RHR

Any info on upscale lodging in or around Dominical would be helpful. Hotels, lodges, B&B's or houses would be ok.

Just got back from our 3rd trip and already planning the 4th. What is it about CR that keeps us coming back?

MarciaM

Yep, you're hooked. It happens to all of us. We stayed at Villas Rio Mar 2 years ago to attend a friend's wedding. At the time it was the most upscale in Dominical. I'd stay there again. It had a nice atmosphere and good food. Be sure to stay in a unit with air conditioning. It was really hot when we were there. There has been a lot of development since then, so I'd check into renting a villa if there are any available. (Try VRBO.com) It's a beautiful part of the country. You'll enjoy it.

RHR

Marcia, was this an upscale hotel?

MarciaM

I guess I'd say "kinda upscale". Dominical is a surfer town with not much on the upper end. But I know there has been a lot of growth down there, and maybe there's something newer. If you really want upscale, you might look into Rancho Pacifico about 8 miles further towards Uvita. I've never been there, but it looks nice.

Suzie2

You could also look at Cristal Ballena Hotel. A little further down from Dominical. A car would really help in that area.

shillmac

Not what I'd call upscale, but Pacific Edge is really a pretty property with tons of birds. The cabins are interesting, but rustic. Very unique. We enjoyed our time there, and found it rather romantic actually!

shillmac

By the way, RHR, have you posted a report? Did I miss it?

RHR

Shillmac-Have you ever stayed at Pacific Edge? It looks pretty nice and they do have availability for the dates we want.

As far as a trip report, PV was great, White Water rafting on Pacuare was great (except for torrential rain) and of course BDC was exceptional. Unfortunately, work does not allow alot of time for writing trip report. When I retire in CR, I will do a daily report. This sole purpose of our next trip is to find some property somewhere between, Dominical and Palma Sur. Any suggestions?

Suzie2

Pacific Edge is pretty rustic but the views are great. Very casual atmosphere. The pool is pretty with the dolphins and they have a tower for birding. George is a riot. Breakfast was okay. Sundays are Suzy's day off so we went down to La Parsalas (sp?) which was very good. Wish we had gotten down there sooner to enjoy the view longer.

RHR

Although rustic, anything else which describes it. Any other lodging suggestions in or near Dominical would be helpful.

RHR

Shillmac-Sorry, I just reread your message, and I see you did stay there.
Romantic is good.

sandyc

Yikes -- I have to say that Villa Rios Mar is decidedly not upscale. I do not recommend it. Dirty towels, nasty desk people, and hot, dark, dirty rooms. The grounds, however, are lovely. Try Cuna del Angel http://www.cunadelangel.com/
I haven't been but it looks lovely, and my friends loved it and said the food was great.

Sandy

Suzie2

I just posted some pics that say here and there in CR. I have 3 pics of Pacific Edge. Unfortunately, you will have to dig through the others to get to them. Posting is somewhere betwen #6-10

RHR

Villas Rio Mar gets a lot of bad press. Will definetly stay away from there.
Cunadelangel looks very nice, however, their web site indicates "alternate lifestyle" OK. As Seinfeld would say, "Not that there's anything wrong with that", but could be a little too uncomfortable if there is too much "alternate-lifestyle".

glover

RHR, we stayed at Pacific Edge a couple years ago and really enjoyed it. There are 4 (?) cabins, cantilevered down along a ridge (edge - get it?). We had the tiniest of them with just enough room around our bed to place luggage and walk. A very tiny bathroom with a navy like shower - but it worked just fine, and a tiny kitchen like area with a smaller fridge, sink, and I think microwave. Every cabin had a delightful largish front porch with hammock etc. Also on the property is a small but nice open bar/dining area/kitchen. We had some nice breakfasts there and one nice simple dinner that we ate with owners George and Suzy and a couple other guests. They have a lovely small pool from which you have a 270 degree view of the ocean. As mentioned above they also have two viewing towers (not that you really need them - they just enhance the spectacular view. We heard all kinds of great jungle noises up there and saw plenty of good birds. The lodge is located about a mile(?) back a dirt road from the main Dominical road.
We always ended up stopping to look at birds in the trees on that road. We also walked the area beyond the lodge where we saw a sloth in a tree. Like Suzie2 above we really enjoyed La Parcela restaurant in Dominical. We were originally going to stay just two nights there and then go on to Manuel Antonio, but some rains took out some bridges so we decided to just stay in Dominical. We went hiking with a guide at Hacienda Baru - saw lots, very interesting, also visited another reserve in the other direction name of which I forgot. We were the only ones there - it was a Sunday - so the son of the family owners took us through. Again, saw lots. We just even loved driving up and down that big wide road - always found lots to look at. Pac Edge isn't upscale lodging - yes, rustic, but because the owners are lifelong sailors, things are very well thought out - shipshape as they said. But their view/location to me made up for any amenities missing! And George is indeed a hoot! We really enjoyed our time in Dominical and would go back in a heartbeat!

shillmac

Hi, RHR! Hope the property search goes well, and I'll look forward to your daily reports!

