for an extra MP session (particularly if all you want to do there is crash out at the end of the day), but if I had to spend a full week or more staying there, I think I'd slit my wrists in depression. But those are my own picks and opinions. Everyone else has their own comfort level and budget. ======= Livincr, WTF is the Hotel Posada Inn? Its never been mentioned on this site before and I could find no reference to it in any Google search. Of course, you couldn't pick a hotel with a more generic name (Posada is spanish for Inn), so that couldn't have helped in trying to identify exactly which hotel you're talking about. How about helping us out a little more with information we could actually use to try that hotel (like an address or a phone number), rather than leaving just a vague a cryptic remark?

Author:	RBC100 [ Sat Jun 06, 2009 7:44 pm ]
Post subject:
I have stayed at the Johnson many times and did just a little over a week ago. As mentioned it is very baisc and not for everyone but it is secure clean and has hot water. Present price is 7000 col with nominal chica fee. There are actually quite a few gringo customers there now defintiely more than when I first stayed there. As far as leaving things in you room ,I wouldn't travel there with my laptop but leave some money and a few personal items discretely hidden in my bags and nothing has ever been bothered. It actually has a great location for frequenting the local places which I prefer. I agree the Doral is a lot nicer but about twice the money these days.rbc100

Author:	Livincr [ Sun Jun 07, 2009 10:32 am ]
Post subject:
Prolijo wrote: ======= Livincr, WTF is the Hotel Posada Inn? Its never been mentioned on this site before and I could find no reference to it in any Google search. Of course, you couldn't pick a hotel with a more generic name (Posada is spanish for Inn), so that couldn't have helped in trying to identify exactly which hotel you're talking about. How about helping us out a little more with information we could actually use to try that hotel (like an address or a phone number), rather than leaving just a vague a cryptic remark? Easy big boy, just because YOU canÂ´t find it doesnÂ´t give cause to critisize ItÂ´s on Avenue 9 ...on the eastern corner of the same block as HLH phone # 2222.6700

Author:	Hank Daman [ Sun Jun 07, 2009 11:01 am ]
Post subject:
If you stay for a week, with the weekly and CRT discounts, the Hotel Castillo has rooms for the mid 30s. A solid deal from a solid place.

Author:	Prolijo [ Sun Jun 07, 2009 11:29 am ]
Post subject:
Livincr, Didn't mean to sound like I was coming down on you so hard, but what you posted originally wasn't really very useful. And I never meant to suggest that the place didn't exist or you were making it up because I couldn't find it on-line, only that, if we didn't have any way of finding it, the info you gave couldn't do us any good. Now that you've added critical additional info, it is something any of us can now check out for ourselves, which I might just do next time I'm in town. Hank, Like I said in my post above, the weekly green season cash CRT discounted rate at the Castillo for their standard rooms brings their normal rates down into the realm of the budget hotel, so it is hard to beat the combination of budget level price for midrange hotel quality. I'd say with the extra 20% discount on the WEEKLY rate, the standard room quality and rate is comparable to the Doral (when you factor in Doral's chica fee and a slightly longer cab ride), but the location for the Castillo is much much better. OTOH, for less than a week, you still get some great discounts from the Castillo, but the amount you'll pay for those shorter stays will be more than if you stayed at the Doral. Whether it is worth paying a little more for that better location or you'd rather save a few bucks by staying someplace further out is an individual decision. However, I'm betting most guys around here would rather pay a little more and stay in the Amon/Otoya area where they can be closer to their buddies and to venues like the SL, NF, HLH, etc.

Author:	Berk2302 [ Sun Jun 07, 2009 12:10 pm ]
Post subject:
The HJ isn't for those who just want to save a buck. If you want a REAL live tico experience... find out how the locals travel... the HJ and similar hotels are the place to stay. I did it my last trip... the HJ's sister hotel a couple of blocks away. It WAS an experience and I would do it again. it wasn't about the $$$... it was about the reality of what goes on in authentic tico surroundings. There was not one gringo where I stayed. You need Spanish though and it is NOT for everyone. I felt as safe there as anywhere I have stayed on many, many trips. Berk.....

Author:	Prolijo [ Sun Jun 07, 2009 12:35 pm ]
Post subject:
Good point, Berk! I agree completely. That $8/nt place I stayed in San Isidro didn't have a single gringo either and was an interesting cultural experience. I've also said much the same thing as you just said about hotels when it comes to taking the public buses. For me it is not at all just about saving money versus taking a cab or interbus.

Author:	Icantstayaway [ Mon Jun 08, 2009 3:04 am ]
Post subject:
What about hotel Asia just down the corner from the Del Rey ? They have a nightly room for 5500 colon. I have gotten the room for the night price before but I did not stay the night, just took 2 girls there. I have met several girls that have stayed there as well. The only problem for me is I am sometimes sensitive to mold and I did see some black areas on the ceiling that looked like mold spots. So just for a bang, it did not bother me but I can't say how it would of been if I had slept there. Freebird still has the low season special for VIP members, I think it's about 30 dollars a night. I'd do that or stay at the Morazan for 40 dollars if I could budget it. My numbers may be a little off as I have been using the Motel Eden or Asia lately. Motel Eden 15k colon, drive in motel and very nice or Asia 4000 colon for 2 hours.

Author:	Hank [ Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:36 am ]
Post subject:
Pro Guess I made a rush to judgement on NJ security. Do they have safes in the rooms?

Page 1 of 4	All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group https://www.phpbb.com/