www.CostaRicaTicas.com

People on this message board will recommend SL because they are paying this website to advertise their place.

But if you talk to normal customers...they will tell you to stay at the Del Rey...

Del Rey hotel is where the party is at...over 100 girls every night...and over 200 girls on the weekends.

SL...less than 10 girls...no action and excitement here.

Try to read the posts from customers ...don't listen to people who are trying to advertise.

Where ever you stay...go check out the Del rey...and the next time you come...you will definately stay at the del rey

good luck!

thanks for the nonbias response i guess...reasons why i havent considered delrey are:

i understand the delrey have a $10 chica fee...is this correct?
the chicas want to finish business quickly if you are staying at the delrey to get downstairs quick.
the chicas understand only the newbies stay at the delrey and try to take advantage of you.
the delrey is not as nice or as clean as the other monger-friendly hotels

could you please address each issue if they are correct or not or arguments against them that i probably dont realize??? thanks!

Yes, the Del Rey has a $10 chica fee. And yes, if you're a raw newbie staying there, then you're like a wounded bleeding seal to a pack of sharks. That "hour" you negotiate for may end up being only 10-15 minutes if you blow your load early. Those chicas want to get back down as quickly as possible.

The Del Rey actually can be great for newbies since it's like training wheels for bike. It's a giant cocoon, everything you'd want is right there, you never have to leave. For a lot of the typical gringo weekend-trip mongers (don't know a word of Spanish and have lots of money and freely throw it around, i.e. gladly pay $100 and up since it's cheaper than in the US), it's all they want. For the more experienced and smarter guys, they move to the better places. You can always go the Del Rey for chicas, the other hotels however are much nicer places to stay and don't charge a $10 chica fee.

So wrong on many counts. Where to begin?

First, it's completely untrue that CRT VIPs are going to shill for the Sportsman's Lodge (or anyplace) because they are an advertiser here. Many advertisers here on CRT offer discounts to VIP cardholders, but we get the discount whether or not we say nice things about the advertiser on this board.

We've paid our CRT dues (annual or lifetime), and we want the best information possible. Let me give you a couple of examples..

About a year ago, the SL had a lot of turnover in their staff and service levels deteriorated as management struggled to fill the positions with good people. During this time there were plenty of complaints about some of the bartenders and waitresses. Many of us who hadn't been there lately were surprised to read this but as other brothers reported the same problems it was clear there was a problem. However CRT didn't remove the posts or try to cover up the problem. More importantly, SL management (Bill, the owner) also read the complaints, acknowledged
that they were having some hiccups with new hires, apologized here and pledged to fix the problems. And they've since been fixed.

La Amistad hotel was having a problem with the noise from a new train line about a year ago which was also reported here on CRT. Their management went above and beyond to ultimately reduce the train noise issue (blaring horns) to an absolute minimum during sleeping hours.

Now let me switch gears to your idolized Hotel Del Rey. For years there have been complaints about chica fees and rip-off bartenders. Neither problem has gotten any better since I joined CRT back in 2007. You still have to pay $10 for each chica each time you bring her up the elevator, regardless of why she is with you. The bartenders still take forever giving you your change (if ever) in the hopes that they can keep it as an extra tip. They still pad credit card bills with extra drinks and shots.

So when you say this:

You really mean this:


As for "the party", well that is going on at several places each day. I would never tell anybody to completely avoid the Del Rey. After all it is an interesting scene especially for inexperienced travelers who have never seen anything like it. It's not unique however. Go to more advanced monger countries like Thailand, the Philippines, Brasil, Colombia, Germany and even Singapore and the HDR will seem quaint.

Hiker Tom was correct above in saying that newbies with no Spanish and little international mongering experience can be targeted by the sharks at the HDR. In fact, many of these newbie victims won't even realize that they've been ripped off by their $120/hr chica (+$10 elevator fee + tip) who only spent 30 mechanical minutes with him because they don't have anything to compare it with in Costa Rica. It's better than in the U.S. but only a pale imitation of what's really available in San Jose.

For our new guy Booboo, I'm assuming that he doesn't speak any Spanish and hasn't mongered a lot internationally but this still applies if he is not inexperienced.

I would recommend that he stay at one of the monger-friendly hotels in the center of town that generally get good reviews here on CRT such as the Sportsmen's Lodge, La Amistad, the Dunn Inn, and Hotel Castillo. If he becomes a VIP member he will also get a significant discount at one of these hotels (all CRT advertisers) that will more than offset the price of CRT membership.

I'd recommend that he meet up with some CRT vets on his first day in town, either at the Dunn Inn or at the SL around happy hour time.

For his daytime mongering activities, he could have fun visiting a few of the better regarded MPs. In Barrio Amon near the hotels recommended above he'll find the Hotel Little Havanna and New Fantasy. While not the cheapest, these places are good introductions to the MPs. Then he and his wingmen could go further south to places like Idem and Relax, both of which are better options for quality (Idem) and price (Relax).

At night, starting his evening at the SL is a good place to meet other CRTers and to find a decent party w/chicas especially Weds-Sat. It's best between 8pm and 10pm. Then after a session with an SL chica or instead, go down to the HDR with a knowledgeable wingman who can help him figure out which chicas are the real deal.
Also across the street is the KL, also owned by the HDR guys but is a music and dance hall where the new monger won't feel completely like bait in the shark tank.

There are plenty of other things to do in San Jose like casinos, but I'll let others point out the best of that.

Booboo: Enjoy!
Auntu: Open your eyes. There's more to San Jose than just the HDR.

_________________
"All them women gonna make me,
teach 'em what they don't know how..." TMIB

Not trying to pick a fight with a Brother but nobody here recommends or disses a place for any reason except personal experience and suitability. Even the HDR has its fans. Yes, the Palazzo Rosado is prime hunting ground but that's the least reason to stay there--all the Chicas are willing to travel to known venues (some of them know every room in every hotel in town) and none of Our Crowd's venues is more than 1 mil taxi away and about 10 minutes, max. If somebody wants to recommend the HDR to a newbie, fine--just do it for the right reasons. Oh and BTW remember to tell them about the HDR's Chica fee which no Sponsors to my knowledge charge.

_________________
"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

A big Huzzah! to Brother Kickstand for this Newbie advisory--all should read this Thread but this Post especially. Hands-down the best post of the month. My Post stands pale in his shadow.

_________________
"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

Just to pile on w/o quoting the guy dissing the SL, stay at the DR if you want nothing more that having 50 or more hookers in the lobby bar at any given time and nothing more because that is about it (cept for the theiving bartenders ). At the SL, its like a good group of buddies at a club and sure there are less girls, but so what? A nobber, ST, LT, GFE, whatever is but a 5 minute cab ride away. I always feel very comfortable at the SL, the DR, not so much.

_________________
“Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” And we are the guys that keep them in Eggs & Grits

Not to mention staying at the DR makes you a mark that I'm beggining to feel not all guys see.....



Cujo

_________________
"Pain is the fuel that fans the flames of my pyre. A battle plan is only as good as the general carrying it out on the field. This is my war son, and I have the biggest bombs and the smallest conscience"...