www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Guys,

I was recently surprised to read a post from Torker where he opted to stay at the $20.00/night Hotel Doral when other hotels in the Gulch were booked solid. Considering the fact that the Doral is 12 blocks from the HDR, I'm curious why he (and others) never seem to opt for the closer Hotel Gran Via? And what about the Europa?

Hotel Gran Via: $35.00/night. Chica friendly with no fee. Supermarket next door. In-room safes (with key on humongous key fob). Many rooms with balconies. Breakfast. Fridge in room available upon request. And it's only a couple blocks west of the Hotel Presidente.

I'm just curious as to why this hotel gets mentioned so seldom? Is it a rat hole? I know that I.D. stayed there on numerous occasions before moving to San Jose and I'm sure he will be better able to describe the hotel and its advantages. It's just odd that this hotel never seems to be discussed around here, even for big weekends like Memorial Day when the HDR/SL/Prez/Castillo are all booked up.

Another hotel that is rarely mentioned on this forum is the downtown Europa. Shamas has posted some nice things about it, but I see very few posts regarding this older hotel.

If anyone has opinions about either property, good or bad please reply.

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

El;
Unfortunatly, the Hotel Gran Via is closed. That's probably a good reason why he chose the Doral.
LVSteve

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Just an old horney, fat gambler.

Steve,

When did this happen? Any ideas why? Is the property for sale (opportunity knocking?) Thanks.

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

I was in town and trying to find a room for the night. HDR, Morazon, Pres, and sportsmen were booked. Guy at the desk of Morazon called Europa for me and they had a room. Went there with my Honduran girl. and then went back to HDR. Came back with two girls and the old guy at the desk started telling me I was an adult and responsible for my own actions.

He was telling me to watch these two girls. And he was right. BJ was that. blow on it. Made the secound girl who I was not paying stay in the head. It was a close one. Gave them 60.00 after the milk from the breast and my baby crap. I went back to KL and that is another storey. But I returned the key at 4am and thanked and tipped the guy.

It has a bar that was open at two and lots of Foreigners there. The staff was nice. I do not remember a safe. I do not think there is a CRT discount and I beleive there is a 10.00 Tica fee. As of January 06

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Take a walk on the wild side.

El C. Check out these links for more info.


https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/vi ... light=gran

https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/vi ... light=gran

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Irish Drifter,

I don't know how I managed to miss those two threads! Thanks for pointing us to them.

I have not stayed at the Gran Via, but I like the idea of rooms with balconies, breakfast and the hotel's proximity to the supermercado and the rest of the Gulch. The room rates I've seen looked wonderful especially for cash-in-advance, extended stays (one week plus).

I am sorry to see this little hotel closed.

The San Agostin is in the same general neighborhood as the Hotel Doral and Hotel Nuevo Johnson; either hotel would be a good budget place to stay, from what Californicationdude and RBC100 have written,. The Doral offers the same amenities and quality of rooms as the San Agostin, but at $13.00 less per night. Yes, the neighborhood is dodgy and no, I wouldn't stay in either hotel on my own, simply because I question the sanity of walking alone in that neighborhood. I waited in front of the Doral at 2:30 a.m. for a taxi with RBC100; I might not have wanted to wait for a cab by myself there. Just a wuss, I guess...

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

El Ciego wrote:



Better let those few fool hardy adventures who walk around San Jose at night call you a wuss than become another crime statistic. With muggings now occurring in the heart of the gulch at 8:30 PM, when regular citizens are still on the street, it certainly would seem that the prudent course would be to be overly cautious and err on the side of safety.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I posted a detailed report on Hotel Europa about a year ago.

There used to be a CRT brother (Don Carlos) who ran the bar and was setting up the new casiono at Europa. In March of 2005, he arranged a 2-week stay for me a room at $40 per night (tax included). That was an excellent deal for the cost. Nowadays, if you book directly with the hotel, it is $60 plus tax which I think is too much for that place.

Sometimes, when Hotel Morazan is overbooked, they will arrange for you to go to Europa for the same price as the Morazan which is owned by the same group of businessmen. I would prefer Europa over Morazan at the same price. It’s further away from the DR, but I think Europa, while old, is still a class above Morazan.

