What bars are you guys talking about?
There are the big gringo friendly bars like Adelitas , Hong Kong and Chicago Club, although CC is now dead.
Then you have the second tier clubs, still pretty large, still gringo friendly but they are more of a Mexican type bar where you drink and dance with the girls, and they are priced about the same as AB. Those bars are Bar Tropical, and Las Chavelas. These two bars are the ones I like, and I seem to get better service at these types of bars.
Then you have which I call the third tier clubs, like Rio Rosas, Las Carreras, Playboy, Hacienda, La Valentina Bar , Bar Delicious etc etc.
I tend to stay away from those bars, although I tried them. The girls don't rip you off, where they will steal your money, but these bars sometimes have stupid rules, like a 'bar fine' that if you take the girls out of the bar you have to pay them something like $20 dollars. Or in a case like Las Carreras the girls won't leave to the hotel with you, so you have to buy them a bucket and take them to the private rooms, and fuck her there, and it will cost you over a $100 dollars for her and the bucket of beer. The unwritten rule at Rio Rosas is to fuck the girl right there in the bar in the dark corner. They don't really have a hotel, although some of the girls will use the hotel at SGs use next door, but they try to keep you in there drinking and buying them drinks.
These small bars are usually dead, and have very few hot girls, and you don't know what they will hit you with next like the girl doesn't go upstairs, you have to buy a bucket, you have to pay a bar fine...etc etc The only good thing about these places is the beer is usually cheaper than other places.