www.CostaRicaTicas.com

it has more to do with business acumen than being Costa Rican...look around more carefully...there are of dozens of good sized projects that start and finish before you know it.

it has more to do with business acumen than being Costa Rican...look around more carefully...there are of dozens of good sized projects that start and finish before you know it.

of course there will be exceptions

I was there 7 weeks ago and I was told all would be open in a month. Still a decent place to stop for a beer.

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I am NOT a Cien Boy!!

The people putting out estimates of when the construction will be complete at the Mona Lisa have not been the one actually making the decisions. In other words rumors. We contribute to the rumors when we repeat what others have heard about when things are suppose occur. The scale of the project is considerably bigger than just a quick fix. I know for a fact that considerable progress is being made because I made it a point to check out what was going on in closed off construction areas. Every bathroom on the fourth floor has been completely gutted, all of the acoustical tiles have been removed in the rooms. There is new wiring being pulled in a completely gutted casino area. The restaurant going in will be a second location of an existing very successful restaurant in Sabana North. I just hope they get it right this time.

To be honest, I didn't read all 3 pages. Sorry.

Mona Lisa looks to have much left to do. The rooms were a bit musty smelling. Still, it is a fine deal at $39.99. They actually require $45 cash at check in. Prepay. Not at booking, not at check-out, but at check in. Cash only.

They gave me room 318 (or 318-A as they call it). A pretty sizable room with excellent natural light on this corner unit. Everything is a bit worn (faucets, ceiling tiles, carpet, towels, counters, etc). It's one of those hotels that is perfectly suitable unless you are the type to post pictures on TripAdvisor of missing caulk or a rust stain on the floor near the toilet. If that is you, stay at the Hyatt. I can hook you up for $85/night (vs $119 + 13% tax on their site).

For me, the lack of a functional restaurant & casino is almost a non-factor. While the restaurant is closed & ML is offering the discounted rate, no breakfast was included. I did appreciate the free breakfast at the Dunn Inn. HDR & SL are both 650 meters from ML, so if it's late or raining, a taxi is only 630c (about $1.18) to either venue.

At ML, the bar was open. They had 4 girls which were not bad either visually or personality wise. Hotel staff was reasonably friendly. All girl guests (except Luna) had to submit their IDs. The staff photo copied the girl's ID and had the customer sign a sheet with her photocopied ID. This seems like a reasonable customer protection although the desk never called when the girl left like they usually do in Asia before returning the ID.

Water pressure was terrible. But the hot water & A/C worked well. All in all, hard to beat the ML for $45/night all-in. Construction was apparently occurring on the 4th floor but it was not noticeable. If you aren't one to post every piece of missing caulk on TripAdvisor & complain you've been screwed, then you'll probably find ML to be perfectly suitable and a great value @ $45 all in.

To the new owners of ML, during your renovation the one easy improvement you could make it to have decent towels. Despite the discounted rates, it would be advisable to have decent towels for your customers while the renovations continue. If David & Donna @ Casa 69 can provide outstanding towels & linens for rooms charging (standard rate) less than your discounted renovation rate, it would be appreciated if you could at minimum provide suitable towels.

Despite being perfectly content at ML, I definitely preferred my stay at Dunn Inn. The cheapest rate on their website shows $74 but through Expedia, you can get a full for $50/night, a queen for $57/night all in (this means the 13% tax is included). I chose a queen and asked for a desk in my room. They gave me room 16. This room is better than Amante & El Dorado junior suites at SL which run $109 + 13% tax. You can see picture of my room in my Costa Rica Redemption Tour trip report. I wondered if I just threw away $7 but after walking by some open doors on the full rooms, I admit, those rooms looked ridiculously tiny. I'm not sure anyone would want to stay in a room that tiny if what I saw was the norm for a "full" bed room. I didn't walk in any of these rooms but they looked unbelievably small. So do yourself a favor and book a queen room with a desk.

The Expedia prices for Dunn are all inclusive including a nice breakfast & taxes (if memory serves). The Dunn's safes are larger than those at ML. My 11" laptop barely fit in the ML safe but easily fit in Dunn's safe. Dunn's staff was also extremely friendly, even calling taxis for my girls when they left late night. This was my first stay at ML & Dunn and while I'd stay at both again at current rates (ML rates will likely rise dramatically post renovation), the Dunn was far more impressive and a better value. The only advantage to ML was I asked for double queens so I could have multiples sessions between room cleanings. I don't think double queens exist at SL, Amistad or Dunn, at least not at the $45 price point.

