Hotel prices?
 

I would like to ask you what price you consider low or reasonable in hotels? I see here often comments that you found prices lower than in US or Europe but still the prices you have paid are around 150 USD per night. Is that low price in your opinion? If it is then for which class of hotel?

I'm asking this because sometimes it is difficult to know which hotels to check out mentioned here especially if the price is not mentioned. To me 150 USD is NOT low price, that is a lot. And I come from Europe.

I have stayed in many hotels in US, 4 stars they claim to be ( I would give 3 only) paying around 80 USD per night. And in Europe you can usually find 3 star room with 100 USD except in couple of capitals or big cities. But even in Barcelona, which has most expensive hotels, you can get room in center with 120 USD per night.

So, what is good price in hotels here in Latin America? Especially out side of capitals?
Comments?

I guess it really depends on where and what is offered at the hotel in addition to just lodging. I've stayed at many different places in Costa Rica & Nicargua. A place like Orquideas Inn, outside of San Jose, I stay at often as it's relatively cheap (around $68), has clean simple rooms, with nice amenities like a restaurant & pool. Definitely not fancy and there are many cheaper nearby. If their prices were, say, $100, I would look elsewhere. On the other end, a place like Bosque del Cabo, in the Osa, runs about $200 per night (for a single traveler) but that includes your food and a wonderful cabina. But even more, it is on thousands of acres of land that is full of wildlife, with well kept trails, a wonderful friendly staff that remains year after year etc. If the prices were to go up, I would still pay it, as I know it's worth it to me. Same goes for Morgan's Rock in Nicaragua. Overall a higher price but worth it (to me).

Then there are some that I think are simply too high - such as the Four Seasons or the new resort in Arenal. I guess we all have different lines we won't cross :) I don't think $150 for a decent, clean hotel with nice amenities and/or surroundings is too high imho.

Agree with tully here.

I've stayed at Hotel Don Carlos in San Jose and they charge about $75 a night for a single although of the four nights I spent there last time, I was upgraded twice to a double room. (Their single rooms are pretty large actually and can easily accommodate a couple.) HDC also has a restaurant and gift shop onsite, a jacuzzi and a gym, breakfast is included and the staff are just wonderful. I've stayed at a lower priced hotel in the city too - around $30-$35 a night - but breakfast was an extra $5 a day, housekeeping was an extra $10 and they only came once during the week I stayed, the "discounts" they had for some of their day tours were magically unavailable on any of the days I wanted to sign up, it wasn't as centrally located as HDC and most of the staff were indifferent at best.

My splurge comes when I stay at Pacuare Lodge but that's a package deal: pickup and drop off at your hotel, 2 days rafting, all meals, bilingual guide, waterfall hikes, 1 night lodging in a garden view bungalow for $421 for single traveler. But the location is stunning, the guide and the staff amazing, and I know I would go back so long as the things I love about the place don't go away.

I plan to stay at Bosque del Cabo on my next trip as well. I like to mix up my lodging options by staying at both budget and posh lodges/hotels so that I know what to expect at different places, try out the confines of my comfort zones as it were, and have opportunities to both save and splurge.

My favorite hotel in Puerto Vallarta Mexico is $44USD/night for a room. It is a 3-star, a couple blocks from the beach, with a pool and restaurant. The rooms are basic but extremely clean, with overhead fan, air-con, satelite TV, private baths.

suze, can you reveal the name of your favorite hotel in pv? i'm still formulating my list of places to visit...thanks!

Tahvo, you've gotten some good answers. I especially agree with Tully's regarding bang for the buck. That's what determines value. I always tell people who want to visit Costa Rica that they can stay for $50-$75 (depending on season) per night up to $500 per night and anything in between. That doesn't include the truly budget hotels. Still, cleanliness is almost a guarantee at any of them. Bed quality and sheet quality are sometimes at stake in the lower end places.

That usually matters to me--except in San Vito, Costa Rica where we stayed for $16 per person per night, including breakfast, tax, and a little laundry. We had TV, hot water, AC, and a balcony overlooking the main street. What a deal! I was a little distressed to awaken and find my sheet had slipped off the mattress and I was on bare mattress. Ugh! :)

Like erresea, we also mix it up regarding price. There are a few places where we pay about $125 for some fairly luxurious digs (in CR) with very nice amenities, just steps from a beach or equally nice view--and including a fabulous breakfast. Those are the ones we keep returning to. Again, bang for the buck.

I tend to be a 'frugal' traveller, but over the years, my price range has crept up. If I think about my more recent trips - well, last December, in Antigua (Guatemala), we paid $45 US/night, except for our last night where we paid $125 for something really special. The $45 hotel was really nice - small room, but spotlessly clean and fairly new decor. Lomas de Tzununa (Lake Atitlan) was $80/night, I believe - that was a fabulous experience and I'm so glad we spent 4 nights there. In Roatan in April, I think it came to $42/night for a room with a kitchenette overlooking the water. (A/C would have been another $5, but it wasn't necessary because of the excellent cross breeze.) In Mexico, I've paid anything from $30/night (in Puerto Escondido) to $65/night (a fabulous B&B in San Cristobal).

We're going to Panama in February, and unfortunately with the Canadian $ having taken a nosedive lately, everything is going to be so much more expensive than I had budgeted. So far, in USD, my nightly accommodation is costing $80 (the highly recommended La Estancia B&B in Panama City), $72 in Boquete (a little cottage on a coffee farm) and $50 (in Bocas del Toro - room & private bath in a small B&B). We're also booked for a 2 night package at Yandup (San Blas) - that's more expensive, although it's probably the most 'basic' accommodation.

I agree $150 is not low price - that's a lot for me. I would love to go Buenos Aires and I'm thinking of late 2009 or early 2010. If we do go, I'm looking at renting an apartment for a week. We did that in Paris a couple of years ago and it was a really good deal.

Loved La Estancia--great value!

Shillmac, I'm going to buy a silk sleep sack - sometimes I find that the thread count in sheets in the less expensive hotels is a little less than I like :)

Also the idea of waking up on the mattress sans sheet is really horrible.

I figure I'll pack the sleep sack and if I need it, I've got it.

Tahvo - I completely agree with you. I was very surprised at how high prices were in CR. It seems you can find cheap places, but the moderate range places are pricier than what their counterparts would be in the US (and I'm talking about places like CA, NY, FL), and definitely pricier than other countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean that I've visited, and same goes for the high end places. It was very frustrating for me knowing I could get more luxury for my money if I booked my honeymoon in the Caribbean, Hawaii, or Mexico, and I'm talking about amazing little luxury boutique-resorts - but alas, we agreed to surf on our honeymoon, so Costa Rica it is.

You have to shop around but

www.thealtahotel.com Escazu my fav

From $100 expedia.com

But lots of hotels overpriced

Very few true luxury hotels

that are not at luxury prices.

plumboy~ happy to... www.hotelposadaderoger.com

But there are at least a dozen places in the old town of PV that are in that same price range. Even cheaper if you don't mind no pool.