missypie

Okay, after reading these boards since June, I finally booked our spring break trip to Costa Rica. We have traveled a lot, but besides the US, only in Europe (if you don't count two trips to resorts in Mexico). Traeling in CR still scares me a bit. The flights were filling up fast, so it was time to make a decision. After giving my husband big warnings that the roads wil not be great, we may get lost, etc., he said to go for it...so I did.

We've booked a Celebrity Suite at the Lost Iguagna. Now I need to find a hotel close to the airport for arrival night, and settle on some place in MA.

Thanks for all the info so far. More posts to come!

shillmac

You'll be amazed at how unscary it is! I know there are always exceptions, but most of us on this board who love Costa Rica dearly have had such marvelous experiences with the people, the beauty, the spirit (Pura Vida) of the place--it is all much easier than you are imagining! Have a great time!

faithie

In Manuel Antonio , you might best appreciate SiComo No . Perhaps Orquedias Inn for the first night .

missypie

I'm sure kids would like Si Como No, but they have no rooms to accomodate a family of 5 (I've asked.) With the price of two rooms there, we could get something pretty fabulous somewhere else.

faithie

Hmmmm.... look into a villa at Costa Verde ?

Heather49

If it's the driving the scares you, hire a driver. We did because we found it easier than always having a car. It worked out well. No worries about the road, about directions, about leaving stuff in your car.

thoid

missypie: Book a night at the Hampton Inn. It is located near the Airport with a private shuttle, look for someone holding a sign for Hampton Inn. Clean, neat, safe, and Americanized to get your bearing for your first night, and then travel during the day in beautiful Costa Rica. Shillmac is right, being "unscary." The people are very nice. Travelled with 2 kids (7,4) and never felt scared. We will be back in Feb.

missypie

Thanks. I was actually considering the Hampton Inn. Our flight arrives after 9 pm, so it will be quite late when we reach the hotel. I don't think we'll be up for any adventure on that first night.

thoid

missypie: It gets pretty confusing once you leave the airport. There will be many limo,taxi drivers all asking if they can give you a ride. Keep your bags close and find the Hampton shuttle asap. We arrived at the same time and I thought there was someone famous or something because of all the comotion. It can get pretty hectic.
We ordered out to Pizza Hut when we arrived. Ask the person at the desk of the Hampton Inn, they will order for you. The Kids loved it.

missypie

We've reserved all the hotels now:

1st night (late arrival): Hampton Inn near SJO

Nights 2-5: Lost Iguana

Nights 6-8: Tulemar Bungalows

Nice to have that taken care of. Issimo Suites in MA looked very nice and I was leaning toward them. DH liked the idea of the private beach at Tulemar, and since Issimo Suites never acknowleged any of my emails, we went with Tulemar.

janiekins

Hi missypie, what is a Celebrity Suite at the Lost Iguana - I reserved a suite there for April - is this the same thing?

missypie

The Celebrity Suites are new. (I actually don't even know if they're complete yet...hope they are by March!!!) Here is how it was described to me:

"The Suite has a master bedroom with a king sized bed and a jacuzzi on the balcony. The master bedroom and balcony have a great vocano view. The master bedroom has an outdoor lava rock shower. There is a second bedroom with a double bed and bunk bed. The second bedroom has its own small bathroom complete with shower, The rate is $285 plus tax."

Even though our kids will be 15, 12 and 10 at the time of the trip, I don't like the idea of having them in a separate room, so we looked for places where we could be together.

missypie

Ah, now I don't feel left out...the Fiesta Premier has been promoted on my thread, too!

Melissa5

missypie, congrats on booking your trip, I know you had a lot of reservations, I'm glad you went ahead and took the plunge! Write us all about your experiences when you return. It will be a great trip. I think, considering you are feeling nervous, you have booked good places...Hampton Inn will feel just like home, from what I have heard about it (didn't stay there myself), and the Lost Iguana is great, you'll feel like you're out in the rainforest yet with all the comforts you need. Food is pretty good at Lost Iguana (No place in costa Rica seems to have great food, so pretty good is what you can expect!) My whole family has great memories of the Lost Iguana and of Arenal.

Have fun!

Melissa5

missypie, I should qualify the statement I made above, it is my personal opinion that no place we tried in Costa Rica had really great food, but lots of places had good, decent food and some fun atmosphere. (I live in San Diego where we have great food from all over the planet, fabulous cooks seem to move here from all over the globe!) Anyway we didn't go to Costa Rica for the food so we weren't the least bit disappointed. It was as we expected, decent but just okay. Except for the drinks...your family will enjoy the fact that all sorts of fruit drinks, like milkshakes and fruit smoothie type drinks, are cheaper than they are in the USA, great drinks. We liked the drinks with banana especially.

wherenext

Missypie you are going to love Tulamar Bugalows! We stayed there with our three kids the summer before last! My three still talk about it! Monkeys are all over the place. You will hear the white faces on your roof at night. They go down the canyon in the morning and up in the afternoon. They are wonderful. We also had a troop of "titi" monkeys come through and the manager called and told us to come and see them. We even fed them little bits of bananas out of our hands. The Iguanas wander around the property and the Geckos come out at night. When you go down to the Villa Pool look up in the trees and you will see the slow slothes up high. This all happens on the property. The staff is great at the restaurant. You will enjoy it.

You will be estatic that you are not staying at Si Como No. It is much more crowded and there is not the amount of wildlife there. Do go there for lunch and have the kids in swimsuits. They will let the kids use the waterslide and its fun with all the kids. There are no rules in the pool and two kids went to hospital that day we were there for lunch. One cracked his chin jumping from the slide and a girl got paint from the slide under her toenail going feet first on her stomach and it got infected. The staff did take care of both injuries but it was a bit chaotic.

We stayed at the Marriott resort in one room (5 fit great) It is a spectacular property and only $116.00 then. We stayed there our last night as well. We were apprehensive about staying in a chain hotel because we usually like boutique or idependents, but it was lovely and a free shuttle to it. Very nice start and finish to the trip.

The other place we stayed was Tabacon. And you have read what that is like. Kids loved it. Whats not to?

You will have a great time. Although we take the kids many places with varied experiences...they want to go back to Costa Rica. We are going to Belize, to try to capture a similar but unique experience, this summer.