Love Motel, MP, Bar or Just Straight Up Brothel?

Pension New Fantasy in San Jose, Costa Rica

While many pensions are indeed simply low cost accommodation for backpackers and families on a budget there are at least thirty businesses in San Jose that use a pension license as a front for a brothel.

The approach is not that difficult to imagine, simply take a low rent motel and encourage prostitutes to wait in the reception area while renting rooms by the hour.

Get a bar license like Hotel Little Havana, La Mansion or IDEM and you are you can serve drinks to the gentlemen while they enjoy the female talent.

Many gringos occasionally refer to these businesses as MPs or massage parlors this is not technically the case as licensing for massage services is a bit restrictive.

The Costa Rica solution is to simply take a business with a pension license and install a steam room and massage tables instead of beds. New Fantasy MP is a good example of this approach. Legal problems are avoided as long as there are no advertisement that indicates a massage service.

Find Out More About the Guide

Most of the venues offer a fixed price for both sex and room for either thirty minutes or an hour for under $40. While some guys like to call this the "point and shoot approach", there is some room for romance, which Cubadave Explains in his MP Update.

The majority of pensions open around mid day, and close between 6 and 9pm. Only a few offer rooms that would be practical or desirable for a tourist to stay in overnight.

The trick is finding the various venues in a country where there are no street addresses and most sex businesses operate undercover. Order a copy online of Costa Rica Single Male Handbook and you can download detailed reviews, maps and information on over thirty defacto brothels in San Jose.