Port Au Prince cheap place to stay

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Port Au Prince cheap place to stay

Postby beavis » Mon Jan 31, 2011 4:04 am

Does anybody have any suggestions about where to stay cheap in pap? By cheap, i mean $10-25 Also, any suggestions about getting there from the airport? Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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Re: Port Au Prince cheap place to stay

Postby Kurt » Mon Jan 31, 2011 5:14 am

beavis wrote:Does anybody have any suggestions about where to stay cheap in pap? By cheap, i mean $10-25 Also, any suggestions about getting there from the airport? Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.


PAP is not a place for a budget traveller. I am not sure about the cheap places to stay but getting to and from the airport will run you $40 to $500.

This is because when you get a cab, you are expected to pay for any repairs needed if there is a breakdown on the way. You will not be able to argue this point.

You can take a shared taxi but unless you speak Creole you will pay the Blan Tax. That means a $1 ride may cost alot. Negotiation the price down will be difficult because you are rich. All foreigners are rich to them and they are so desperate for cash that even "bargain" ride and accommodation will mysteriously rise in price. That rise in price will not be like Istanbul where you just say "tourist police" and watch those little moustaches kow tow to you, you will pay the price and you will have no recourse unless you are armed.

My advice is to pay $100 a night and stay at the Ollofson Hotel. Its interesting. People don't try to screw you over. The food won't kill you. The bar is awesome and Thursday nights are more awesome.

Don't skimp in PAP.
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Re: Port Au Prince cheap place to stay

Postby beavis » Mon Jan 31, 2011 6:03 am

Haha,
Thanks for the heads up. Considering how luxurious the place is, I'm not surprised at how expensive things are. Lol.
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Re: Port Au Prince cheap place to stay

Postby sonnydae » Tue Apr 12, 2011 7:54 pm

So how was the trip? Looking for details myself, going down at the end of May.
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Re: Port Au Prince cheap place to stay

Postby Q » Tue Apr 12, 2011 11:14 pm

Can pull up a cardboard room anywhere for whatever the locals will take off your corpse.

Try the Hotel Habitation Hatt. The French owner is super cool, and his parrot is cooler. Just don't piss it off.

Can try the Palm Inn as well.
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Re: Port Au Prince cheap place to stay

Postby sonnydae » Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:44 pm

Just got back from PaP yesterday. I stayed at the Oloffson and, while not luxorious...it was fine without western goggles. $100 a night was my rate (booked 3 months prior), an Argentine who booked two weeks before paid $120. He had a suite with no TV or aircon, I had a regular room (Charles Adams) with TV, aircon, and hot water, although my ceiling leaked quite a bit in several places during a tropical depression. If you're gonna stay in PaP, this is THE place. And Kurt said Thursday nights are awesome, he's right. Richard Morse and his wife play every Thursday (the group is RAM, his initials), although they hadn't played in over a month since Arcade Fire came and surprised everyone in early May I think.

Listen, PaP isn't that bad anymore. I'd stay the fuck away from Cite Soleil, but that's about it. You can walk around the Oloffson's immediate area in the evenings, but it might be pushing it a little. Certainly not near any of the camps at night, but during the day the camps are fine, again, except Cite Soleil. If you want to stay somewhere nice where you can walk around at night, stay in Petion Ville...it's like 30-45 minutes east of PaP and where the nice places to eat and stay are. $100 there will get you an American style spa type of place. Baby Doc hangs out at the nice restaurants...supposedly people come up and try to serve him warrants, saying he murdered their husband or made their father disappear. He just sits back, smiles, and says "Prove it."

From the airport, make sure you use a guy with an ID around his neck. The hustlers don't even bother with those. You'll probably meet a guy as soon as you leave the airport's front door, agree on a price with him, and he'll hand you off to someone else. To PaP proper $30 is high, $20 is better, $10 and you're a badass, tap tap and you're fucking crazy.

I had a guy through the Oloffson, his name was Evens (Evans). Great guy, good English, nice clean 4x4, and honest pricing. A prince among princes, (509) 3754-3659 or 3488-9301, email him at ravixevens@yah.com (could be yahoo.com and that would certainly make more sense...so call and don't bother with email...or send two if the first one doesn't work, I can't hold your hand the whole way). We went to some cool places, especially the Croix de Marche.

Haiti needs your money. And you'll come back alive. Be the pioneers to get this place going again. Shit, you could go to Cap Hatien or Jacmel and you really wouldn't have anything to worry about. Evens can help you get there, too, if you want to pay him. Alternatively, he has contacts all over the country. Message me if you have any other questions.

Don't wear open toed shoes here, Q gave me that advice. I wore some Keen H2s and was covered in shit after walking in some of the camps. My feet were burning when I got back to my room, serves me right for not wearing boots.

And the original question was cheap place to stay...$20 may be pushing it anywhere. St. Joseph's Home for Boys is $40, but they don't serve beer or liquor and you're surrounded by church folks. Coming in hammered late night might be frowned upon. I think that includes two meals and free internet, in Petion Ville.
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Re: Port Au Prince cheap place to stay

Postby sonnydae » Fri Jun 10, 2011 2:45 pm

Croiz des Bouquets, not Marche...sorry. My French blows. But if you like local art, this is a village of guys who trace patterns on old oil drums and other scrap (there's a bit in Haiti these days) and then beat them out with a hammer and punch and decorate them with the same tools, just with less force. It's gorgeous stuff and the village is filled with the pinging rising up from courtyards and patios. One guy has a monopoly and is online, but there is equally incredible art to be found in some of the smaller, less entrepeneurial artists' shops. I came across a place like this in Burkina Faso, the kind of thing where if you were an enterprising person, you'd fill a shipping container, get them online, and everyone makes money.
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Re: Port Au Prince cheap place to stay

Postby beavis » Sun Jun 12, 2011 1:26 am

Hi,
I apologize for the delayed response. I'm still in PAP and have an apartment here for now. Please feel free to ask or PM me if you have any questions.

Sonydae's info. is pretty good.

I'll post more this week.

Thanks for the previous info.
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