Hotel California location & view
 

Hi! I was planning on staying at Villas Nicolas in MA because of their location and view, but now I'm considering switching to Hotel California, because Villas Nicolas requires full prepayment up front by certified check or wire transfer.
I'm wondering how the location of Hotel California compares to Villas Nicolas? Is the view as nice? Are there restaurants near by (walking distance)?

I just looked at Hotel Calf. and Costa verde..www.costaverde.com. Costa verde looks better to me, because we have a 14yr old and could use more space. Look at the sight! And I hope Neta is out there to comment!!!

I have stayed at Hotel California a couple of times.The upper rooms have very nice views. The hotel is off of the main road and appears that it would be much quieter than Villas Nocolas. (We looked at a room there once.) There is a nice pool and a substanital brekfast buffet. One time when there were not a lot of people staying there they had a cooked to order breakfast.There were monkeys in the garden. The staff is extremely friendly. We loved it. Last year we stayed at Costa Verde for something different. Had the penthouse apt. in .an adult building. Gorgeous view, but it was noisy from the road even though the actual building was not right on the road. This apt. had no a.c. but the views were great. The monkeys come to the bar every night. Breakfast was not included. There are different buildings there so if a view is important to you you must specify that.We got a green season discount there.I forgot you asked if you could walk to restaurnts from Hotel California. I think that you can if you like to walk.Villas Nocolas is on the main road and Hotel California is actually not that far from it but is off of the main road.You might want to ask about the pool at Villas Nicolas. If I remember correctly I was not that impressed with the size or location of the pool. The pool at Hotel California is not huge but nice with a small waterfall thingy.

Just read the post by molyneux and La colina looks nice...www.lacolina.com/man1.htm It also includes breakfast...

Dear traveljoyce,
I am out there to comment! But I don't know what to say... I have never stayed at Costa Verde or Villa Nicolas, but I am a big fan of Hotel California, and everyone I sent there was very happy with it. The reason I like it is because the rooms are quite beautiful and don't have a sense of being a little bit run down (like many other hotels in CR have), the service is good, the views from the superior rooms are breathtaking, and they are very reasonbly priced.
Traveljoyce, feel free to write me directly for anything.
Pura Vida,
Neta Talmor

Thanks for the reply Neta. Trevorjoyce, you're right that Costa Verde and La Colina look nice also.

Neta, which of these place do you think is in the best location for view, restaurants, etc.?

Dear LA_FadeAway,
Will you have a car? if so, then all the hotels on the road leading from Quepos to MA are basically the same in terms of distances to the beach, restaurants etc. If you don't have a car, then I would say, according to what I know about the location of La Colina and Villas Nicolas, they are on the main road, with easy access to public buses (going to Quepos and MA), and to taxis. Hotel California, is closer to Quepos, and on a small road that comes out of the main road. I estimate it takes about 5 minutes to walk from the hotel to the main road, where you can take buses, taxis etc, the same as you can from La Colina and Nicloas. In terms of view, I called the hotels and these are my findings:
1. in Hotel California, there is ocean view only from the superior rooms.
2. In La Colina, only the suites have ocean view.
3. In Nicolas, some rooms have, and some don't, you have to ask.

You have to remember that everything is pretty close around MA, and the hotels are very close to each other, so in that sense there is little difference in terms of "location".

Please feel free to write me directly.
Pura Vida,
Neta Talmor

Neta, Thank you so much for all the great information. We will have a car, so it sounds like location won't be a big issue.

Well, I just e-mailed Villas Nicolas one more time. I'd really like to work it out with them. The location and everything really sounds perfect for us. If they don't come through, we'll either stay at Hotel California or risk sending Villas Nicolas the money up front. Yikes! We've thought about bucking up for La Mariposa too, but I'm not too sure it would be worth it.

Well, we decided to go ahead and send Villas Nicolas the money. We're really not risking all that much (226.98) and they have a good reputation.

ttt

ttt for Khak323