www.CostaRicaTicas.com

They had a soft opening on January 31. I might be coming to SJ next week and thinking about booking a room there. Anybody have any reviews or info.

cheers,
Attila

There are 2 active threads currently going in this same section - look again - you missed them - lots of info, but remember, its a "soft" opening

email guy directly, guy.grand@yahoo.com if their site isn't totally up
monalisacr.com

I have always had a soft spot for soft openings. But I digress.

Any reports on how it looks, even tho its early days?

First, this hotel is huge. It has 93 rooms, very large hallways and common areas. They have a huge dining area with bar that has outdoor seating. The chef they have hired is very good. He is an Italian chef from New York. There is also a bar in the Casino and eventually they will open a second bar there as well. The casino is not operational yet. The waitresses are super hot. Guy Grand told us the waitresses were on the menu but none would go back to the habitacion with me...lol. Guy Grand is the point man to the community. He is one of us and wants to build a better monger hotel. According to his vision, it will be direct competition for the Del Rey and Hotel Little Havana. They will eventually have a part of the hotel devoted to massage (traditional and sexo) with 7 on duty chicas with their own rooms. They will also accommodate the locals by providing short term room rentals at $25 for 3 hours. Working girls will have access to the bars, casino and VIP areas.. They will have screening/vetting chica system (similar to the way Sportsmens does it), to (hopefully) keep out the thieves, drug addicts, gordas, etc.

They will have a VIP access part of the hotel (paid, private access area of the hotel that will have pool tables, dart boards, upscale furnishings, exercise rooms, etc.) VIP members will get 20% discount on rooms, restaurant and bar. Memberships now are $100 but will escalate as time goes on. Guy also told me that they plan to completely renovate the rooms as soon as the business begins to have cash flow. The rooms now are perfectly fine, but the decor is a little dated.

This hotel is gong to be a true monger hotel, run by one of us. These guys have already sunk a LOT OF MONEY into this place and they plan to invest more. I think it will take a little time to build, but eventually this is going to be a great venue.It is a work in progress right now. There is a lot of last minute touches/painting going on. . They don't have a reservation system yet. There are a lot of moving parts that have yet to be nailed down. Apparently they have made major investments in physical plant (plumbing roofing, air conditioning, etc,, just to get the facilities in operation.

Thanks, for the update, Esteban. If I didn't know any better, it sounds like the new owners have their act together. It sounds like there will be some competition for Del Rey and all the other smaller boutique hotels in Barrio Amon. It will be interesting to see how "saturated" this place gets, whether it will achieve appeal across a broad spectrum of guests, and how it will evolve over the course of time. The VIP access level seems like a great concept, that may be worth the extra $100.

I email guy, never met him, to book a room for feb.13. He replied immediately with a confirmation number. Will provide intel next week.

cheers,
Attila

I am there from the 14th-18th. I will post for sure.