pg

I thought I would write our (family of 5 including kids 8, 8 and 3)experience from last week.
We chose this resort for convenience (closest to Monteverde and San Jose - our from and to destinations). The resort is quite good, and we stayed in a chalet with kitchenette - quite a good room, but at $140 (without breakfast) it was much too pricey for Costa Rica. In fact, Jaco hotels, which are 15 kms away might be cheaper, and getting to dinner options a lot easier as well.
The hotel charges $20 for each lost towel, and they are not shy about letting you know about strict check out time when you need to be out of the property (about 5 km from the highway). You (including children) have to have green wrist-bands for the entire duration. The property seems to be generally well-kept, but somehow the attitude that we came across was perhaps the worst - it is as if they are doing the traveller a favor by letting them stay there - quite unlike the generally warm Ticos.

colibri

PG,
How did you like the beaches here? We are finishing up our next trip by staying with Heredia friends who want to take us over to Punta Leona for a day trip to the beach. I haven't heard much about this resort other than it is a Tico favorite.

costarog

Punta Leona probably has the distinction of having the nicest, whitest beach in Costa Rica. There are actually 3 beaches at P/L and another that can be reached at low tide.
The nice beach is Playa Blanca. You can snorkel there but unfortunately there's not that many fish. The water however is usually very clean and the beach isn't used by a lot of people. Just the one's that know it's there.
We usually have a pass for $5.00 from the hotel that we stay at but this year we have a condo and P/L has quoted us a price of $20.. each for the day.
Just go and enjoy. It also has a decent beach restaurant and believe it or not a hot dog stand.
Roger.
PS: Lot of morphs on the drive in and lots of wildlife including scarletts on the beach.

colibri

Thanks, Costarog. It sounds like we'll have a good day at the P/L beach with our friends. They love it, but I just couldn't find much info on it.
I think we will skip the snorkeling if there aren't many fish. We snorkeled this year off some island on a boat trip from Flamingo and it sounds like it was much better than the snorkeling at Manual Antonio. It wasn't like the Caribbean, but you could see at least 20' - 30' with several schools of different fish.

pg

colibri,
Just wanted you to know that we found the beach (Playa Blanca) to be nice and not so crowded. However, we did see mostly Europeans and Americans there (rather than Ticos).
An interesting thing that I came to learn there is that it is illegal in Costa Rica for private resorts to block public from accessing beaches (though Punta Leona has done is quite successfully). There is a public entrance (not very well marked) that is south to the resort entrance that can be used for free access. However, we stayed at a chalet at the resort.
If you are planning to use towels for pool/ beach, then know that the last towel is available at 5pm, the pool is available 8:30a-9p. And boy! do these guys treasure their towels!

colibri

Yes, at $20 per lost towel - sounds like there must be a towel shortage at P/L!
Large resorts do have ways of making it difficult, if not impossible, to access the beaches. In Brasilito you used to be able to walk directly from Hotel Conchal to Conchal Beach. One of the megaresorts built a wall around their property, so now you have to walk down the road to Brasilito Beach, then go behind the headland onto to Conchal - worth the walk!

costarog

pg
The hotel have those rights due to the fact that they are making nesting for the Scarlets much easier with no poaching, etc. The first year we went there was about 7 years ago and they had 3 nesting pairs. the second year it was 12 and so on. Last year I think the number was 87. You see them all over the beach area.
Can or will you elaborate on that road in that you mentioned? I'll be passing it in 3 weeks and I'll try to find it. I don't think it would end up at Playa Blanca would it? That would be quite the walk if it didn't. One time we were there a panga hit the beach with fish on board. It didn't last 5 minutes before the guards got rid of it. They are very attentive so I don't know how you could do it with no arm band. Hmmm. Any ideas?
Roger.

pg

Roger,
While driving by, I couldn't locate the public entrance, but I am sure with any number of businesses nearby, it can be located.
I am not sure what you mean by "arm-band" - I was talking about "wrist-band" more closely associated with teenagers putting them on as a sign of having paid cover-charge when entering a night-club.
As for Scarlet nesting and such, I am sure they are doing some of it, but in the grand scheme of things Hotel Punta Leona is miniscule when compared to breeding grounds available throughout the coast. Though noble, I think it is more for (western) tourist consumption for the prices or policies that the resort has.
I just think that this resort is a good place to go to strictly because it possibly is one of the closest clean beaches from SJO. Other than that, I didn't find any other value. Their (gotcha!) policies made me more disgusted than their price, but I am sure others have a higher opinion.

costarog

pg
Thanks for the answer. I don't think I'll try using that road after seeing how fast they eject those who don't have the wrist band. We go down for 6 weeks every year and every second day we go to Playa Blanca. The fees would really start to add up. $20.00 each ($40.00) per day for 3 hours of beach and snorkel time.
In passing it's funny you didn't run into many Ticos or Ticas. It's a favorite spot for them and lots of the wealthier one's have homes there. We've been invited and have attended a few after beach drinks in some of their homes. We go when school's out (January and February) so that probably makes a difference.
Roger.