At Dunn, I paid for Queen which was a nice room (room 16). The bathroom had windows with no shades so customers of ML could view into the bathroom without restriction but they couldn't see you if you were in the shower. You can pay $57 all in for a Dunn Queen with a walk in Shower, a desk, blackout curtains. Or you could pay $45 (currently) at ML for two queens in a spacious room with central air, central hot water, & a 60" TV (if you watch TV). Or you could go to SL and pay $109 +13% for a junior suite with no desk, curtains that don't block the light, and poor lighting.

Lighting may seem like a minor complaint but when a Tica enters your room & doesn't want the spotlight on her, she turns off the overhead lights. For us guys, we still want to see our girl. In the junior suites at SL, you have these exposed 6500K CFL bulbs lighting most of the room (ceiling). The girls want them off. I want to see the girls and I want the lights on. The girl always wins and we are left with a dim lamp as it is the only non ceiling lighting in the SL junior suites. Not suitable for pictures much less video or checks for STD outbreaks. At ML & Dunn, you have much better alternative lighting options although still far from optimal.

This is what I mean when I say CR proprietors don't seem to comprehend changes they could make at minimal or no expense to improve their customer experience. How is it hoteliers in Hanoi, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Phuket, and other places all understand this simple concept but not a single independent hotelier in CR seems to get it? 6500K light is harsh. 2700K light is warm/soft. The bulbs cost exactly the same amount of money. Yet they all subject us to 6500K light. Why? And why not add light dimmers or diffusers / shades over the bulbs? At Home Depot in the States that costs what, $6 per light to diffuse it? A 60 watt dimmer costs what, $6?

The in room lighting at 318-A at ML and Room 16 at Dunn are far superior to Amante & El Dorado @ SL. Most guys pay $60-$100/hr for a girl. She comes to the room. Turns off the interrogation lights on the room ceiling. And we are left in some place like SL with nothing but a shaded table lamp to see our catch? Really? No in room light dimmers? No overhead light diffusers/covers?

I've been to far poorer countries than CR. But even in Vietnam & the Philippines they seem to understand this simple concept of diffused or soft lighting. In the 9-10 cities I've visited in CR, not a single independent hotelier has grasped this basic concept. It's frustrating as a customer and something that costs nothing or near nothing to remedy.

My buddy booked at room at HDR for $65/night so I think the hotel prices in general this time of year are really falling in San Jose. I refuse to stay at the HDR with their elevator fee, dingy rooms and noise issues. But why people continue to pay $120 (with tax) for rooms inferior to nearby options for less than half that rate is beyond me. For me, I'd spend that extra $60-$80/day saving on another session not on a hotel room equivalent to what I can find elsewhere for $60-80/day less.

I've stayed all over. Sportsmans, Freebird, Casa 69, Mona Lisa, Dunn Inn, etc. While the train noise at Casa 69 & La Amistad can be an issue, I always get woken up by motorbikes or trucks at 5:30 a.m. regardless of where I stay.

San Jose seems to be slipping. It's easy for a world traveler to see the deficiencies in a particular hotel market because there is a world of alternatives to offer as comparisons. Perhaps for those involved in a particular market, it's less obvious because they only see their local competition. Yet San Jose has something Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, China, etc will never have. They have 10 million American's within a 3 hour flight, 20 million with in a 4 hour flight. Yet no one seems to be capitalizing on this huge affluent market staring them in the face...sitting on their doorstep. Which is truly a shame. I understand the labor laws in CR are brutal for business owners. But it's time to compete in the global market and use your proximity as a market advantage. And you Mr/Mrs/Ms CR hotel owner are positioned better than anyone else to capitalize on your rich neighbor. So start competing.

If you can't figure this out, send me a PM, I'd be happy to assist you.

Maxbass, excellent post. I will be traveling to C.R. in the not too distant future and I will be staying at the SL for 3 nights in the El Leon room. I hear you loud and clear (although I think you focus a little too much on lighting. LOL.) but simply travel differently than you do. My budget, while not unlimited, allows me to focus on what I consider to be superior accommodations. For me it's a vacation and I like to travel well. I simply don't equate the El Leon room at the SL with a room at other similar style hotels in the area. I enjoy reading other people's opinions on hotels in the area. If we all decided that one hotel was far superior to all others, it would be fully booked all the time and unavailable most of the time.

