Hello:
I am having a heck of a time deciding on hotels for my first trip to CR! Maybe you can help?

About "us" - my boyfriend and I are making our first trip to CR, early 30s, love the beach, beginner to intermediate surfing, scuba diving, and nightlife. We want nicer hotels, but nothing stuffy like the Four Seasons. I would prefer hotels that have AC, TVs, and are close to bars and restaurants.

That being said, I think we'll just stay near the SJO airport for the first night but will drive to Manuel Antonio for two nights after that. I am considering many places, but some in particular are:
Villas Nicholas
Si Como No
Costa Verde
La Posada Jungle
La Mariposa

Any advice on these or others?

From there, we will head to Jaco just for a night since I've heard it is kind of a run down town. Trying to get a room at the Club del Mar for the night so we can take a surfing lesson on their beach.

After that, Tamarido for four nights. Here, I am considering Capitan Suizo, Hotel Diria, and Cala Luna. Capitan Suizo would be my first choice, but they are sold out of AC rooms - how necessary is AC in March? How would you rate all three hotels?

Thank you in advance for any and all help!

For M.A. , those are all great choices except La Mariposa which seems to get less than stellar reviews . The others are all nice . Villas Nicolas and La Posada are the smaller and quainter ( very nice ) While the others are slighytly larger hotels . Another to look at is Mango Moon , and also Makanda by the Sea . Keep in mind that for this area the nightlife is a short bus or taxi ride away ..... ( but not an issue )Besides La Posada Jungle which is closer to the beach ( not on ) and here you are a tad further from the majority of restaurants . The others are strung along the winding , hilly road that stretches dfrom Quepos to the beach . walking at nite not very wise ..... We have never found it an issue at all .

Hope I did not confuse you . Basically in Manuel Antonio , at any of the places you mentioned , to sample restaurants and nightlife you will most likely take bus or taxi , and they are all good choices .

Thank you!! You did not confuse me at all, but now I still have to decide! I looked at Makanda, but my boyfriend really wants to stay away from anything too up-scale because he thinks it will be a snotty place. ;-) I've never seen Mango Moon online - what is it like?

March in Tamarindo--hot, hot, hot! AC would be VERY nice! But sure, you can do without and still have a great time. At night, it does cool down to the 80's, and if you can get a nice ocean breeze, along with a ceiling fan?, you'll be comfortable. And, of course, you won't be in the room most of the day. . .so perhaps no AC isn't so bad after all!

Makanda would not be snooty at all ..... We honeymooned there , and I do not like uptight places . Mango Moon is definitely online ...... It's a small inn on the same sideroad as Makanda and La Mariposa . If you want really quaint take a look at Didis Charming B&B , there is La Colina , Hotel Babaloo Inn , Verde Mar , really lots of choices . None of these places are stuffy , price range is not an issue either ?

Thanks! Ok, in Manuel Antonio, I've narrowed down to:
Si Como No
Costa Verde II
Mango Moon
La Posada Jungle

In Tamarindo, I have narrowed down to:
Capitan Suizo (splurge for AC bungalow)
Hotel Diria

Any thoughts or opinions?

OK , smaller , quainter , definitely MangoMoon or La Posada Jungle ..... Costa Verde and Si Como No are larger places , SiComo No incredibly popular here , with lots of amenities , almost like a small resort . Costa Verde and Costa Verde 2 have awesome views , we stayed there with our kids and it was great . If I were going with my husband alone I would choose Mango Moon (intimate little place ) , Costa Verde 2( unbeatable , awesome views ) would be second , La Posada a very close third !!! lol , in other words they are all nice spots !!!

And definitely Capitain Suizo .....

Hi, does anybody know anything aboutn La Mansion Inn in Manuel Antonio? Is it good?

Supposedly quite upscale , small , sits on the edge of the road that takes you to Mango Moon ,Biesanz Beach , Makanda etc. Issimo Suites is directly next door . I prefer Makanda , but the next person could say differently . It does not get a lot of mention here , so you might have to look at trip Advisor .

Wow, your going to Costa Rica for your first time... it's too bad your not going to the La Fortuna area to see the world famous active volcanos. There are plenty of out door activities for you to do there. Beaches are on every vacation you'll take. As far as the hotel's go I've staied in Manuel Antonio a few times and every hotel we've staied at didn't have a t.v. which there is a must have when the sun goes down (it gets dark early) cause there's not much to do. We staied at a nice hotel in Tamarindo called Pasatiempo. They had a great bar, resturant, and not far from the beach. That hotel becomes the nighlife of Tamarindo. They too, don't have T.V.'s but there's the bar. Hope you have a fun and safe trip.

Thank you, faithie. Trip Adviser posts really good reviews

Pasatiempo is a great little hotel. We've stayed there a couple of times and really liked it. Would stay again--they used to have GREAT prices ($55), not sure what they charge these days!

We stayed at Costa Verde and liked it very much. Definitely get a room on a higher floor with a balcony. There are incredible views.

notrub98 - We stayed at Hotel Capitan Suizo and LOVED it. My 18 and 21 yr. olds and my 51 yr. old husband couldn't thank me enough for the research I did to find the "Paradise" I did. We stayed in a non A/C Bungelow the end of May for 5 nights. The ceiling fan was fine. We stayed in an airconditioned room the first night and that was great too. The restaraunts are fun in Tamarindo also. We only ate one dinner at Capitan just due to wanting to people watch downtown. The Capitan's free breakfast is good. The bar staff ( the chef, Rolfe from Germany happened to still be on duty late one night) ordered the kids hamburgers and french fries late one evening when they were having too much fun and didn't want to leave the open air bar to walk downtown.