Lipstick Nightclub Review (and Sportsmans Cabbies)

[Crazyspidey]

Gentlemongers,

I had the displeasure of visiting Lipstick over the Labor Day weekend. Needless to say, the overall vibe of the place oozed "Clip Joint."

It was four of us guys on Saturday night of Labor Day Weekend.... myself, Pan T. Dropper, DarkLighter, and a buddy of ours who is a board member but I don't remember his username (for the sake of giving him a plug, let's call him JASON, though that's not his real name).

Anyways, we went there strictly on the advise of one of the sportsman's drivers, who we hired to drive us around that night. Kind of an off-target place to recommend as an SL driver, don't you think? As Richard Marx wouls say, "Shoulda known better..."

We come in and the doormen says that they are waiving our entrance fee, which is supposed to be $15 per person according to him. We go in, and in all honesty, I was pretty impressed with the layout of the place... it looked nice. There were a handful of ticos in there, so it seems like the place is well accepted among the locals.

The waiter tells me off the bat that he is Cuban and that he'll be taking care of me. He puts us in VIP seating and almost immediately we get brought up with some ladies...

THE LADIES: There's no denying this, some of the women here were RAVISHING hot... Overall, they were, IMHO, much better looking than at my two favorite places, Kamur and Pantera Rosa. The problem is, they are hardcore here, and I mean hardcore. They will milk you for drinks from the second they sit down with you, and the moment you say no to the next drink, they will literally say goodbye to you in the wink of an eye. Bad form, Miss Kitty... bad form!

I'm not sure of session prices, but from what my buddies told me, they were charging $75 an hour for a Krysis room (this bar is connected to Krysis) and then the fee for the chica is negotiable, but they would budge under $75 for them, so minimum starting price will be $150 total... No chance, bub.

PRICES: Ok, so let me go on with my story. As I already mentioned, they waived our entrance fee, and this waiter who picked up on my Puerto Rican accent warmed up to me, telling me he's Cuban and that he'd be taking good care of me. He also mentioned rather quickly that he would love a good tip... Geeze, how about you provide SERVICE before asking for that!! Anyways, within 5 minutes of us being there, we had already gotten ourselve a round and 5 rounds for ladies. I told my Cuban "buddy" that we don't want a running tab... we'd like to pay as we go. So he comes back with this bill for 100k colones!! No shit, guys, we had only been there 5 minutes, and already they're pulling out the heavy artillery on the tab!! I go nutz and say that he must be out of his phucking mind!! So the breakdown goes, according to him, was that they WERE charging us entry after all at $15 per person (four of us, so $60 or 30k colones), plus each of the drinks for the ladies was $12 (five of those, so another $60 or 30k colones), so I do the math and I tell him that there's still another 40k colones unaccounted for. I start going off in spanish and I tell my Sportsman's driver to get involved (I'm paying him $10 an hour, which includes taking care of me, not just driving me around). He goes over there and talks to the guy, but several unsuccessful attempts are made and the bill doesn't change. I got really upset with the Sportsman's driver because he tended to side with the bar and his explainations were completely illogical and when I broke things down for him and explained what was going on, he'd play stupid and wasn't at all much of a help. We pay up, get rid of the girls and leave immediately. Needless to say, the Cuban waiter got jack-shit for a tip.

KICKER OF THE STORY: You gotta keep in mind that the amount over charged to us was 40k colones. I come to find out that if a driver takes you to Lipstick and you stay more than a certain specified amount of time (I think it's 10 minutes) then the driver gets a commission of 10k per person... There were four of us, thus 40k or $80... and there you have it, Lipstick was padding our bill to pay the commission of my driver, the guy I hired to take care of me. I don't know whether to blame the SL driver, whom up until that very night I've had a very good history with and did trust him up until this incident, or to blame Lipstick. We were all sober, so alcohol had no play in poor judgement. At the moment, we just didn't want any trouble so we paid the bill and left... quite frankly, I don't think we had too many options.