Excellent analysis of room value vs. amenities in SJO, MB...

Couple of points. Most operators, or hoteliers as you correctly call them, are not as sophisticated as one would expect in terms of looking at their business from the guest's pov, most...they have limited imagination as to the features you are discussing making a difference on the quality of stay.

Also, and going to the point of the previous poster, $ cost is not the main parameter for many travelers. Personally, I spend between 4 to 5 thousand dollars per typical 10 days mongering trip to CR. I am not a drinker nor a gambler. I spend most of that money in chicas, hotel, airfare and ground transportation. To me, convenience of location, basic comfort and safety trumps $20 to $50 a night in additional hotel cost.

At an average cost of $400 to $500 per day, it would be similar or perhaps cheaper to stay home, in Seattle, and for 10 days in a row call a top shelf gringa escort and session in the privacy of my home! For this reason, and others, I look at the entire trip as a global mongering experience, assigning value to every aspect of the trip...air travel (usually first/business class) chicas, hotel, etc.

As I and others have posted on different threads, as long as the CR colon is artificially overvalued, CR in general, except for some hotels at this time of the year (behold the discounts being offered all over the place in the gulch) will seem and actually be overpriced for what you are getting.

I understand. Perhaps when you bring a stunner back to your room and she turns off all the overhead lights & you can't see her body, you'll drift to my point of view. Or perhaps not.

But the post in not about lighting. I have seen the world. I see the opportunities that are so obvious that those who have become comfortable in their own local seem to disregard or overlook. If you have traveled in CR, one of the first things anyone asks is why aren't there street addresses for every home or business? Good question. The cost would be minimal but the payoff would be great. Everything would be more efficient. Think about that, it's 2015 and Costa Rica still does not have street addresses. You can't send a package to 123 Calle 6, San Jose, Costa Rica 11133.

Seems ridiculous, right?

Just as ridiculous is how business operates in CR. Most seem far too comfortable. This does not make their owners lazy or bad people. In fact, I know many of them and like many of them. But to date while I have engaged in business talk with many business owners, the majority just seem content to stay exactly where they are at this point in time. It's not a competitive landscape.

CR has a market of 10 million affluent Americans within a 3 hour flight of SJO and 20 million within a 4 hour flight, there is a stunningly large untapped market for this country of less than 5 million people. Yet only one company I know of in CR is actively trying to capitalize on this market. And the owner is American.

I talk to Asian business owners and they are aggressive, intelligent, analytical, competitive, motivated and receptive risk takers. Unfortunately, in CR things operate differently. The question is who will notice this huge untapped market staring them in the face before the big boys roll into town? At this point, it appears only one business. Most seemed too focused on the Jaco vs San Jose occupancy rates which is so trivial compared to the larger picture.

So my comments about lighting at hotels, lack of security locks on hotel doors (key cards), insecurity on the streets, etc are not my "main issue". The issue is if a country whose annual GDP is less than Apple's quarterly revenue is going to wake up & compete before someone or some company of means seizes the opportunity that has been staring them in the face all along.

Wake up every day saying how can I do better? How can I grow? How can I serve my customers better? How can I attract new customers? How can we maintain 95% occupancy? How can we improve our facilities?

The one and only company in CR I discuss this with is doing extremely well. I just don't understand the non-competitive nature of CR business. What business does not want to grow, have happy customers, make more money, expand? It's just a different mindset.

Max, I shared your sentiments, for the first few years of travelling to CR. then i realized the culture doesnt want to be saved. my cousin living there once told me ' you cant understand us through your america eyes' . one interesting concept is that they think they are doing just fine, and we are the tontos

i spent 20 years in the hospitality business and the rennovations at Mona Lisa are strange and astounding to me. but i dont know everything, and especially dont know the real goals of the owners. Upgrading the hotel, planning to bring high rollers from vegas, charging higher prices, a dress code for the girls and an upscale italian restaurant , in a hotel where you cant even figure out its name, on the border of la zona roja. come on, dude, smell the roses. they cant be that silly. we just dont know the real plan. its is none of my business. i will take it all day long for $45.

i agree with you that these people seem backwards and cant mount a successful business, despite the huge market laying at their feet. Yet, imagine what it would be like, if you, the General, had a staff of total ticos.all incapable of any future thinking and no concept of professionalism, alll with conflicting agendas; it wouldnt be long till your frustrations made you say ' wtf, there are better places on this planet to explore and prosper. Many long time CRT members know of many guys who had high ideals and plans in costa rica, and guess what ! ' the way to make a million in CR is .. bring 2 with you. ' the few guys i know making lots of money in CR keep a low profile and laugh all the way to the bank.

