www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Most visitors / vacationers do not really know San Jose or Costa Rica no matter how many times they have been here. To know San Jose you have to live here. Areas they think are safe, are dangerous. Areas that they think are dangerous may be safe.

If you think Calle 11 is "sketchy" you should not be in Central America. Avenida Central between Calle 9 & 7 is very dangerous after 10 PM. Calle 11 in the daytime or nighttime is very safe as San Jose goes. Hotel Colonial across the street from us advertises it is "one of the safest neighborhoods on San Jose." In the nighttime the street is lined with BMW's & Mercede's by people eating at the resturants & going to the theaters & bars on Calle 11.

You rock, Brother Dennis.

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

Estebanh must be French.

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Living well is the best revenge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwUtj_YnNoY

I've walked that stretch dozens of times thru the years, daytime & nighttime. Coming & going from Idem, Relax, etc. & the various restaurants in the area, Tin Jo, Wangs etc., have never had a problem. I don't feel unsafe, I just pay attention to who's around & walk with a purpose.

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"cuz I'm a back-door man" Jim Morrison-1969

Thanks for the reasonable response to my post. I tend to get some areas of town mixed up. Now that I think about it, its not such a bad area.

I will reiterate again that there are really way too many ASSHOLES who post on this forum. These are guys who really must have way too much time on their hands and who are overwhelmingly negative in their responses. Irish Drifter is one of them.

I am always hesitant to post anything on here because some dickwad on a keyboard somewhere, whom I have never met, is going to pipe up with some flippant response. There are over 20,000 registered users on this forum and very few ever post. Why would they when some dickwad will respond with their negative venom?

Estebanh,
If you feel that certain members are dickwads and you can't deal with them or else accept them for the dickwads they are then perhaps you best not bother coming to San Jose. jk Before anybody reacts and gets their panties in a twist, I should clarify that I'm not saying whether any particular member is actually a wad from a dick or not and not saying Estebanh overreacted when questioning the safety of that walk, though he now admits he may have. I'm just poking a little fun at everybody.
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Hailceasar,
As long as I'm clarifying possible misunderstandings, I hope you don't consider my posts to be one of those unfairly negative ones. I think I was quite clear from the start of it that I had never sactually stayed at your "Hotel" and that all my subsequent comments were directed at my particular limited experience outside your property. I did speculate on possible reasonable explanations for what happened (that registered guests had keys and/or entry codes), which turned out to be exactly correct. And I expressed my own personal (and I think understandable) reservations about staying at a place that didn't even seem to have anyone on duty during the day to answer the door. You've since explained your way of doing business and I can accept that. Perhaps, it might have avoided my confusion, and possibly that of others', if you referred to your business as a "Guesthouse" rather than a traditional "Hotel", as BK suggested more aptly described your operation.
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Lastly to HikerTom,
Since I'm on the subject of terminology, I don't think the term "Hostal" always means the same thing to people in some other countries like CR that it does to us here in the US (just as a "Motel" is something very different south of the Rio Grande). For us, or me anyway, a "Hostal" connotes sleeping on a bunk bed in a dorm room with a shared bathroom, or usually only at best a rather simple private room with a shared bath. While the Tiquicia (and the Freebird) at worst has standard private rooms with shared baths (perhaps a bit like the upper end at hostals) it also offers deluxe private rooms with their own baths. Besides, there are also small upscale B&B's in the US that only offer rooms with shared baths (often the case with converted country homes), so that aspect does not necessarily make a place a "Dive". At least based on their room pics from their websites, the rooms at both the Freebird and Tiquicia seem much nicer than what one would normally expect from a "Hostal". What's more, despite whatever you think you saw, the picture of their building on their website clearly identifies them as a "Hotel" any way (check for yourself).

As for the lack of response to your inquiry through the Freebird website, that was certainly unfortunate (as was the lack of response I got when I appeared there physically) but non-responses by businesses in CR to communications over the web are not that unusual. Perhaps, you might try calling them directly next time rather than submitting an on-line form from a website that might not even be working properly. Anyway, we probably shouldn't necessarily rule them out because of that.

It's true that basically there's a threshold point where "cheap SJ hotel" DOES mean a dive but apparently that point is different for each of us. Again, we're talking terminology here. For me the term "dive" means a sleazy or disreputable establishment (such as a place where most of the neighbors on the other side of the paper thin walls are hookers and johns who have rented their rooms by the hour, like the Hotel Asia) or it could mean a dirty fleabag flophouse. Both the Tiquicia and the Freebird rent by the night or longer, have respectable guests just like you or me, I think we can assume are reasonably clean and at least certainly don't have any bedbugs and have rooms that are furnished and decorated much nicer than any cell-like room only good for flopping down in.

