Mike,
First of all, regarding the taking of the chica's ID, Jdd already corrected me on that and I DID preface that conjecture with an "as I RECALL". Furthermore, because I wasn't so sure on that point, I immediately followed that remark with "EVEN IF they did hold it while she was up in your room, the plain fact is that ALL the other hotels provide a similar service" (NON-monger hotels may not hold the ID but virtually all monger hotels do that as part of their normal routine). And more significantly, "MOST of the other "monger hotels" do it WITHOUT charging a $10 service fee." So quibble about the minor incorrectness of the opening part of my remark on that subject if you want, you still haven't been able to counter my overall point that what the HDR provides (actually taking the chica's ID) is nothing AT ALL special for ANY hotel that considers itself monger-friendly. In fact the ONLY thing special about the HDR's chica check-in process is that they alone among the monger-friendly hotels charge their guests a full $10 each time they bring a chica back to their room (whether up the stairs or up in the elevator) and that on top of the ALREADY very high room rates. Oh but excuse me as I'm ranting again.
That brings me to my next point. You refer to my USUAL posting style as "ranting". Excuse me, if its my style to address the points that you and others brought up in a complete and calm manner (just as I often do on many other subjects). Just because I don't share the love that you apparently have for your favorite hotel and disagree with you on what you think are its supposed strong points does not make me a hater. You raised your arguments and I merely countered them with my own level-headed, relatively objective and certainly perfectly valid opinions (backed with facts whereever possible).
Thirdly, maybe you missed my points regarding breakfasts. I only brought that up in response to a comment that Pops made regarding the breakfasts, as if that was a strong reason to stay there (actually I think he had to be joking). Like you, I don't "Give a frigging sh*t" (or was that sh*tting frig
) about how good or bad the breakfasts are there. In fact, you may have noticed in another thread that I often stay at the Castillo in spite of the fact that I think their (FREE) breakfast is pretty weak. Would I like it more if their breakfasts were as good as those at the HDR? Absolutely IF they were included with the regular room rate OR at least only cost a reasonable amount. However, for what the HDR charges extra for their breakfast, I think I'll just pass too.
Fourthly, I must have missed the story about the incident you described at the SL. However, if it did happen ONCE as you say, it must be a pretty rare and certainly a very extreme exception. Certainly rare enough that it shouldn't be something to base one's accomodation decision just to avoid. MUCH more common are beefs between chicas and guests at VARIOUS hotels where hotel staff IS still on-duty and cops do NOT need to be called. And you were suggesting with your INITIAL remarks that those more general sorts of problems were somehow much more common at OTHER hotels rather than the HDR. That was and still is only backed up by your purely anecdotal observations rather than any hard numbers. I'll admit I don't have any hard numbers either but will be willing to bet the farm that it is actually much more common at the HDR for various reasons, which btw have nothing to do with how good or bad their check-in procedures might be. BTW, the HDR has its own 24hr security because they NEED it more due to having a noisy and sometimes rowdy 24hr casino and bar operating less than 100 feet from where its guests are trying to sleep (not to mention all the street riff-raff lurking right outside its doors 24/7 who might otherwise try to sneak in), so that is not necessarily a big plus in my book.
My point is that ANY hotel that considers itself to be monger-oriented has a check-in procedure that at least takes the number of the chica ID, usually holds it until she comes back downstairs (which btw also means that they would normally have someone on duty to return it to her at all hours and therefore also have someone on-duty to back up their guest if there was an incident that they could not resolve themselves), and increasingly also calls back up to the room before giving the chica back her ID if she comes down alone (btw does the HDR also always do that? they definitely didn't back when I stayed there). Some of them also maintain lists of chicas who have created problems with guests (and not just problems with the hotel itself as the HDR does) and won't let those chicas check-in at all. As I said earlier, its not uncommon for the Pres to deny entry to a chica (because of past incidents not just dress) who were picked up at the HDR and thus obviously allowed in there.
Ultimately, security is the responsibility of the guest NOT the hotel. Knowing how to spot potentially troublesome chicas greatly reduces your odds of having any problems or needing to rely on the hotel to bail you out. Clarifying such things as "pago solamente cuando nos terminan" or that you expect "una hora completa" before you agree to leave the bar are other things that many HDR guests don't know to do and which can greatly reduce your chances of subsequent "misunderstandings". And having the backbone to be firm enough to handle the chica yourself without having to call in the hotel staff to help in the unfortunate event that you get a loco chica inspite of all your precautions. Personally, while on 1-2 occasions I've had chicas who I've had to throw out (usually for insisting on money upfront inspite of agreeing otherwise back in the bar), I've never had any where I've actually needed to call in hotel staff. And I've also had my share of less than fulling satisfying sessions. Most were plenty satisying, but of those that weren't the hotel's check-in/security wouldn't have really made any difference.
Lastly, "if DR management gave the crt discount that was at one time asked for many of you dr bashers would stay there." Yes and if the sky were cheese, I'd eat it. So? The DR mgmt is never going to offer a CRT discount because they don't have to. They already getting plenty of other "newbies for life" inspite of their WELL-above market priced rooms (or what you understatedly just call "somewhat overpriced"). But, with room prices already DOUBLE what an equivalent room costs at the Castillo (after their CRT discount), even IF the HDR dropped their rates 25% for CRTers, they'd STILL be overpriced and I wouldn't stay there.
You're absolutely correct that being at ground zero would be worth SOME sort of premium for SOME guys, even perhaps most guys. Obviously for a few guys like you it is worth a very LARGE premium, however for most guys who know of more reasonably priced options it is simply NOT worth as much of a premium as the HDR expects. BTW, you might be also interested to note that I think the Morazon has become overpriced for the level of rooms that they offer too since they did away with their discount and raised their rates about $15/nt. The only way I can see that as at all reasonable is that they've also decided they can charge a "location" premium for being so close to "ground zero". Obviously, the HDR is even closer still since you don't even have to go out of the building, so MAYBE the premium for location there can account for $15-20 or maybe even a little more of the higher rate that they're able to charge. However, I still think that most of their ridiculous premium comes from REAL newbies (those with less than 5 trips under their belts or even complete 1st timers and who don't know much if anything about other mongering venues outside of the core gulch area) and that makes up the VAST bulk of the guys who actually stay there. I wouldn't say I "hate" the HDR or its guests because of it. If the HDR can get away charging what they do, then who can really blame them for doing so. And, if newbies and a few somewhat more experienced guys like you feel it is worth so much more to stay there, then that is certainly your choice. You just won't find me ever staying there again, now that being constantly "in the middle of the circus" has lost its initial novelty and they've raised the rates so much from what IMHO were ALREADY very high rates.
So much for my ranting.
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exceptions do apply anut 
Dont be a hater 
When the morazon was $50/night i briefly considered it.I see where your coming from on some points but what bothers you does not necessarily bother me. 
I only advise newbies like myself to stay at the DR or SL till there comfortable and then search for other options if they dont like either. This comes from a newbie and del rey man for life. 
But that sort of thing is symptomatic of the problem I have with the HDR in general. Its not just the high price of the rooms. Its also that it seems like just about EVERYTHING else is extra and, if you want them, you pay through the nose on all those other things as well. Its all the nickel and diming and $5 and $10-ering, like their ONLY goal there is to part you with as much of your money as possible. And its hard to avoid even if you're not actually staying there. The payouts at the casino are not as good as the other ones in the area. Food and drink prices are also much higher than equivalent offerings elsewhere. And even the wait staff and bartenders get in on it when they play games with your change. And do I even need to say anything about the chicas with their inevitable initial demand of "Cien". The list just goes on and on ...
