poss

I may get around to doing a trip report later, but meanwhile I'd be happy to try to answer in detail about any of the accommodations/places we've been. Main activities in our travels were walks/hikes/hanging bridges, both with and without guide.

I found this message board helpful and would like to return the favor. Understanding, of course, that impressions/responses are always "subjective," I'll try to give as many specifics as I can to better enable other folks to make choices given their own preferences.

Molly2

Welcome back, poss! I'm dying to hear what your impressions were of Arenal Observatory Lodge, and Costa Rica in general!

shillmac

Hi Poss,
By your posts since returning, I'm guessing your impressions were mostly favorable?! Glad you guys had a good time and have arrived home safely.

murphy451

My wife and I will be staying at Villa Caletas Feb. 3rd thru the 6th. anything you could tell me would be greatly appreciated.

poss

Murphy: Here's some Caletas info. (Notes on the ohters coming soon.)
I'm not sure what your expectations are about Villa Caletas, or what kinds of places you're accustomed to, but I'm pleased to say that I can't imagine a single person (no matter what their standard) being less than very impressed by Caletas. It was our favorite spot in our 10-day trip (we were at Caletas for 2 nights). (My husband is mid 70's, I'm early 60's; we've traveled a lot and this is right up there with the best of them.)
I had almost changed my mind about staying at Caletas because they were the one place that could not confirm a king bed (we're not comfortable in queen). Also, we got interested in it mainly because we didn't want the long trip from Arenal to Manuel Antonio; liked the idea of breaking the ride (tho we had a driver), and nothing else "in between" had much appeal. (except Neta's place Many posters felt that it made sense just to drive right on through, but I'm glad we didn't. We'd had enough time in the car by the time we got to the Jaco area (plus it was pouring most of the time, so not very pleasant driving). We were glad to have the break, plus, as I said, Caletas was wonderful.
They did, in fact, come through with a king bed for us (there are very few there)-- junior suite #26. It was a long way from the pool and the restaurant, but it was very very private (which is important to us; we hate noise) and the walk was gorgeous-- down (and then up!) spectacularly winding stone paths, with splendid lush landscaping all around. A wonderful touch was that there are lanterns outside each door (and inside the room also), and they actually use candles in them. At night all the lanterns are lit, so it's quite lovely walking back to the room; they put new candles in every day. The room itself was great-- not as large as some of our other accommodations (Xandari and Makanda were both a good deal larger), but every bit as comfortable. And quite stunning in the fabrics, furniture, etc. Bathroom was good too. The lanai was enormous-- narrow, but very long, with a fine view of the Pacific far below. There was an excellent Hot Springs jacuzzi on the lanai-- very luxurious.
The pool (maybe a 10 min walk through beautiful grounds) is smallish (tho one could do shortish laps), but very very handsome-- the nicest of any of the places. There's also a terrific jacuzzi near the pool, again the best of any, especially as it was in shade. The big drawback for us at the pool was the quite uncomfortable lounges. They were fine for lounging, but they didn't sit upright, so reading was mighty uncomfortable. The view out to the Pacific was spectacular.
The amphitheater thing (you're aware of it, yes?) is amusing. No doubt "out of place" in CR, but what a place! (both the theater and Costa Rica) I'd heard about the sunsets there, and for sure we've never seen more spectacular ones anywhere. People gather on the steps, weird music is played (a bit hokey, but very appropriate-- we loved it), you can get great drinks (my favorite: the mora colada), and it's hard to keep from swooning (even without the mora). The restaurant (best food we had in CR) is in the same area, as is that gorgeous pool (some folks watched the sunset from the pool area).

The beach: not bad at all. I.e., there's no sand to speak of, mainly rocks, but the setting is so wonderful that we didn't mind not having a "real" beach. It's a large enough area to be able to take strolls, and there are comfortable lounge chairs, cushions, towels, also a snack bar (maybe just drinks and ice cream-- I don't remember). The water is deliciously warm, though the get-in and out is a little tough. No stinging jellies or anything else noxious in the water. The Pacific is a looooong way down from the hotel, by the way. But that didn't much matter; there's a shuttle than runs every hour.
We didn't do any tours from Caletas, in part because we were kind of tired at that point, but mainly because we were happy as clams right there. We did do Rainmaker a few days later. Rainmaker is about half way between Jaco and MA, closer to MA. I highly recommend it. Let me know if you need info. Would have liked to do aerial tram and Carrera and maybe a Tarcoles tour from Villa Caletas-- just didn't have the time.
What am I forgetting? Don't hesitate to ask if you can think of other specifics I might be able to answer.

alinae

Poss: thank you so much for this wonderful review of Villa Caltas. We're staying there for our honeymoon in June for 5-nights and now I'm very excited by the prospect!

Do you think 5 nights there is too long or will we be happy being in such luxury for that long? We do plan to go to MA and Quepos from there (and maybe Tarcoles on our own or on the tour) sop it shouldn't be too boring.

Also, did you have a chance to eat anywhere else around, such as Jaco?

murphy451

Poss, thank you so much for your reply. We are really looking forward to our trip after hearing of your time.

Bill_in_DC

Dear Poss,
My itinerary for a trip in March is remarkably similar to yours. I'd love to get some feedback on the Peace Lodge but in the mean time, can you tell me how long it took to drive from Arenal to Villa Celetas? We're planning to spend two nights there before going to MA. Sounds like Villa Celetas was well worth the time and the expense. Thanks.

poss

Alinae: Your question about whether 5 nights is too long at Caletas made me realize one important (to us anyway) thing I forgot to mention when I responded to Murphy, who I hope is still following this thread. For us, even though we loved Caletas, I think 5 nights would probably have been too long. The reason-- the thing I forgot to say before-- is that while the property is very beautiful, and certainly much larger than, say, Makanda, there really isn't anywhere to hike on the grounds. It's a bit of a walk to get from one's accommodation (most of them) to the more central areas, but that's about it-- except, of course, for shutteling down to the beach (walking is possible, but it's a very long steep hill). On that one score, we much preferred Arenal Observatory Lodge and Peace Lodge-- both places had terrific grounds with many, many places to walk or hike. (We so loved the waterfall trail in La Paz that we did it 3 times-- in pouring rain...) In short, I think we'd get kind of "antsy" at Caletas for more than 3 nights or so, but other folks might not, especially if they were out most days doing the many many activities in the area. There's a good tour desk there, by the way.
As to whether we ate in any other restaurants, we didn't. Since our stay at Caletas was so short (plus we didn't have a car), we just luxuriated in the beauty and comfort of the place and appreciated finally having some first-rate food in that country.
Congrats in advance on your wedding!

Bill: I'll try to post soon on Peace Lodge (we loved it!!) Meanwhile, it took our driver about 5 hours to get from Arenal to Caletas. Sadly, it rained pretty much the whole way-- I think a lot of the country (the cloud forest especially) that we were passing was very handsome, but we missed most of it. May you have better luck!