we really dont know everything down there; although we think we do.

costa rica, is well.. costa rica. let me enjoy paying $45 a night for a decent place, bang all the different lovely ladies I can find for low cost, and make lots of money and consult others, elsewhere

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Having too much fun. 8)

That is an amazing burn rate that is not necessary in Costa Rica even if you are financially capable of swinging it. The EXTRA hotel COST for your slightly inferior room is $66/night extra with tax (using the $57/night Queen room @ Dunn Inn as an alternative). Of course, there are equivalent rooms for $36/night but they are 1km away. And of course the current Mona Lisa rate of $40/night + $5/tax. And when I say equivalent, they include everything & more than you are getting except the ability to walk out & grab a girl. But ML is a bit dated compared to SL and SL is a bit dated compared to the Dunn. Although ML does have girls in the lobby and Dunn Inn is across the street from Mona Lisa & 1 block from Zona. So no shortage of lady options there either. At these hotels, you'd have to walk 650 meters (4/10 mile) or pay a $1.18 taxi fare to get to SL or HDR. The 1 minute taxi ride if you choose to seek options outside the direct businesses is hardly an inconvenience. In fact, excluding going to the SL, they are much closer to many MPs.

I'd rather see you cut your burn rate in half. You can have a great trip with no sacrifices for half your burn rate by just understanding the market & your options better. Then you can come twice as often.

Maxbass, some of us are not so obsessed with money as you seem to be. Do you really pay the taxi driver 630c rather than give him 1 mil? Life is short, I try to be happy and live it to the fullest. I know I cannot change another person (and I don't want to); so if I don't like the way he runs his business or his life, I do not have to deal with him. There are other options.

Airplanes are still flying between the U.S. and Asia. If things are so much better for you in Asia, why not just go there and forget about Costa Rica?

There are many things in your posts I could comment on, but I'll just pick one - the street addressing. In every Latin country I have been in, they use the same addressing scheme. The numbering is from an intersection, not a continuous ascending street number. You can't send a package to 123 Calle 6, but you can send it to Calle 6 #10-23. But if you are such a world traveler, you know that.

You can harp about the SL until you draw your last breath - I don't think you will have a flock of converts.

+1

Max........it just seems like you way over think things......And I don't get all the SL bashing either!!

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There's a prettier girl every day...

A general comment: CRT was in the doldrums. With this and the car rental Thread, it seems to have come back to life. Up-to-date accurate info we can use mixed in with some opinion--isn't that why CRT exists?

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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

Ive never met Maxbass, but from his posts and our PMs he has the experience to base an opinion on. It seems his and others honest constructive criticism is taken as "i hate costa rica" and given the "love it or leave it" treatment... its refreshing to have someone take the time to point out the sustains AND Improves.



Why is it overthinking when someone points out things that need improvement? what is harder to understand is not the "SL Bashing" which is this case is not, but the unwillingness for CRT's to admit there are some improvements to be made.

A point was made a few months ago about the SL bartenders dealing with customers Tabs, and last week i saw an improvement, where the waitresses and bartenders checking with the customer when a chica ordered a drink...
SL is a great place but only if the issues are vocalized and communicated

Tons of posts crying about noisey Del Rey rooms, the Amistad train, yet they are just as noisey as SLs courtyard rooms.
Tons of posts crying about Del Rey pirate Taxi drivers charging 2mil back to barrio amon, but the SL drivers ask the same to Del rey
Tons of posts crying about the "substances" being offered outside the rey, but its same outside of SL
Tons of post crying about the Del Rey Chicas asking for Cien, but SL chicas ask the same

i met a bunch of newbies this week that when asked if they read CRT and they all mentioned it seemed like posts on CRT are shilling for SL.... and if CRT was in the business of just selling the discount card...

point is, i dont think any of us should be taking offense to constructive criticism from members who choose to take the time.. some or most of the things are just part of the landscape, some such as the lighting and bar tab issues can be addressed...



i think this is exactly what CRT is for

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its easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled- mark twain

Well said Col Ingus...if everybody did that the forum would be even more valuable! Constructive and respectful criticism, even of the "untouchables", should always be encouraged.