CONCLUSION: This place IS a clip joint, and my experiene there was abysmal. I don't get how places like this don't think beyond the current night of business and try to gain customer loyalty by simply being fair with them!! This, like many other places, has a double standard in their business... the way they treat the ticos (who by the way can't be contributing much to their bottom line), and the way the prey on the tourist and gouge them for all they can on a one-time-only basis. This is both upsetting and sad.

Moreso, I'm quite disappointed with this particular driver of the Sportsmans. As a disclaimer, the Sportsmans Lodge itself is not responsible for this in any way, shape or form, but this is a guy that many of us know and that many of us use during our travels in SJO. He was in on the scam, and the money that was being overcharged to us was going DIRECTLY INTO HIS POCKET, so that makes it even worse, being that I was being generous enough to have the guy hired on at $10 an hour to take care of me... Greed makes you do stupid things sometimes, people.

I won't mention his name, out of respect to the SL establishment, but I would strongly recommend that everyone either start using the legit red cabs from the SL or stick with Juan Carlos or one of his brothers (Gilbert, Gustavo and another I don't remember his name), those brothers I can tell you with absolute certainty are very honorable and good people.... I've NEVER heard of them compromising their integrity for a quick buck. At one time or another, all the "independent cabbies" that hang out at the SL at night have pulled some pretty shady shit to either me or others in the past and they're starting to feel a little too comfortable doing it these days.

Take care,

Ruffnutz

 

[hrpyadvde]

Shawn4delrey and I were in there a couple of months back and I have to agree with you. They started extracting money from us from the minute we sat down. We had a drink each, bought one for a couple of girls and then got the hell out of dodge.

 

[CNICOLE]

I can sympathize with you guys because I had a similar experience with Scarlett's. (What is it with these strip clubs in SJ? :evil: ) As soon we walk in, I am spotted, and immediately, the guy comes over and requests $15 per person, just to sit down. I tell my girl this is horseshit and we left and went to Kamur where we had fun, except that it was Monday so the talent was off a little. Even the taxista told us they were gringo-gouging me. :

The free entry is a warning sign that says "YOU'RE ABOUT TO GET ASS-RAPED, WATCH YOUR BACK".

About the taxis... count the amount of money we WASTE on these "independent taxis" each trip and add it all up. It seems like nothing at the time: $2 here, $3 here, next thing you know you dropped $100 on taxis. This trip I just walked to the corner from Sportsmens and hailed a regular taxi (although sometimes it can take a few minutes to find a vacant one) and paid less than half of what the indy drivers charge.

 

[Alia M]

Ruff,

Sorry to hear about your experience, but not surprised. I happen to live on the same block as Lipsticks and have never set foot inside, having heard of it's reputation. Interesting to know about the connection with Krysis. I wondered how they kept the doors open there.

Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but let me start a list of rip off joints.

Lipstick's
Scarlett's
Atlantis
Elite
Tango India
Alcazar
Centerfolds (?)

The 'taxi scam' is exactly what they are warning us about with those little signs in the Del Rey bathroom. I assume there is enough fresh meat to make profits for these places. If you think about it, a group of 4 who were NOT paying attention could easily run up a $1000 tab which would probably pay the bills for the week at Lipsticks. Apparently this business model works fairly well, when you look at the size of the above list.

 

[beamer]

Bilko wrote:

Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but let me start a list of rip off joints.

Lipstick's
Scarlett's
Atlantis
Elite
Tango India
Alcazar
Centerfolds (?)

Can add Club Hollywood in Sabana Sur to that list.

 

[tobkciqt]

I agree with ID's list. I don't see the point to even going to these places after you know how they operate. The only purpose I see they have is with a group of new guys that want some laughs. I wouldn't go by myself at all. They serve little purpose too me if you are looking for a comfortable time with a Latina. You always have to deal with the house if you happen to find something you like & not only is this expensive but a hassle also. It has always been better for me to find one on the outside of this clip joint atmosphere where you can deal with them more discretely.

