My husband and I were just talking about our trips to CR and realized that most of the places we have stayed are owned by Americans - Peace Lodge, Bosque del Cabo, Vista del Valle, Mango Moon, Lost Iguana... We get most of our recommendations on these boards and in guidebooks - are the majority of larger CR hotels American-owned, or is that just a coincidence? I'd be curious to see how a tico establishment is similar/different.

I think that most of the bigger lodges and lux hotels are owned by either Americans or Europeans. Although I fell in love with BDC, the Peace Lodge rooms were just too over the top for me for more than one fairy tale stay (although the surroundings were gorgeous).

We really loved being welcomed like we were friends by the tico owned places such as El Campo del Silencio, Hotel Villa Bonita and 1/2 tico owned Banana Azul. Just a totally different feeling and very warm and friendly. Like they are proud of being Costa Rican and being able to share what they work so hard for.

I tried to find Costa Rican owned places and was successsful with the school we are planning to attend and 1 of the 2 other hotels we are going to stay at. It is difficult to find out who owns some of the hotels and what ties to the community they may have. We wanted AC at the beach and that eliminated many of the Tico owned places. Also the places that have good websites, and rapid email responses tend to be American or European owned.

I think that it is important to spend tourist dollars in the local communities. If people recieve economic benefits from tourism they are more likely to support the conservation efforts, to keep the environment which draws tourists.

It is a hard topic...some people at this forums..are extra sensible when we answer this kind of questions...but since I am 100% costarican I thing I deserve some kind of responsability about the issue!!

No many years ago..some decent foreign investors and some not to honest..bought land in Costa Rica at dirt cheap prices...they sold it again a huge prices...or builded hotels...some nice some terrible one.. Today about 80% of my country coast ...beach front properties are owned by foreigners...some of them good some of them just typical speculators...with no principles...only looking to make money...they destroy our forest...destroy our family values...bring crime and dirty money..like casinos money...

A lot of the people in this forums...are onwners of property in Costa Rica...they only want to advertise there ego trip, people with very low self steam....or just trying to get some free advertising!! One thing in comun...they do not care about our country!! They just love money!!

Of course our hotels some times are not as fancy as some Americans owned hotels...but we have some great hotels..!! A lot of them in Arenal area..

Sorry again if I hurt some sensible feelings...like we said in Costa Rica...the truth hurts!!

R.A Luis

Just buckle up and enjoy the ride in paradise!!

In my recent travels through Costa Rica, I did realize that many of the hotels and B&B's were owned by foreigners. The ones I enjoyed the most had Costa Rican employees. Their love and care showed in the happiness of their employees and the beauty of their hotels. For me, it's not really about who owns it, but my experience at the individual hotel. It's nice to find a hotel that combines local flavor with nice service and accommodations, regardless who the owners are.

I meant to add that my individual experience at a hotel is based on the overall feeling of care and belonging in Costa Rica as well. I've never felt good about staying at a place in Costa Rica that doesn't seem to care about the nature and environment or respect in general of the Costa Rican people. I agree with roadadvisor. Some people just want to take. But you can feel that and see it in the way they build and develop.

Volcangirl,

We've stayed at several smaller lodges that are Tico owned and very enjoyable. When possible I always choose locally owned /operated accomodation both for the ambience and the money that flows back directlyly into the local economy.

Some Tico places I recommend are:

Rincon de la Vieja Mountain Lodge. A wonderful location right beside the National Park.

Hotel Villa Baula at Playa Grande. Rustic but a great location beside the estuary and the beautiful beach.

La Quinta de Sarapiqui Inn near Puerto Viejo de Sarpiqui. Excellent location for exploring the area and they are quite involved in the local conservation movement.

Savegre Lodge in San Gerardo de Dota. An absolute gem of a place in a beautiful location. Their obvious love of the area shines through.

Two other Tico owned places we've not yet visited but are highly recommended are Bosque de Paz in the cloud forest north of San Jose and Bosque del Rio Tigre on the Osa Peninsula.

cheers

Jerry

Thanks, everyone, for the great information.

A couple of posters have alluded to this above: I can think of several small places that are owned by non-Costa Ricans -- Arco Iris in Monteverde (German), El Encanto in Cahuita (Canadian), Cariblue in Puerto Viejo (Italian), Vista del Valle in Grecia (American) -- but whose owners are very involved in their communities that it's almost like being in a Costa Rican place. Your money stays in the community, as opposed to being sucked out and sent to a corporation overseas.

Thanks, Jeff; I definitely got that feeling about Bosque del Cabo as well.

Jeff...you have the correct idea..."they suck our money"

A lot of people are building houses ...and planning to rent them out...they pay no taxes...most of the time they charge the 16.39% ICT tax and keep it! The worst of all of this ..is that many of those opportunist do not even live here...they have a house keeper/or a BandB keeper and they request that the money be send to them !!

R.A Luis

Just buckle up and enjoy the ride in paradise!!

Roadadvisor, there are good owners and bad owners. Not all the ticos are for the environment. The foreigners, tourists bring the money, jobs, employment to CR, not the country's money is sucked out. Maybe not all is invested back, but this is how business is done. There are greedy people everywhere, ticos sold their land and beaches, it wasn't taken away from them.

R.A. Luis, what did you do for your country?

swim -- Come on now, R.A. Advisor is just stating his opinion and observations. No need to attack him as an individual for being protective of the country he lives in. Why should he have to explain to you what he's done for his country? He didn't ask you what you've done for yours.

Another really nice Tico-owned place is Hotel Bosques de Chachagua.

This forum is an exchange of info for travel lovers, not a soap box. Please respect that.