www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Two notes for clarification:

1. I never said "give the map to the taxi driver" to read. I said the map was for finding the SL (or anyplace else in the gulch). You use it to give them directions to where you want to go. That's why you print the map and study the locations, like cross streets, BEFORE you get to San Jose.

2. The SL business cards can be found on the counter at the check-in desk.

Wit

Do I understand correctly you got an upgraded room in a good place for less than 50 cents per hour and you are still bitching? Hope you can get a better deal some where else.

I believe the thrust of his post and the reason for his dissatisfaction is that he feels he was the victim of a "bait and switch". Whether he was or it was a case of miscommunication is not clear in my mind. I think a PM to Bill would have solved the problem to everyones satisfaction.

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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 will just mention this about the SL. Nothing is perfect & Gringos are pretty picky & remember you are in CR. I have known Bill for a few years & he does not promote any kind of scams at all that I have ever seen. I have used his place on occasion but usually use other Hotels for what I do it works out better. I tend to hit the scene fast & hard (blitzkrieg style) when I am in the gulch area & dealing with taxis is a hassle & not worth the time & trouble even though the directions are on the back of one of their business cards. There are many one way streets to deal with driving to the SL from HDR or KL. In the daytime it is easier to just walk since it is pretty direct & doesn't take as long too me. I walk fast in CR .

I have dealt with many, many hotels & businesses thru the years in CR. Bill & the SL I feel more comfortable about them being honest that any single place I have dealt with. Sure I do like Bill but we don't hang out together but have had some beers together. I am not saying this as an advertisement for him but just what I have observed.

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"Run silent, run deep"
Spunk glazed Chicas are the building blocks of the universe!

What disturbs me about Toledo's post is the upcharging story.

1. $84.00 is a hell of a difference. If Toledo was forced to take another room because of matters out of his control, SL should have honored the quoted price Period. No arguments.

2. If you put the room charge on a credit card, I would first notify Bill for a resolution, and then I would dispute the charges with your C.C. issuing bank/card services center. You were in effect "baited and switched." Unacceptable.

3. If Bill was "unavailable at home and not to be disturbed," I would perhaps have refused to pay the hotel charges and left Bill a handwritten note explaining why. This might not be a good idea, but it's something I'm throwing out for discussion.


The Taxi:

Copy this: If any taxista can't figure this out, he's a moron.

"200 metros al oeste de la rampa Hospital calderon, y 25 metros al sur, mano derecha, casa amarilla. Fue' el Hotel Iloki." As mentioned, pointing the cab in the direction of any of the following landmarks will get you close: INS, Cafe Mundo, Hemingway Inn, Hotel Castillo, Zoo Bolivar.

Hazel, I'm surprised that you had success giving street coordinates to the taxista. No cabbie with whom I've ridden in S. Jose has known streets by number or name; they all use landmarks and distance in meters.

This in itself is funny, because cabbies are required to take a street geography test to get their licenses. Go figure.

Edited to correct bad directions. Thanks, Juice!

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

Things are not the same in Costa Rica as we're use to. They think just a little "different" from us.

As when renting a car or reserving a hotel room and even on occasion flying, when the item you reserved is unavailable the best course of action is to provide the next higher item (within reason) at the reserved price.

Let me share a story. It might shed some light on why the room was not given at the lower, reserved price.

For the Super Bowl party a stage was installed around the fountain in the middle of the SL lobby. About 30 minutes before the pre-game show was to begin the fountain began slowly overflowing onto the stage.

An SL staff member decided to eleviate the problem. Fortunately another SL staff member unplugged the fountain about this time. The first staff member decided the water level in the fountain needed to be lowered to prevent overflow from the upcoming dancers.

Did this person get something to scoop the water out of the fountain and into a bucket? No, the staffer chose to scoop the water onto the stage by hand then mop it up from the stage with a towel.

Like I said, sometimes they just see things differently than we do but it's all good.

PURA VIDA!

That certainly should work. As long as we're still beating this dead horse I might as well get my lick in. A lesson I learned when giving taxistas directions was tell them the barrio. In SL's case, if you tell them Barrio Otoya that will get you pretty darned close. In my case at Castillo, I found out pretty quickly Barrio Amon got me right there.

EC,
I think you need to change the batteries in your compass. Just kidding. It is west of the hospital, not east. For the sake of being accurate, I would respectfully like to correct your directions since I have their business card right in front of me:

"200 metros oeste de la rampa del Hospital Calderon Guardia y 25 sur"

In theory this sounds fool proof but let me tell you when I left the hospital the taxi driver did not know where the SL was. He had to ask for directions from another driver who vaguely pointed him in the right direction. I could tell he was hoping to stumble onto it. Finally I said Simon Bolivar zoo, then he found it and simply had him drive around front at that point. To his credit he stayed till I got back in the hotel, the doorman was off asleep somewhere. I had to jump over the fence

Dude,
While this may seem like the logical thing to do if the doorman is sleeping, I'd recommend against it. The doorman/security guard has a 9mm Smith & Wesson strapped to his waist . He is there to protect the property and seeing a guy jumping the fence while waking up from a nap, he may overreact and SHOOT YOUR GRINGO ASS!!!!

duplicate post, sorry, a problem with my connection

triplicate post, sorry

El Ciego wrote


I'll admit I had trouble once or twice but once I point in the general direction and count the calle's and Avenida's with them they get it sooner or later. That's also why I get a flat rate (when I remember) so that if they screw up I don't pay what the meter says.

To be honest I take the walk a lot as well. I know I shouldn't when it gets late but just out of fustration of trying to get a fare price I walk it until around 9PM.

You can also tell them to turn north at the INS building and then curve around to the right. The seem to want to go several blocks east but north from INS is closer. There is a one way street there that confuses them if they do not approach from the west.
T

Guys-por favor. Don't sweat the small stuff. You saw, you conquered, you came. You got home alive.
Por favor!

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Why Chicas Come to CostaRica:

"Predators gather where prey abounds"