I'm looking for a beautiful and comfortable resort on the beach. Neither my husband nor I surf, so we are looking for some calmer waters to relax by and swim in.

I was planning on busting my budget at FlorBlanca, but Chris Baker of Moon Books seems to be a fan of Milarepa in that Santa Teresa vicinity.

Then there is Tango Mar a little further along that looks and sounds great too.

Both the latter mentioned resorts are quite a bit less expensive than Flor Blanca.

I would appreciate any feedback on these or other swank-but-not-American-chain resorts.

PS: Not really interested in Manuel Antonio. Also, I would like to be somewhere where there is a little life outside the resort.

We just returned from that area. First of all, we went to the Flor Blanca property (just to look around)and it looked beautiful. We don't usually spend that much for lodging, but it loooked very nice. Milarepa was very close to Flor Blanca, and for the difference in price, would probably be a better choice. However, I hear the service at Flor Blanca is "beyond excellent". They are both in Sta. Teresa about as far north up the road as you can drive. If you are willing to spend the bucks, I don't see how you could make a mistake with either one of these. Tango Mar is much easier to get to as it is in Tambor, just about 30-45 minutes from the ferry landing at Paquera. And also a very nice resort. Flor Blanca and Milarepa would take another hour and a half to get to. The only "life" as in shops, restaurants, bars, etc. is in Montezuma, which would require about a 45 minute drive on fairly rough roads whether you were at Tango Mar or the other two resorts. Tango Mar is about 45 minutes EAST of Montezuma, and Santa Teresa about that far WEST of Montezuma. We went there during the daytime a couple of days, but stayed put when evening settled in. The distance to get there was a little prohibitive at night. Santa Teresa is stretched all along the road, and just doesn't have anything to offer except a couple of sodas, two or three internet cafes, an ice cream store, a couple of supers, surf shops, one or two clothing/souvenir stores. There just wasn't any dancing or music, which we like! We are glad we went to Santa Teresa (we stayed at Tropico Latino $95 per night on the beach), but wouldn't return there. We are in the business of checking out all the little areas of Costa Rica one at a time! It was, however, a beautiful beach. BUT, not much life "outside the resort". Don't know if this helps any. . .it depends SO MUCH on what you are looking for. We don't feel a lot of pressure to "go to the right places" because we know we are planning return trips and will eventually get to do all the things we want. Others, however, want to be sure and stay at just the right places for fear of not having the best vacation possible. If you want a night life, for example, you won't want to spend much (or any) time at the southern end of the Nicoya Peninsula!

We stayed at Florblanca for a few days last summer and loved it. We don't surf either but loved the beach for walking, sunset watching and swimming in tide pools at low tide (otherwise the beach there is not swimmable). They also have a beautiful pool. The atmosphere at Florblanca is calm and sophisticated. Milarepa is right next door to Florblanca so you would be on the same beach in Santa Teresa. Milarepa is a much smaller property than Florblanca and even quieter, the bungalows are among the trees so they may be a bit dark inside. There is not much life outside of these resorts and to get to shops or other restaurants, it is about 3 miles on a bad dirt road.

While driving to Florblanca last summer we stopped by Tango Mar for a drink since we considered that hotel as well for our vacation. Tango Mar is the biggest of the 3 hotels you listed. It looked rather nice with pretty grounds and a nice beach. The rooms in the main building were nice enough but nothing special, the little huts they have looked better. The pool is smallish and the bar next to the pool played Latino music and served drinks. So the atmosphere at Tango Mar seemed a bit more lively. If you have a car it shouldn't be difficult to get to other restaurants in the area (Tambor).

Forgot to mention one more place for you to consider: check out Tambor Tropical - we have not seen it but it looks beautiful and had good reviews.

Thank you, Iza. Is anyone familiar with Tambor Tropical?

We saw the property a couple of years ago when we were spending the day poking around Tambor. I haven't heard much about it lately, but in his 2000 edition of Open Road Publishing (on Costa Rica), Paul Glassman gave it rave reviews. Said it was one of the hotels in Costa Rica "not to be missed"! In the last couple of years, I've heard more written about Tango Mar. Not sure why.

Tango Mar and Tambor Tropical were the two hotels where Fox's Temptation Island show was filmed a couple of years ago. It was a really tacky show but I loved to watch it for great scenery!
Tango Mar seems a bit more popular than Tambor Tropical, but I am not sure why. I believe Tambor Tropical does not accept kids - so it was off our list of places to stay as we always travel with our daughter.

Another place you could consider would be Punta Islita. Heard great things about it. It is rather isolated, though.