For my second half of my DR trip, I checked out the action in Sosua and based on all the video reports from Cuba Dave, the first place I wanted to try was Passions. It was an easy 10 to 12 minute walk from Rocky's and yes, it was safe during the evening. Sure I got motoconcho guys asking me if I needed a ride but other than that, I was never hassled on the street to Passions.
I did pass by CMP (Caribbean Men's Paradise) along the way but it seemed very quiet from the outside and with a closed front door, it just didn't look that inviting so I never bothered to go in. Also passed by what seemed to be a strip club (forgot the name, maybe Hollywood Nights or something) but passed on that too.
Passions was not difficult to spot since it seemed like the most happening building in the area along with the group of motoconchos out front. I got there on Tuesday night at 9:30 pm and the place was extremely slow. There were only 3 other customers in there besides me and the 20 to 30 girls inside looked pretty bored out of the minds. I quickly checked each room out including the newer Jungle bar and then left. My plan was to come back in an hour to see if things would pick up.
I went back at 10:30 pm and things were just a bit busier with about 7 or 8 guys now. The girls still looked kind of bored - no dancing like I saw on the videos. I sat next to this German guy who gave me the basic info. Almost immediately, I was swamped by a few girls, none that appealed to me. I got an orange juice for 100 pesos and I told the girls that I just wanted to chill and enjoy my beverage for awhile but they kind of kept pushing for business. This turned me off.
Pretty well each one I said 'no gracias' or 'mas tarde' to just rolled their eyes in disgust. Not the best attitude in my opinion. After awhile, I did motion one of the girls who approached me before that I was interested in going up to the rooms with her.
So I paid her the 2,500 pesos and she went to the bar to do whatever she's suppose to do. Then she took my upstairs to the room. I have to admit that the room upstairs along with the rest of the facility is really nicely designed. Passions is a top notch club from that point of view for sure. Inside the room, there was a large enough and comfortable bed, a bathroom with toilet, sink and shower separated by a red curtain and another space or closet that was also separated by another red curtain - I didn't look in.
The girl, I think her name was Bani (from Santo Domingo), put a sheet over the bed and then came into the shower with me - which was a nice touch. There was a plastic container of liquid soap as well as towels. And I was allowed to bring my beverage into the room too.
The session started like your average one elsewhere in DR except the one thing I found different in Passions was the loud, club music. This music continued into the rooms too and personally, I found it to be very distracting. I'm not sure exactly what it was but even from when I was sitting downstairs in the bar area to the time in the room, I just didn't feel all that comfortable.
I know that Passions is suppose to be a safer and more controlled environment in Sosua compared to the other bars with less drama since there are set prices and the girls are never allowed to ask for tips and are inspected, etc., but for me, this place just didn't work out. My discomfort was bad enough that halfway through the session, my little head decided to go limp and pass out for the rest of the time in the room. Now of course I know that this does mentally affect the Latin American girls negatively, even if they are working girls but I tried my best to explain in my broken Spanish that it wasn't the chica's fault and that I'm okay with it.
I've never had this type of issue whenever I brought girls back to my hotel rooms no matter where in the world whether in Thailand, Montreal, Cuba, San Jose or elsewhere. I did have similar negative experiences in similar setups where it was a club or brothel environment where things were more 'open' and there was always loud music blasting away. Maybe for me, I just feel more comfortable in a quieter environment and in my own hotel room where I feel things are in my turf, rather than in somebody else's.
When I realized that things were beyond recovery, I told the lady that it was time to finish up the session since I didn't want to waste her time - I'm not sure how she felt about this either. But at least I did check out the legendary Passions and made the decision that for the rest of my time in Sosua, one visit was enough. I'll decided to do the street bar scene for the rest of my Sosua stay which I'll do a separate report on next - and it actually worked out better for me.
I think that for guys who are comfortable with an environment like Passions, it would be a good place considering the more controlled environment. But for guys like me who just feels more comfortable in my own hotel room, Passions just was not a good place for me. Now having said that, they do have take out available and depending on what time of the night you request it, the price for an all nighter can go down to the same price of 2,500 pesos if you do this at 1 am I believe. So that is a viable option for the future too if one is into all nighters.
