Ugh, it used to be so easy when it was $4 for a drink and $9 for a Ficha, so you just had to round up to $5 or $10 with a $1 tip. How soon before ficha prices go up too?
Tecate Light was $4 in 2022 and $5 in 2023. Will be there again soon so will be curious to see if it has changed.
I was in LA clubs last week and beers were $8 and $9 for domestic bottles which is an infinitely more expensive market than TJ. HK is getting greedier.
I have already severely reduced my time ($) spent in HK. I understand things such as inflation, but the whole vibe and the clear greed is just a boner killer.
You people amaze me. How many drinks do you need to have while you're there for this to make a real difference to you? By all means, boycott the place, and I will spend my time consoling the bar girls over your absence. :)
Booji, you're right. It really won't make any difference. It's just $1 more for a guys beer. No big deal. But what does make a difference to a lot of people is the consistent price increases on everything the last 18 months to 2 years. Also, the $30 wine is now $33.
Sure, and if you go back 8-10 years, the prices there were significantly lower still. But... The club was smaller and Cascadas was a lot seedier, and CC was empty most of the time, and there was more space to dance in BT. The price increases have come alongside a lot of improvements in the ZN so I can't really complain. YMMV.
@booji Boy - I on average drink 2 beers a night at HK, so this increase really has no real impact on me. You can' t blame HK and the dancers for raising prices, the place is always packed. It is just annoying for us old timers who were spoiled by HK being such a bargain in the past.
I agree with folks that this is a trivial price increase, even if you are drinking a lot of beers yourself. Even if you have 10 beers in a night, this change will cost you $10, not the end of the world.
The problem is, it comes in conjunction with numerous other price increases which do real damage. My biggest gripes are the damn $33 wine ficha, and probably most important, the inconsistent and skyrocketing bar fines. I'm a fan of the 2 hour arriba, but the bar fine on that, $110 if you're lucky but they might try to charge as much as $220, makes the 2 hour arriba almost prohibitively expensive. Because you've got to pay the chica too, that 2nd hour ends up being exceedingly expensive, much more than the first hour, which gives me great pause on doing arribas over an hour. Note that only 18 months ago, the barfine for a 2 hour arriba was only $50.
I think most of my frustration from this comes from having to pay a five and now two extra singles. Handling the cash is such a pain! I've definitely been enjoying trying to get chicas off the clock and going to some of the other bars.
I have been spending way to much money in drinks these last two trips. It adds up fast, but I sure enjoy the atmosphere. Going to have to going back to being a wall flower I guess.
I agree Ron, the wine is still the killer. It’s predatory. My last visit I saw a guy who it was clear his first time in HK. His girl asked for 3 wines and he bought them. That’s a c note right there. The girl wasn’t even into him and gave him nothing at the table for those wines. He then took her upstairs for what I’m sure was over 200.
When the waiter comes to me and a girl I make it clear to both, no wine. The girl never cares. If she did, I’d excuse her from my table and move on to the next one.
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I was in LA clubs last week and beers were $8 and $9 for domestic bottles which is an infinitely more expensive market than TJ. HK is getting greedier.
Also, the $30 wine is now $33.
Sure, and if you go back 8-10 years, the prices there were significantly lower still. But... The club was smaller and Cascadas was a lot seedier, and CC was empty most of the time, and there was more space to dance in BT. The price increases have come alongside a lot of improvements in the ZN so I can't really complain. YMMV.
The problem is, it comes in conjunction with numerous other price increases which do real damage. My biggest gripes are the damn $33 wine ficha, and probably most important, the inconsistent and skyrocketing bar fines. I'm a fan of the 2 hour arriba, but the bar fine on that, $110 if you're lucky but they might try to charge as much as $220, makes the 2 hour arriba almost prohibitively expensive. Because you've got to pay the chica too, that 2nd hour ends up being exceedingly expensive, much more than the first hour, which gives me great pause on doing arribas over an hour. Note that only 18 months ago, the barfine for a 2 hour arriba was only $50.
before that it used to be zero. even for TLN.
When the waiter comes to me and a girl I make it clear to both, no wine. The girl never cares. If she did, I’d excuse her from my table and move on to the next one.