See my review if you are interested in the details.

http://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5841&highlight=

Everthing is booked for next week!!

What are some good recomendations and alternatives for staying close to the gulch?

I like the balcony thing too.

TP,

Here is a brief list of Gulch area hotels, in no particular order. I have done a fairly comprehensive search on this, but keep in mind I only have personal experience with the Don Carlos, SL and Presidente:

Hotel Balmoral = High Chica fee, convenient location

Hotel Europa downtown = Status of discount unknown; rack rate is $60.00 plus taxes. Large rooms. This was once the crown jewel in San Jose's hotel crown. 3 blocks from Av. Central, seven blocks from HDR. See Don Giovanni's link to his excellent review, above.

Hotel Castillo

Sportsmen's Lodge

Hotel Presidente

Hotel del Rey

Don Carlos Hotel - Not chica friendly, but if you're going to limit your fun to strip clubs and MP's, this one can be a good location. Right across the street from NF and 3 blocks from ZB. Very close to Castillo, SL, Hemingway Inn.

Hemingway Inn - More of a hostel than a hotel. Hotel is reportedly "chica tolerant," but is certainly not "friendly" to the hobby.

Clarion Amon Plaza - New $25.00 chica fee may make this a poor choice, but the hotel is reported to be very nice. Good breakfast. Contact Nixon Netto in the casino for a discounted room rate...if you can ever find him.

Best Western downtown.

Costa Rica Hotel Morazan (do not confuse this with the Casa Morazan, a B. & B. that is decidedly chica un-friendly.

On the cheap:

Hotel Nuevo Johnson = $10.00/night + taxes. Clean, no frills, fairly secure despite bad neighborhood

Hotel Doral. $20.00/night plus taxes. Breakfast included. A step up and a block away from the Nuevo Johnson. RBC100 stayed here and liked it. Again, no frills and a bad neighborhood.

Hotel San Agostino - Owned by the same group who owns (owned?) Hotel Gran Via. $38.00/night, facilities reported poorer than the (now closed) Gran Via. Same general neighborhood as Nuevo Johnson and Doral.

Hotel Asia - Don't laugh. The $14.00/night rooms on the higher floors can be a good value. Close to HDR.

Chicas are reported to room at the N. Johnson and Asia while visiting San Jose to work.

Other hotels about which I have no information, but which have been reported to be chica friendly:

Holiday Inn Arroyo, near El Pueblo
Dunn Inn
Royal Dutch
Gran Hotel Centroamericano

If you're going to stay a week or longer, consider an aparthotel such as the Sudamer or Rincon de San Jose. Also, you could check with Casa V here on CRT about Casa Vino.

Hope this helps. Did I forget any chica-friendly properties? Oh yeah... Circus' Cardboard Casitas (TM).

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

Would have considered Europa but didn't know about special deal w/guy in casino. All the same. Looking forward to trying something different. I'll report back on Doral after.

I would say Doral is one of the better hotels in the $25 to $30 price range and neighborhood is not that good but not that bad either.Just Taxi after 7 or 8 PM though I would walk out a little later but know the area fairly well.rbc100

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In Search of Fine Kittens,
Please... Bring back the Muff

Hey Torker

I didn’t intend to mislead you or anyone else, but as far as I know, there has not been a CRT discount at Europa since Don Carlos left --- which was sometime before last October. It’s an okay place, but the $60 rate is a little high for what you get.

Damn that was a spot I was thinking about. Can anyone elaborate on how "unfriendly" to the hobby they might be, or how this would manifest itself. A disdaining look or two I can deal with, but I wouldn't want to be kicked out or anything . I read another post or two that describes the place as a family atmosphere, but if you bring a chica after about 9:00PM they sort of don't care.

Personally, I generally take one chica back to my room per day (after trips to MPs, etc), but I also like a little partying till late hours, but nothing loud and obnoxious or anything.

Thoughts?

Cold Beer;
Stayed there about 5 years ago - just a disdaining look. Thats all.
LVSteve

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Just an old horney, fat gambler.