I was probably a bit unfair in my criticism of the Freebird, but IMHO you're REALLY applying overly critical standards for what are really lower economy HOTEL/GUESTHOUSE options that are NOT "dives"

Not all hostels fit the traditional mold--check out this exemplar of a more upscale venue: http://www.pangea.hostel.com/
NOTE: It's still mainly for backpackers.

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

Basically, everybody has their own comfort level. I'm pretty easy. I basically need AC (except in the city), TV, and fairly clean. Have stayed at the Johnson many times, but ain't gonna try to polish it. It is adequate for me when I don't have a lot of money to spend. I will say that sometimes the best decisions are not made by trying to save $10-$15.

Sacré bleu!

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mh

You keep mentioning this place as though it is some place special, but it isn't really. First of all, as you already noted, it caters mainly to the traditional hostal demographic, namely the backpackers. Secondly, its rates are very similar to most other hostals in SJ. Thirdly, whatever other amenities it might have (the swimming pool is a bit special, but most hostals these days have wireless internet, free communal PC's and a common lounge area with a TV) it still mainly has only dorm rooms with bunkbeds and shared baths. Like many hostals these days they also have a FEW private rooms with double beds for couples (and probably still shared bathrooms), but you still have to pay PER person for those, making them a really poor deal compared to low cost hotels like the Tiquicia or Freebird (assuming they would accept couples). If you're a solo traveller you could book those rooms too but usually you'd still have to pay for 2 people. Fourthly, there have been some reports of bedbugs at the Pangea, which is not an infrequent problem at many hostals. Lastly, the Pangea is your traditional "party hostal" with young travellers staying up to all hours making lots of noise (ie not the best place to stay if you want to get much sleep) and it is really mostly that rather than any of its other particular amenities which makes it so popular with the younger audience.

Hostals in general ARE changing from their traditional image. Most of them are offering more services geared to their target audience (e.g. the wireless internet, backpack storage, planned events such as pool parties and backyard bbq's, etc.). And many of them now service a demographic not traditionally associated with hostals including families and older travellers (which is why they don't use the term Youth Hostal anymore). Some, like the Pangea still cater to much younger audience, but many others enforce curfews or at least quiet periods late at night for those who prefer a place they can get some rest at rather than party like a springbreaker (ie most older more mature travellers).

But, in any case, whether a traditional hostal or a newer version, hostals still really aren't the sorts of accomodations a guy would want to take a P4P girl back to or that most older mongers would ever seriously consider unless they somehow thought that a fatherly-aged man hitting on much younger female backpacker types would be taken seriously too.

this is no shit,

in CR prisons, guards coordinate conjugal visits between strangers. Women can write away for a boyfriend and are rewarded with a four-hour, closed-door session with a man from another prison (or maybe a CRT sponsored lodging location?)

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The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

(export version only, some restrictions may apply, some assembly required, not valid where the sun don't shine...

if you live in the states of Poverty, Darkness or anywhere outside of The Blessings of Civilization Trust, Inc...other rules may apply)

LOL @ "or the French"

I have personally inspected the Freebird and met Dennis several times.

I haven't had the pleasure of staying at the Freebird yet. But I look forward to staying there some day.

I would absolutely recommend the Freebird. Many CRT guys will only stay there.

When I tried to book a room there in Feb it was sold out. As well as the other popular CRT hangouts. My advice is book well in advance. I personally would go for the more expensive suites. However any room there is a good value.

Dennis is a great guy. He is well liked even by other Hotel owners in the area. Dennis is known to be a great host.

Freebird wasnt on my list but for that line alone I have to give it a second look.


We only rent to CRT members. We do not take walkin business, couples, Ch*ldren or the French. You need to either complete a Reservation Form or call my cell phone at 506-8329-5425. I answer all my calls at anytime of day or night.

Dennis Eaton, The Freebird

That's true; I do keep mentioning the Pangea Hostel because (a) it's large with amenities, (b) it's in the Gulch, (c) some of the younger Brothers might well score with another resident (non-P4P is always a possibility), (d) if you are a dedicated MP or nightclub-only guy like I am, not being comfortable bringing a Chica back is a non-starter, (e) the other residents might well be more blase than you think about older man/ younger woman hookups (or vice versa), (f) mentioning this otherwise overlooked venue expands horizons and possibilities (the rooftop pool and bar is available to non-guests, I believe, and especially the younger brothers [of whom we have an increasing number] might not otherwise recognize it is a source to draw from), and lastly (g) because I can. No need to get hostile (little joke there) and I am most certainly not looking to draw business away from our CRT Sponsors.
How's this for a spirited defense of a POV?

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED