I'm looking for moderately price lodging in this area. Can anyone help?

Can you tell us what you consider moderate price?

Good question. Sorry, I guess I should be more explicit. Moderate to me is around 90-125. I checked out the si como no and tule mar and although they sound wonderful, especially the private beach at tulemar, they are a bit out of my price range especially since the four of us want to spend about 4 nights in MA.

Look at Costa Verde , Villas Nicolas , Mango Moon , Hotel California , to start . There are others even more moderately priced . Check out maqbeach.com

No problem! Your moderate, may have been budget or my luxury!!

Faithie - as always! - gave you good choices. We stayed at Hotel California.

Villas Nicolas is great especially for the price. Its quiet and private and you get the exact same view as Si Como No for less money. Its less luxurious but the pool is beautiful and the grounds are immaculate. www.villasniolas.com Ive stayed there for 5 years and never been disappointed.

oops sorry its www.villasnicolas.com

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.
Lovesublime, I remember reading a review about the villas and some people complained about mold. Was there a lot of construction? What about road noise?
dfarmer, Was Hotel California quiet? far enough from the road?

You would get some road noise at VN , as u would at actually most hotels in MA . Hotel California is probably a bit quieter as it is up off the main road a bit . VN is reall sweet though !

Hi!
Ive never seen construction or mold at VN. However depending on the location of your room you may get some road noise. But youll probably more likely to be woken up by the monkeys
My only complaints are the beds are a little too firm for my taste and the towels arent that great. You WILL need your own beach towels. A good feature is the poolside breakfast. You can go to the little bar in the am and get breakfast and eat by the pool or bring it back to you room. Its also walking distance to the MA location of cafe Milagro-EXCELLENT breakfast and coffee. Ive never stayed at hotel california but it looks like it is probably comparable to VN.

Lovesublime and faithie,
Thanks for the info. Is there alot of traffic on that road to MA that road noise is a problem?

During the day there is definitely traffic . At nite it definitely quiets down . The thing in Costa Rica is that with the early setting of the sun , people get going early in the day !! So buses , cars , etc. start early . Along with the Howler Monkeys and roosters !! LOL . It`s never bothered me . But I am pretty relaxed about stuff like that .

I agree with Faithie. The "road noise" starts with the buses around 6:45-7am but its not a constant loud din. Its not intrusive in any way. And it ends around sundown which is usually around 6pm so the evenings are quiet..except for the buzz of crickets frogs and other wildlife. Villas Nicolas has a wall along the front with trees which absorb much of the noise, as does hotel california. You may also want to consider Hotel La Colina or El Mono Azul. Both have websites with rates posted and are reasonable. I havent stayed at either one. Regardless of where you stay, Manuel Antonio is a beautiful, serene place. And worth the trip!

definitely costa verde hotel!
about usd150 a night but worth it!
http://costa.rica.typepad.com/manuel...ome/index.html

Another vote for Villas Nicolas here. I didn't see any mold and we were in a room far enough from the road that we really didn't hear anything.