I have found a few real hot ones at times & I just let the Latina know that I will not deal with the elements here. I simply tell them I don't mind paying you but not them. I let them know if they want to get together give me your # & lets meet some place. 80% of the time they give me their # & we meet outside somewhere.

 

[gxedqubmiraiereyq]

For what it's worth, at least one of the cabbies
that waits on the corner at the Presidente also
tries to get you to Atlantis. That happened on
my last trip in July, I kept telling him, no, no,
Atlantis cost to much, take me to Kamur.
All BS about I take care of you, very pretty girls,
no cost much... :roll:
He finally took me to Kamur, after I was
about to get out of the taxi at a red light.
ShyOne

 

[mastercasi]

Its called the gringo rip off!

That's what happens when a place gets populated for gringo sex.
I remember when Panama was hopping back in the 90's before we gave back the canel. Going to the strip joints would make you broke because they see a gringo coming they knew they had money.
I used to go to the places that were dark and where your feet stuck to the ground because you found the women that were good looking but a lot less money for everything. You could always find a girl friend on the streets that were none pros too.
For the double standards again they know the gringos are coming! have you ever gone to a park; even the goverment has their double standards. Ticos pay less to go to the national parks. Yep best place to go is where there are no gringos as long as you talk a litttle spanish

 

[Mommy to 4 boys :)]

Sorry about your misfortune Ruffy, Cabbies parked at hotels anywhere in town have a strong tendnecy to overcharge you if not down right rip you off. It is always best to get a taxi from the street. It can however be a bit hard to get a taxi from the street at Sportsmans unless one walks up to the corner. Bilkos list pretty much covers the clip joints most of which I may have visited but only once.rbc100

 

[partypoison]

Sportsman Cabbie Name

Ruffnutz, So, why don't you name this cabbie? If your story is true, you should let the CRT Group know who this guy is so he can be avoided. Otherwise, this "Respect for the Sportsman Lodge" is only going to cause further problems for other gringo. Be a man! Name the Driver or ...........I am sorry but I must call "Bullshit" on you. So, just name the driver so we can avoid him, Brother.

 

[laey]

Royboy, thanks for calling me out and trying to bait me into doing something I consciously decided not to do. No dice, however.

For the reason already stated, I will not post the name. This is just one instance, but the problem is getting quite common with most of the indies working outside the SL from what I've been hearing, so therefore my reason for posting. One instance, but a common problem that all should be aware of. Name of specific culprit for specific instance is inconsequential for my purposes.

As for calling bullshit on me, I don't even know you, so I care not of your opinion on my post. I'm sure the vast majority on the board will trust that my integity on the matter is intact and that my account is accurate, in spite of not posting a name. As with anything else on this forum, read it and do/believe as you please.

Ruffnutz

 

[Jahvan]

Sportsman Cabbie

Ruffnutz, shame on you! Be a man! If this cabbie did it to you, he will do it to me or another board member tomorrow! Are you wimping out cause you LIKE this no good or because you're scared of him kicking your ass, or what? Please...no "Respect For Bill Bullshit" because if this guy does it to me, I'll post his name to try to help my fellow board members. What is this board about? Duhhhh...

 

[aclozin]

Indy cabbies

Ruffnutz, So, why don't you name this cabbie? If your story is true, you should let the CRT Group know who this guy is so he can be avoided. Otherwise, this "Respect for the Sportsman Lodge" is only going to cause further problems for other gringo. Be a man! Name the Driver or ...........I am sorry but I must call "Bullshit" on you. So, just name the driver so we can avoid him, Brother.

Ease up Royboy!!!! There's absolutely no BS in what Ruffnutz posted about the indy cabbies that hang out in front of the SL. I've used just about ALL of the indy cabbies and I can tell you that there's a WAR going on between them. I speak, read, and understand Spanish perfectly and I have been witness to many verbal "discussions" between them.