I did pass by CMP (Caribbean Men's Paradise) along the way but it seemed very quiet from the outside and with a closed front door, it just didn't look that inviting so I never bothered to go in. Also passed by what seemed to be a strip club (forgot the name, maybe Hollywood Nights or something) but passed on that too.
Passions was not difficult to spot since it seemed like the most happening building in the area along with the group of motoconchos out front. I got there on Tuesday night at 9:30 pm and the place was extremely slow. There were only 3 other customers in there besides me and the 20 to 30 girls inside looked pretty bored out of the minds. I quickly checked each room out including the newer Jungle bar and then left. My plan was to come back in an hour to see if things would pick up.
I went back at 10:30 pm and things were just a bit busier with about 7 or 8 guys now. The girls still looked kind of bored - no dancing like I saw on the videos. I sat next to this German guy who gave me the basic info. Almost immediately, I was swamped by a few girls, none that appealed to me. I got an orange juice for 100 pesos and I told the girls that I just wanted to chill and enjoy my beverage for awhile but they kind of kept pushing for business. This turned me off.
Pretty well each one I said 'no gracias' or 'mas tarde' to just rolled their eyes in disgust. Not the best attitude in my opinion. After awhile, I did motion one of the girls who approached me before that I was interested in going up to the rooms with her.
So I paid her the 2,500 pesos and she went to the bar to do whatever she's suppose to do. Then she took my upstairs to the room. I have to admit that the room upstairs along with the rest of the facility is really nicely designed. Passions is a top notch club from that point of view for sure. Inside the room, there was a large enough and comfortable bed, a bathroom with toilet, sink and shower separated by a red curtain and another space or closet that was also separated by another red curtain - I didn't look in.
The girl, I think her name was Bani (from Santo Domingo), put a sheet over the bed and then came into the shower with me - which was a nice touch. There was a plastic container of liquid soap as well as towels. And I was allowed to bring my beverage into the room too.
The session started like your average one elsewhere in DR except the one thing I found different in Passions was the loud, club music. This music continued into the rooms too and personally, I found it to be very distracting. I'm not sure exactly what it was but even from when I was sitting downstairs in the bar area to the time in the room, I just didn't feel all that comfortable.
I know that Passions is suppose to be a safer and more controlled environment in Sosua compared to the other bars with less drama since there are set prices and the girls are never allowed to ask for tips and are inspected, etc., but for me, this place just didn't work out. My discomfort was bad enough that halfway through the session, my little head decided to go limp and pass out for the rest of the time in the room. Now of course I know that this does mentally affect the Latin American girls negatively, even if they are working girls but I tried my best to explain in my broken Spanish that it wasn't the chica's fault and that I'm okay with it.
I've never had this type of issue whenever I brought girls back to my hotel rooms no matter where in the world whether in Thailand, Montreal, Cuba, San Jose or elsewhere. I did have similar negative experiences in similar setups where it was a club or brothel environment where things were more 'open' and there was always loud music blasting away. Maybe for me, I just feel more comfortable in a quieter environment and in my own hotel room where I feel things are in my turf, rather than in somebody else's.
When I realized that things were beyond recovery, I told the lady that it was time to finish up the session since I didn't want to waste her time - I'm not sure how she felt about this either. But at least I did check out the legendary Passions and made the decision that for the rest of my time in Sosua, one visit was enough. I'll decided to do the street bar scene for the rest of my Sosua stay which I'll do a separate report on next - and it actually worked out better for me.
I think that for guys who are comfortable with an environment like Passions, it would be a good place considering the more controlled environment. But for guys like me who just feels more comfortable in my own hotel room, Passions just was not a good place for me. Now having said that, they do have take out available and depending on what time of the night you request it, the price for an all nighter can go down to the same price of 2,500 pesos if you do this at 1 am I believe. So that is a viable option for the future too if one is into all nighters.
I admit it took me quite a lot of time to realize and come to appreciate the more honest and open society. If course in North America we consider it impolite to be aggressive when saying no. I guess what I'm trying to say if that if you are equally pushy or aggressive at expressing your feelings (especially important is refusing to make eye contact when saying "no, gracias") you have just leveled the playing field and are becoming more in tune with their culture.