yeah, you gotta do tabacon once:)

enjoy!

I'm going to chime in about doing hanging bridges and skytrek in one day. i think you shouldn't miss either. My only regret was we did bridges in the afernoon and although there was a lot of monkeys the birds were not like they would have been in the AM. They also were not strenous. My 78 year old mother had no problem with them. I have to say the skytrek was my favorite. I think your daughter will go with a guide because she doesn't weigh enough but all the kids do. The guides were so nice. I have to say we stopped and looked at Tabocan and it wasn't our scene. You can go in a "peak" so you can decide. We were staying in Los Lagos and they have their own springs. I was wondering about Cano Negro.. are there lots of misquitos? also is it like the FL everglades? we've been there a lot and like the other wildlife in CR. Going back there soon. Can't wait.

cmerrell - I am in the middle of planning the exact same itinerary (#days, locations, even the hotels) for late January, so your post was very timely and I have enjoyed reading all the feedback!

One question for you - have you read or heard any reviews of Hotel California? I was thinking of booking there, too, but had not been able to find much in he way of reviews from others, so had continued to search for other options. I would love to hear any thoughts on it....other options I was condidering were La Mariposa ($$) and Costa Verde (less $), in case anyone else has thoughts between these three. At this point, it may simply come down to availability for our dates (Jan 26 - 29).

Thanks in advance for your thoughts...

We spent a couple of nights at Hotel California, and liked it just fine. It was a little difficult to locate for the first time. There is a very little sign with a seashell on it--on your left as you are driving up the hill. Can't remember what it is across from.

The price was very reasonable, our room had a limited ocean view. Perhaps they could guarantee you a better view. The room was fine; there was a little construction going on in the pool area, and the service in the restaurant a bit slow--not unusual. My opinion would be that it is a good choice also for the value. Probably not as good value-wise as Costa Verde, however; particularly if you can snag one of the studio plus "expansive view" rooms!

Spent 5 nights at Hotel California back in Feb 02. Very much enjoyed our stay. Actually we were only booked for 3 nights. We left, went up the coast to our next destination, hated it, called back to the Hotel California, was able to book 2 more nights, drove back and were totally happy! We had a deluxe room on the 2nd story. Yes, it was 4 years ago, but the room was comfy, service nice, staff friendly.

In all the years I have visited this forum I have constantly heard of Si Como No, Makanda, Mariposa, Costa Verde, etc etc. Naturally these that get the most mention are the most frequented. However Costa Verde seemed too large and the other were a bit out of our price range. I did not find many reviews on Hotel California, but it fit the bill as to price and size, we were very pleased our choice.

It's location is across the street from the Mono Azul (Blue Monkey). So the Mono Azul will be on your right going up the hill to MA and the driveway to Hotel California is directly on your left. We got into the country late in the day for this trip, so we hired a driver to pick us up at the international airport after missing the sign a couple of times, he stopped at the Blue Monkey for directions !!

Hi Lindsay,

I couldn't find tons of reviews for Hotel California either, but I did find one older thread on this forum where a few posters had made positive comments about it. There are also 7 or 8 reviews on the Trip Advisor website. I believe there were 2 negative reviews, and the other 5 or 6 were positive; a couple of them were downright 'glowing' which evens out the negative posts IMO. I recently emailed Hotel California to confirm our reservations and ask for driving directions. I received a very nice, friendly, helpful response which is hopefully indicative of their overall service! We are booked into a deluxe room that is supposed to have nice ocean views. Its good to see the additional positive comments here from shillmac and dfarmer (thanks, guys!).

I had considered Costa Verde as well, but for the time we're going (we leave for CR in 10 days!) Hotel California is still charging their green season rates, and is cheaper than Costa Verde would have been for us. That, along with the fact that the hotel is on the smaller side and reportedly in a quiet location were the selling points for me.

I will post a trip report when I return and let everyone know how we enjoyed our hotel choices (as well as everything else).

Good luck with your trip planning. Lindsay. We'll have to compare notes on our identical itineraries when you return!

Mom will still get to enjoy the views at the Sky Trek canopy tours in the tram if the zip looks too intense for her. Same views just a little slower. You might want to consider doing the Hanging Bridges first thing in the morning and the Canopy tour in the afternoon. Better chance of seeing the volcano before the clouds move in and a better chance of seeing any wildlife. We have some amazing pictures of the volcano from up there.

Dec will be a good time to visit Cano Negro. The migratory birds will be coming in and you will see a lot more. You may even get to stop at the bridge in Muelle to see the huge Iguanas in the tree tops. Don't know if the males will be in color (they turn bright orange during the mating season) but they will still be very impressive.

Tabacon is fun at least once. It is really pretty at night with the lights. It was really crowded when we went last time but if you keep going to the further pools you might find them less crowded. Each pool is a different temp as well.

Won't be long now! You will soon understand Pura Vida and why we all love the country so much. It has been over 14 years for me traveling down there and I still enjoy my time every year. Can't wait until our house is built so we can stay longer. Even when I go for a month or so it isn't long enough.

Thanks for chiming in, Suzie2. I expect to be totally distracted next week at work, as my focus turns to packing and running those last minute errands! I am so excited to finally get down there and experience all the wonderful flora and fauna first-hand.

Hope the construction of your vacation home proceeds quickly and smoothly!