Let me preface what I am stating by pointing out that I am not just a CRT who "perhaps" has only been to CR two or three times. Much less one that has only posted 73 times. Since I was introduced to CRT during the February Super Bowl Party, I've been to CR seven times and stayed at in the SL on four of those trips. Believe me, there's a war going on between the indy cabbies.

Nevertheless, I can and do understand your interest wanting to know the name of the indy cabbie who pulled that stunt on Ruffnutz; a CRT who speaks Spanish perfectly as well.... so can you imagine how well they can pull the same stunt on CRTs who don't speak a word of Spanish?

By the same token, I can understand why Ruffnutz opted not to name the indy cabbie. I could be mistaken, but is my belief that he prefers to keep his relationship with the SL and the indy cabbies separate. I think that is a very smart decision. However, take from someone who has been witness to the many "discussions" between the indys and the "dog eat dog" mentality that prevails. I could give various examples but it would take too much space.

The solution? It is simple! Stay away from the indys! Use legal taxis!
If you need you need a taxi, ask at the front desk and they'll get you one. It may take a few minutes but you'll have one who has a meter and will charge you the correct amount.

And more thing... regardless of whatever the hourly amount was that Ruffnutz was paying the indy driver to take him wherever and "take care of him" as well, remember that their relationship was not a new one. They've known each other for quite a while now and the indy should've taken care of Ruffnutz based on that relationship alone, regardless of how much he was getting for his hourly services.

The indys have and are looking for as many ways as they can find to make an extra Colòn from wherever they can bite their teeth into.
I KNOW, brother.... I KNOW!!!

They will offer to get chicas for you and deliver them to your room if you want. BTW... that's "pimping" and it is illegal in CR, isn't it?

All of them will offer their services 24/7 but can't always delver because I was not their only client.
And they will try to to take you to the joints where they will get a commission based on the number of clients they bring.
Capitalism at its best, don't you think?

I can and do understand that these guys need to make a living as best as possible. But I don't think it is good for current and future business if the indy does not stand behind the guy who is paying, sort of..., his salary.
True it is though... the "gringo" client will eventually leave and the indy will continue to deal with the various clip joints that provide him with the commissions. That's their long term business venture and I can't blame them for that... but he should've stood behind the client he was doing business with at the, i.e., Ruffnutz and his friends.

So, now that you've heard it to be true from another source, perhaps you will see in your heart to send Ruffnutz a short PM or openly post with a short apology. You accused him of spitting up Bullshit and demanded for him to be a man. I, for one, happen to take that as an insult and I will not stand for it.
However, I promise you that I will not, EVER!!!, flame up on you about any of your future post. I was not raised that way.
Many friends tell me that's called "class" and I'm sincerely glad I have friends.

Now go ahead and apologize... it'll do you good. Lot's of it!

Respectfully

 

[Cyrus]

SL Cabbie

Muffdiver and Ruffnutz, my understanding is that this boards purpose is to share information. I don't think being a wimp is being "Classy". I THINK BEING "CLASSY" IS SPEAKING THE TRUTH. If you withhold the name of this driver, he will do it again tonight to someone. If the Sportsman Lodge has no affiliation with this cabbie, WHAT DOES IT MATTER? I enjoy your post but I get extremley irritated when witnesses refuse to identify the culprit. You are either a part of the solution or a part of the problem. Which are you?

 

[Roxxi Angelz]

RoyBoy,

I suggest you settle down a little. Ruffnutz posted good info that helps us all. It is his perogative not to name the name. Simple rule, don't trust the indie drivers and do not go to rippoff strip clubs. I suggest you apologize for being confrontational with no need. It is ok to request the name (politely) but after Ruffnutz declined that should have been the end of it. Our congenial treatment of each other is one of the better things about the board.

BKTUNA