plumboy

For volcanogirl and anyone who might be interested: Groupon is having a crazy deal right now with Lost Iguana near Arenal. 3 nights = $225, 4 nights = $300.

Hope the link works:

http://www.groupon.com/deals/ga-i-th...uana?c=dnb&p=4

volcanogirl

Hey, how did you know I like the Lost Iguana?! Ha, ha!! I will have to check this out. Thanks for posting it!

plumboy

Yeah... I don't know how I knew ;-)

ArlingtonMike

volcano girl or other experienced CR travelers- Could you recommend pairing this deal (about 3 nights) with other hotel(s)/destination(s) for our first trip to CR? Planning an 8 day trip in February. We're interested in all the natural beauty and moderate adventures (no surfing or anything that may involve acts of athletic prowess). Looking for an upscale hotel/resort that would be around 150-200 a night or a good bargain. Thanks!

volcanogirl

We did a combo of Arenal and Manuel Antonio for our first trip. That's probably the most popular itinerary for first timers. You might need to spend a night near the airport at the beginning or end of your trip due to flight times. MA has loads of hotel choices.

qwovadis

lostiguanaresort.com best I have ever done under $200

$50 more than I usually pay at tabacon.com

A truly good deal.

qwovadis

mike u might want to start your own post but my favs

hotelvillacaletas.com on the cost north of Jaco

1 hour or so from SJO airport VERY nice

arenasdelmar.com hotelcasaturire.com for some rafting

ylangylangresort.com and hotelcapitansuizo.com on Nicoya

Have fun,

volcanogirl

Tulemar Bungalows is really popular, as is Si Como No and Mango Moon.

ArlingtonMike

Thank you! I'll check all of those out.

What's the best way to get in touch with Lost Iguana? I'm assuming that the Groupon deal has limited availability and I need to coordinate with flights. I noticed their phone is international so I'm assuming e-mail is best.

Volcano Girl - Looks like my flight times are really good. Arrive and depart in the early afternoon.

qwovadis - thanks for responding to this thread. Didn't want to clutter the electrons with another similar message.

Mike

mariya

Ok, I thought I already finished with hotels selection, my pick was Silencio Del Campo, we will not have a car, so no problem with remote location, plus free hot springs, but now it's lost Iguana, I need for January, so prices higher like $435 for 3 nights vs Silencio - $515(with breakfast and taxes). Is Lost Iguana much better? I've read it's sort of remote,so would prices for taxis will kill everything?
Thanks for the ideas,
Mariya

volcanogirl

Mike, I always contact them through their website and have found them to be very responsive. Lost Iguana is out by the lake. It's a gorgeous property with lots of trails and right next to the Hanging Bridges. We love being there. It's also on the lava side of the volcano (if the volcano ever flows again!). We've been lucky enough to see it on all our trips. LI is a posher property than Silencio del Campo, but SdC gets tons of good reviews as well. We always do a lot of tours, and they pick you up and drop you off, so we don't use a car much. If you want to be closer to town, SdC is a good choice. We've ridden Lost Iguana's employee shuttle into town for dinner - not sure if they still let you do that, but we'd do that and then take a taxi back or just eat at the hotel at their open air restaurant. A taxi usually runs $12-17 depending on how far you're going.

ArlingtonMike

Thanks again for all of your help. Sounds perfect

sylvia3

plumboy,
thanks for the Groupon heads-up! I bit on 3 nights in January: a splurge for me, instead of doing everything as cheaply as humanly possible!

MFNYC

I am also looking at Lost Iguana and Silencio Del Campo, and with this deal the cost is very similar. Has anyone booked this Groupon deal? Has anyone ever booked any hotel through Groupon? I've read the fine print and it looks good, but I've never used Groupon before.

volcanogirl

plum, so much for my being a woman of mystery!

sylvia3

If you email ([email protected] or www.lostiguanaresort.com) and tell them your dates, they will tell you the availability; they held a reservation for me until I bought the Groupon. I then e-mailed the code to them with all the particulars, and they confirmed my reservation. There will be an additional charge of 13% tax (stated in the details).
They also have a phone number listed on the site, and you can call to be assured of your dates and ask for a room hold.

MFNYC

Thanks Sylvia, I'll do that.

volcanogirl

We haven't used Groupons for a hotel, but we do use them a lot and have always found them to be reliable.

LindainOhio

I actually bought a Groupon for a hotel and they had no availability for the 3 weeks we could use it. Groupon refunded my money.

We also loved Lost Iguana. We were there in the green season (first week in May)we paid $123/nt. We loved it there and did not have a car. We were dropped off by our driver, who stopped in town so we could have lunch, pick up wine and beer. Sky Trek picked us up to zipline. Eric Guzman, our guide, picked us ip for a night hike at El Silencio and for a trip to the Rio Celeste. The Hanging Bridges are right next door. We loved the breakfasts and thought their lunches and dinners were very good and reasonably priced. We loved it there. This is a great deal for a beautiful hotel with beautiful grounds. We missed a seeing a few things in the area because we enjoyed relaxing at the pool--we had it all to ourselves.

volcanogirl

Best part is the balconies with the rocking chairs and the great volcano view - aaaahhhhhh. We like to get a second floor room for more privacy, and we leave the patio/balcony doors open. The ones with the outdoor jacuzzi tubs are especially nice.