daisya2

We purchased the Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner plan @ $92/day for adults, $46/day for kids under 12, $0/day for kids under 6. We could order anything, at any time. You can have two appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts, if you want. We were all pretty full, eating 3 meals a day. I think most of us did not usually eat breakfast.

The hot breakfast buffet is priced at $20/per person. Lunch entrees were $12-15, some dinner entrees in the $30 range. You can also have meals through room service.

The thing that really made this worthwhile for us, is that non-alcoholic beverages were included.

So...with kids drinking shirley temples all day, and adults drinking coke at the pool and beach, and a few big bottles of San Pellegrino water at lunch and dinner, it was worthwhile.

We did eat three course dinners every night. And a few nights, some of us had more than one appetizer. We dined on our terrace on night, and the food service manager sent us our own private waiter, so we could dine course by course, and didn't have to keep phoning in our next order. That was really nice. And, the room service menu added some alternatives to the eating off the same menu every night.

One other thing I will mention on dining...after a few days, we got bored with the menu, and started asking for things not on the menu. After a few minor screw ups, the stuff we were asking for started showing up on the menus...so don't be afraid to ask. Also, I really miss the chips and salsa they put out in leiu of a bread basket for lunch. They were great.

dosrios

Thanks for the info! How do they keep track of whether or not you are on a meal plan? Do you have a card or something you present when you're ordering? That's nice to know that you can enjoy non-alcoholic beverages all day and not just during meal times. I wasn't clear on that. We plan on going fishing one day and will maybe take a tour on another day, so perhaps we should consider the breakfast and dinner plan since we'll be away for lunch on a couple of the days we're there. Also, the FS reservation person who was assisting me told me that there is a 26% tax on everything there at the resort which I guess is the way it is everywhere in CR? Just out of curiosity, what are the average prices for alcoholic beverages...like drinks at the pool, etc?

allyeb

Hi LAGirl,
Thanks so much for writing your detailed report, not much out there on FS Costa Rica. Could you comment on the beach at the resort, did you spend anytime there? Also, are the grounds nice, as in can you take walks around or are there any trials through the resort away from the pools?
Thanks again for the info!

shillmac

Dosrios,
The 26% tax you have heard of is, I believe, what you will be charged in the restaurants. I didn't realize it had gone up. . . .we travel to C. R. frequently and I thought it was still 23%. (Not much difference, huh?) I think it breaks down like this: about 13% for the tax and 10% for the service. This is the equivalent of a gratuity being added on. Many people are not aware that there is always a 10% charge for service at restaurants. So yes, 23% (or 26%) is a steep add-on for food. But that's the way it is! We don't usually tip much over this unless the service has been really extraordinary. Tipping has never been a big thing in Costa Rica, although the last two times we have been there, I have sensed that is changing. Perhaps because people from the U.S. and elsewhere are just so accustomed to it! I don't believe the 26% tax applies to anything except restaurants. I know hotels charge between 16 and 17%. And, of course, there is the $26 required to leave the country.

LAGirl

Alleyeb - We mostly stayed by the pools at the Four Seasons, but the beaches at the resort were nice. There are two: one on the peninsula side (with all the water sport equipment); and the other on the Pacific Ocean side. The Pacific Ocean side is my preferred spot. The view is fantastic. The sand on both sides is nice. FS puts out chairs, but I didn't see any umbrellas. I think service might be spotty, but I'm just guessing, as we didn't really layout on the beach. As an aside, one night, we saw baby sea turtles on the grounds on the Pacific side, a bit dazed and off course b/c they couldn't tell the difference b/w the hotel lights and the moon light. Very cool to see, we thought.

The grounds are nice, but maybe not spectacular. I don't know... for some reason, I wasn't that impressed. I think they are still working on landscaping. There are some bare areas that they planted while we were there, the palm trees still have supports, etc. It's definitely beautiful, but maybe not the most spectacular of the other Four Seasons we've been to.

We did a lot of tours so didn't do much walking on the grounds. I think they have trails (I saw it in the hotel guide book in our room), but we didn't try any. The only walk we did was up the steep hill to the suites and the private residences at the very top. Spectacular, once you get up there. The walk isn't too bad and the sunset is awesome there. I also know there are tennis courts, etc., but we never went so I'm not sure if it's a nice walk. The golf courses are far. You need to be driven there by one of the suburbans the hotel has. Once you get there, you can ask the staff to take you on a tour of the golf course. It's beautiful.

As to the other posts about tipping, we noticed that the FS included a 10% tip on all food charges/room service fees. But you can add more if you want. Also, our porter initially refused our tip, stating that tips were included in our stay... but, at the end, he accepted it. I guess we were use to U.S. ways...

mae

I'm also trying to plan a trip to FS CR--but I can't find air routes that are even remotely direct to the property. It seems that every plane has to make a number of stops (coming from SF)--how did you all fly there? It seems that I'd have to fly to San Jose via some other stop in the USA like Miami or Fort Worth and then jump on another plane to Liberia? We've only got five days so am wondering if a shorter trip to try Punta Mita would be better or back to Hawaii FS! I've always wanted to go to CR though but didn't know the flying was so hard to plan!

allyeb

Hi Mae...we're flying Delta direct from Atlanta to Liberia (about a three hour flight). There is one flight a day at about 10am that gets into Liberia around 12:30. This was actually one of the reasons we chose CR because we could get there quicker than a lot of places in the Caribbean. I also think that American and United are started flighs direct to Liberia but only on certain days of the week (Sat and Sun at least). Good luck!

dosrios

We are flying in from Texas and are going to take Continental. There is a direct flight from Houston to Liberia and we've arranged for the FS transfers to and from the hotel. The American flights I checked go through Miami and Delta goes through Atlanta.

martas

Thanks, daisya2 and LAGirl, for the very informative descriptions of the 4S. I have more questions! LAGirl, what tours did you take from the hotel? I think there is a "mega-tour" that includes canopy, mud baths, horseback, rainforest? What watersports are offered at the hotel? Any place to eat other than at the hotel? (Meal plan is probably not worth it if you do tours?) I understand they now have chairs with covers on the beach in lieu of umbrellas - can anyone confirm this? Also, because the hotel is so new, even a short time can make a difference-any comments from visits in the past week? Thanks for the help!

LA_FadeAway

America West has flights through Phoenix to San Jose. That may be a better option from San Fran, instead of going to the East Coast first.

costaricafinca

TTT