costaricalover

Buenos Dias to all!! I'm in the process of planning my umpteenth
trip to Costa Rica next January. My hubby and I want to drive over the
Cerro de Muerte leaving Ojochal enroute to San Jose
this trip to do some birding and hopefully spot the resplendant
quetzal. Savegre can only offer us one night at the time
we want to go and then I started researching Dantica, which looks
beautiful, ie floor to ceiling windows overlooking the clouds in the mountains.
Anyone stayed at either place and have opinions? Muchas gracias!

colibri

I've stayed at Savegre and loved it. Walked out of the cabin and quetzals and trogons were in the trees off the porch - birding can't' get any easier than that! Volcano, mountain gem, scintillant, magnificent and green violet ear hummingbirds frequent the feeders near the restaurant. We hired a guide for 1/2 day birding hike on the grounds.

Due to the altitude, it gets really cold at night, but the cabins had heaters. If there were several groups, dinner was buffet style; if there were just a few people, then we would order off the menu.

We passed Dantica and it looked fabulous, would have liked to check out their art gallery. I believe it's a bit higher elevation than Savegre, not sure of birding there. Toucanet Lodge or El Toucanet seems to be popular, too.

On your way back to San Jose turn off the Interamerican at the 70 km marker and stop by Paraiso del Quetzal. It's one of the few places (besides La Georgina soda) to spot the fiery-throated hummingbird.

San Gerado de Dota valley is just stunning, lovely views as you drive in, road was no problem.

costaricalover

Thanks Colibri, great info! I just found out that I can get
into Savegre for 2 nights in a junior suite! Any room recommendations?
Can't wait to see this area of CR!

volcanogirl

Bookmarking.

colibri

CRlover - we were in a cabin, don't think it was a jr. suite. Seems like the cabins were in blocks of four and we were the second level from top of hill. The bathtub was nice, stones and candles on the edges, but it was a little too chilly to soak! They had extra blankets if you need them.

Not sure how much warmer January is versus mid-November when we were there, but Cuddleduds shirt came in handy under a turtleneck (and jacket/gloves) for early morning birding. We had plenty of sunshine and it warmed up during the day to longsleeved shirt, light jacket weather.

We loved watching the clouds roll by, enjoyed the trail that goes by the river. We didn't get to the larger waterfall, but I've read it's quite nice.

The birding guides there are very good - two cousins - Marino and Melvin (??)Chacon. They offer lots of tours, but we were only there two nights - would like to return!

We didn't make it up to the highest point, but somewhere along the highway is La Georgina soda which is supposed to also have hummingbird feeders out, so you might want to stop by on your way to Savegre.

mlgb

Jr Suites have the fireplace, but it is still cold. Bring a metal waterbottle, fill it with hot water and use it as a bedwarmer!

Definitely go to Savegre if you are seriously interested in birding and hiking (they have a number of onsite trails). I actually liked the food in the buffet there, lots of veggies and always trout. And the coconut fudge dessert.

Had Marino and he was fantastic. If you ever want to try some $2000 binoculars they have Swarovskis for hire. I didn't even want to look thru the spotting scope!

mlgb

There are some photos of the Jr Suites in the center of this album
https://picasaweb.google.com/kiwifan...greAndQuetzals

costaricalover

Thanks Colibri and Mlgb, all suggestions helpful and noted.
How important is a fireplace in the room? I requested a junior
suite with a fireplace but also a room with a view
of the mountains. He said the rooms with the best views
are newer and have heating but no fireplace. Any preferences
from Colibri or Mlgb or anyone else who has stayed here?

artiejay

The fireplaces are nice but the wood supply can be a problem.Being located in the cloud forest you get alot of mist and rain which makes starting a fire with wet wood a real pain.We tried a couple of times with some success but ended up using one of their small portable heaters.Definitely would recommend the suites over the standard rooms which have very thin walls, are small and kinda uninviting and don't offer much privacy.Up near Dantica you will find Mirians soda, a great little place to eat with a feeder out back that that draws alot of birds- take some bananas or papaya with you to put out during your meal to increase the bird traffic.As stated above El Toucanet in Copey is another good option and more of a "off the beaten path" kind of destination- you won't find any tour buses here!

mlgb

The fireplace is not enough to keep the room warm! If they are offering a room with a view and a heater that sounds better to me.

colibri

Agree - I'd take the heater over the fireplace, too!

costaricalover

Muchas gracias- view usually trumps anything for me, I'll
bring the water bottle!