The founder and co-owner of the Hotel Del Rey passed away at his home in San Rafael de Heredia this weekend. John Clark Emerson was reported to be 84 years old but had not been well for several years due to chronic health issues.
For those that are not familiar with the Hotel Del Rey, it was once the epicenter of a certain aspect of San Jose nightlife, starting back in the early 1990s. Emerson and his partner, Tim “The Brit,” converted a four-story office building in downtown San Jose into a 104-room hotel, 24-hour bar, casino, and restaurant.
The Hotel Del Rey quickly became a favorite watering hole for foreign tourists and locals due to its “liberal” policy of permitting women of a “certain age” and business interest to frequent the bar area.
In those days, many of the travelers that would stay there were also clients of “The Brothers.“
“The Brothers” ran an investment scheme that paid investors 3% per month on cash deposits of $10,000 or more. When the operation was eventually shut down in 2001 by Costa Rican authorities, it was reported to have almost a billion dollars in deposits. One of the brothers was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and the other brother disappeared. Most of the money did as well.
Travelers would fly in every month to San Jose to pick up their money, in cash, and spend a part at the Hotel Del Rey. The Hotel Del Rey was so popular in those days that taxi drivers seeing a single male traveler at the airport in San Jose would cry out, “Del Rey?”
Emerson and his partner also bought up several local bars, including the legendary Key Largo bar and casino. “Big John” was a towering figure both physically and in demeanor. He was a private person and ran, as they say, a tight ship. No detail escaped his attention. He did not suffer fools either.
He was often found seated behind his desk in the Hotel Del Rey lobby, but it was not uncommon to bump into him in Jaco, Havana, or Fort Lauderdale.
With his passing, another chapter of San Jose folklore goes with him. The Hotel Del Rey is still open but without the casino and restaurant. If you wish to see it, just ask a taxi driver of a “certain age.””
