Recommendations? Anyone

Will be traveling to San Jose in early October. 1st trip, three nights at Sportsman Lodge. Anyone have any out of hotel recommendations? Food, strip clubs and the like. Non-mongering activities also? Any recommendations or assistance gladly accepted.

Just the obvious,

Hotel Del Rey for attractive freelancers

Key Largo across the street for not-as-attractive freelancers, but a band and more laid back environment

Zona II for daytime and early evening action. It's a bordello very poorly disguised as a massage parlor

Fogo Brasil is my favorite restaurant. It's a Churrascaria.

Best daytrip is to Poas Volcano. Take in the butterfly farm on the same trip.

Go to www.costaricaticas.com for the most detailed mongering info.

Another place for food is La Amistad Hotel, 1 block from the Sportsmans, is very good. For strip clubs the best two of the non-clip joints are Alcazar and Le Grillon (they have websites if you need location). Don't ask a cab driver to talk you into other clubs, the ones you will be taken to are worse than American clubs when it comes to extracting your money with the least amount of fun.

Not sure why you are asking for hotel reservations when you said you were staying at Sportsman's Lodge (great choice btw), so I assume hotels where you will find available chicas to pickup. DR and SL already stated and sometimes there will be a couple hanging at Taormina (formerly Mona Lisa).

And another MP to check out is Monica's. They don't have a bar but their lineup is always fantastic.

Thanks guys I appreciate the information. As you can tell I have done a little research. I am hoping that by staying at the Sportsmanship Lodge I would have little need to go to the Del Ray or outside otherwise but I want to hit a strip club just for the experience. In your opinion will I get a better quality of girls by going to the Del Ray or will the Sportsman suffice.

It varies. There is much more quantity at the DR. Sometimes the SL is dead and you have no choice but to hit the DR. Even if the SL has enough talent to make DR unnecessary you still need to go over and check it out. Especially if this is a first visit, you have to experience the shark tank at least once.

The strip clubs I mentioned are not open until 10 pm and while their neighborhoods are not horrible at that time of night I highly recommend a cab, even if you are only going a few blocks. The majority of the gals at DR and SL speak enough English to get by but the strip clubs are different. There is a good chance that nobody in the place speaks English so make sure at least one of the fellas in your group is fluent in Spanish, and if that person is not you, don't go in there alone. And lastly don't run a tab, pay cash as you go. These tips are precautions, certainly it is possible to not follow all those rules and have no issues but I promise I am not just being paranoid, it is very good advice that has been repeated to me many times by multiple veterans of the place, some of which live there full time.

I agree with Mako, the Del Rey is hard to beat if you're looking for hotties. I'd add Pantera Rosa to his other two excellent suggestions for strip clubs.

Again thank you, I will be solo unless I hook up with fellow travelers and my Spanish is not very good. I will skip the strip clubs unless I hook up with some better linguists but definitively hit the Del Ray. Looking forward to posting my reviews from San Jose with my first time impressions. Appreciate the great tips. Again many thanks.

Aerosmith my Bday is in October and I was thinking of going to Costa Rica for a short trip, when are you going?

Can someone also tell me if sportsman charges per girl to go to your room? I seem to remember that Del Rey does that even if you are staying there.

Del Rey charges every time you bring a girl up to your room. I think it is $12 per. SL does not. La Amistad does not charge but they take her ID on the way in and she can get it back on her way out. Also no chica fee at Dunn Inn or Taormina.

I am headed down in mid October. Haven't booked yet so dates not certain.

10/5 to 10/8.

I haven't made any reservation yet either. I was thinking the end of October but cant make the early October date as I have a meeting that week.

MAKO any idea when you are heading down? I will be traveling solo and would feel more comfortable with another person from the states

I am looking at 10/13-10/18. Not set yet, but for me it cannot be first or last week of month. I would definitely prefer to have a wingman. I have been solo last 3 trips. I always end up hanging with like-minded dudes though. I usually stay at SL, it is easy to make friends there. How is your Spanish? I have none, which sometimes is difficult, but not usually. I know my way around pretty good though.

Just some advice - If you are going end of October, like Halloween you better book quick. That is a busy tourist week, hard to get a hotel. I prefer slower times of the year, less sausage and the girls are hungry.

Let me know if you wanna hook up down there. I have a little room to move on those dates but not much. I intend to book my trip next week.

I don't really speak Spanish either. I cwill decide in the next week or so. I went to Costa Rica last year for the first time but it wasn't this type of trip. Looking forward to do something like this.