www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Hey, I know when I was planning my trip I thought about which hotel I should stay at numerous times and this board really did help make my decision. Here are some thoughts I had on the hotel situations in San Jose & Jaco.

First day I stayed at Sportsmen Lodge. To be honest, definately not my scene. I was put in near the bar and could barely sleep cause I could hear people coming in and out all night. However, if you get something away from the bar I am sure it is a good bet. It seemed the clientele at the Sportsmen was definately older like 35 - 65. From what I saw the service was good. If you want to get a taxi at night your best bet is to have the door guy call you one. The neighborhood it was in did not look single-friendly at night as I saw trannies walking up the street etc. I had to stay the first night by myself in San Jose waiting for my boys to roll in so I just took a cab everywhere. It has a bar but closes pretty early like around 9 or 10.

The next couple days I stayed at Clarion Hotel Amon and it was definately a refreshing change. This type of hotel catered to my taste. I booked 3 rooms for me and my boys through Nixon and everything was ready when I arrived. It was an easy check in process and the front desk was very helpful. It is a real nice American feel type of hotel with a casino and cafe. You can sit outside in the cafe and just chill during the day if you want. The neighborhood did not feel unsafe to me but again I would not go walking around past 9. Zona Blue is like a 2 minute walk from there. There is no guest fee and I did not feel any cold glances by people working there nor did my friends. On top of that they got some hot receptionists and a hostess. I got the number of the hostess and was going to take her out but just did not have any time. All in all, I think Clarion is one of the best bets to stay at. It is convienent, looks legit and all the cabbies know where it is. Also, the maids are really nice and hook you up with anything you need.

Hotel Del Rey - We stayed here the last night of our vacation. Being in the center of it all could be a great thing for some but for others it is just too much and very easy to burn out. I am 25 and I got burnt out from this trip ...drinking, sex, lack of food etc gets to you. If you want to stay at the Del Rey just have your party mind set on and you will be good to go. Don't expect to be able to sleep and relax while there is a 24/7 party going on downstairs. The rooms were clean, and they looked like an average 2 to 3 star hotel. Nothing spectacular but then again nothing gross. If you really want to do it up with the chicas at KL or DR then DR is sure your best bet. Girls tend to agree to cheaper prices when they know you are right upstairs. $10 guest fee as mentioned a million times before.

JACO BEACH

In Jaco we stayed at Monte Carlo Condos and had a teriffic time. If you are going with 2 or 3 of your boys then definately stay here. It is near pretty much everything and the street it is on looks a little bit shady but we never had a problem. There were security guards near the shopping center that was a little up the street as well as Monte Carlo security guards. We walked the street at all hours at night and only took taxis when we were with girls and had no problems what so ever. The Beatle Bar is close and the girls love Monte Carlo. We swam at night with the girls naked and no one said one word. The people are friendly and the accomdations are like your own apartment (if you are ballinnn). Brand new GE everything i.e. Refrigirators, TV's, washing machines etc etc. The pool was amazing as well.

There is construction pretty much going on everywhere in Jaco so don't expect to find a spot that is chica friendly and with no construction noise. Pretty much every hotel we were near had some sort of thing being built near it in Jaco.

Sounds like you had a good time, but my question is, I thought that bookings thru nixon for the Amon Plaza, were for members, am I wrong.

The condo sounds cool was it a 3 bdr and how much was it?

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Although I plan on becoming a member of CRT soon, booking your hotel through Nixon does not require membership. However, I knew of Nixon way prior to finding out about CRT due to friends who know him very well. Nixon helped us out a great deal and was a class act.

It was a 2 bedroom and a couch. 1 bedroom has one king size bed, flat screen tv etc and the other one has 2 double beds and a tv. There is also a living area that is huge and a kitchen area. It was 210 a night.

I think everyone regardless of where they stay should take earplugs and one of those sleep masks. Almost every hotel in SJO is noisy. Packing and using those things given me countless hours of sleep I wouldn't have had otherwise.

I flying there in 6 days and am also staying at my favorite place, The Amon. Give me her number please.

Ok, I am probably getting a bit picky about this, but here is a quote directly from their news release to CRT

The casino management at the Paradiso Casino located inside the Clarion Amon Plaza Hotel would like to once again offer our CRT VIP members discounted room rates at the Clarion Amon Plaza when booking through casino.

Booking thru the casino means booking thru Nixon. I am wondering where is the incentive to support CRT with your membership if anyone can get the discounted rates. Possibly Admin 1 can put some sense into this. Especially with people using other CRT members cards to get discounts etc.

Hey Gringo....to be honest, I met Nixon, and he could care less if you were CRT or not. On top of that I probably got a better deal on 3 rooms then CRT members would of. But again, I knew him before I knew about CRT. The reason I do not have a CRT membership is because I had not been to CR before and I wanted to figure out if it was worth it. Although it may be worth it in certain circles, it definately did not matter in terms of Nixon.

Never had a problem at the Castillo sleeping because of noise... well a couple of times.... she kept talking and poking me to go one more time!

Berk....

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FRUITCAKE... and you thought it was something you eat! Not on CRT!

Also, just to make it more clear, I never mentioned CRT at anytime and once again I had friends that personally knew Nixon and told me to contact him way prior to me ever knowing about CRT. Like I said, CRT has some great discounts and I definately am looking to become a member soon but I never mentioned CRT or used anyone elses CRT card during my stay in SJO.

Earplugs aren't a good idea when you got to check out the next day and need to wake up.

Dont get so defensive, I never said you did anything wrong. Its just that if I can get the discount by just calling Nixon and working a deal, where is the incentive to support CRT seems there is a better discount if you dont belong. I am saying this is a question admin 1 needs to address.

Easy guys the discount at Amon Plaza has always been for people who play and spend money in the Casino it was only added recently in the last couple of years for CRT members. In fact you can get a discount at any hotel in CR with a casino if you know the manager because you gamble there. But the have to know you thats all. There is no way nixon would make the discount exclusive because they have to promote their Casino. Nixon probably gave Culture a discount because he knew him prettty well and hoped he would gamble there a bit with his friends.

You can book through Nixon as a casino player but if your not a CRT Member you will pay a different price than a VIP, chica fee will be waived but the discount should apply to only VIP's. I will speak with Nixon regarding this to confirm.

With all due respect to the poster, if he did give you the discount and your not a VIP then its not what is agreed upon with the sponsor.

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Thank you for supporting CRT!