Glover has described PE very well. It's hard to recommend in a sense, because I don't think just anyone would like it there. We found it interesting and unique, so that replaced "upscale" for us. I spent hours in that birding tower, and got some amazing photos of toucans, fiery-billed aracaris, and many other interesting birds--so up close and personal.

I've only just scanned the above posts, so not sure if anyone has mentioned that George and Suzy have several large dogs; rottweilers, I think. I'm not much of a "fan" of these breeds (being a little bit of a scaredy cat), and I really didn't care for them slobbering around while Suzy was cooking breakfast. She is crazy about them, though. They do guard the place, so to get in the gate, we'd have to speak to the dogs first, saying something like "It's okay_____, it's just us". Anyone else remember this? It was a little weird, and a bit uncomfortable. But it added nicely to our "tales of adventure"!

We didn't get to meet George as he was away on business, and Suzy was in a bit of a "antagonistic" mood when we were there. Not rude, exactly, but testy, seeming to resent any questions that she thought she had already answered and not hesitating to respond in somewhat of a condescending way.

They do not allow children, but we had an infant seat in the back (traveled with our granddaughter part of the time that summer). Suzy approached us about that as if we might be hiding a child on the property or something! I'd have to say some of her remarks were bordering on rude. I just chalked it up to her being ready for George to return and relief her of some of the responsibility. . .

But aside from those peculiarities, we enjoyed being on the property, loved the view, thought the bare wood cabins with their somewhat shabby interiors kind of romantic, all a little hard to explain.

The year before we had made an attempt to get to Dominical (from the south) and were stopped by a heavy rain and a washed out bridge. I had told the story on Fodor's about the bridge washing away just as we were getting ready to cross it. When we visited the following year, Suzy indicated that my post on Fodor's about the bridge south of town had cost her some business--again the conversation was a little uncomfortable, since I certainly hadn't meant her business any harm and was only retelling what was a harrowing experience. Also, when we checked out and paid, there was a bit of "discussion"--can't remember exactly the nature of it, but some question about what we owed, etc. I remember DH and I discussing the "attitude" as we left. It wasn't particularly gracious. Perhaps it was just a personality clash, who knows? But she was definitely a little difficult with us. I've not heard anyone else express a similiar experience. As Glover mentioned, George and Suzy are both sailors, both captains, in fact, very accomplished. No doubt a certain degree of "toughness" has probably served her well in that former capacity.

We, too, enjoyed La Parcela and thought the food was excellent. I'd hate to think what Dominical looks like now. That was 2005 and it was just on the brink of considerable development. Realty signs were all over the place, and a gated community was in progress close to Pacific Edge. Suzy was not pleased, and I certainly was in agreement about that.

glover

hmmmm.... yeah, I'd forgotten about those dogs. You see all I can recall is that VIEW! But you're right Shillmac, we were there in 2004 - and even then I wondered if there wouldn't soon be houses all the way down from the ridge of Edge to the road...

RHR

Shillmac, thanks.
Between the dogs assisting in the prepartion of breakfast and Suzy's attitude, Pacific Edge is off the list. Last thing I need is an agressive hostess. I get enough of that at home in NYC. It looks as if, Cristal Ballena will be the choice for now. We will be there a couple of days and then head south eventually ending up at Bosque Del Cabo for our third visit. As far as my daily reports, it will be a while. I've got at least 7 years of work to go.

Suzie2

I remember those dogs well, had to go buy antibiotics because of them. I had gone walking by myself along the road and when I got back the dogs greeted me at the gate. As I have been taught I put my hand near the gate so they could smell me and talked to them a little. I had played with them before going for my walk so I figured no problem. One of them shot its head out through the metal bars and grabbed my hand with its teeth. Being on blood thinners makes anything like that look worse than it is but I had quite a few holes in my hand.

RHR

Yikes.