rmorwig

My husband and I just got back from our 10 day Costa Rica trip and we had a blast! Here are some of my reviews/tips:

We stayed in a villa for 2 days at Villa Caletas outside of Jaco and absolutely loved it! It was one of the nicest hotels we have ever stayed at and we travel extensively. This was actullay my second time staying there and my husband's 1st - he didn't want to leave! The food at the hotel was very good, but costly. We took a tour of Carrara Biological reserve and it was amazing...we saw tons of scarlet macaws and many other birds. We ate at Jammin, a cute surfer's restaurant in Playa Hermosa which was good, considering their fish lunch was only $2.30!!

We then drove to Manuel Antonio to stay at our big splurge of the trip, Makanda by the Sea. We were extremely disappointed when we got to the property. The grounds were nothing special, their pool was tiny and our room was average as well, albeit very large. Our villa (#7) was underneath the swimming pool and was very noisy. We had to climb 92 !! stairs every time we wanted to leave/get back to the room. There was no balcony, so we felt very trapped in our room, since there isn't much of a common area at Makanda. When we asked to switch rooms, they were very rude to us and said we could, but we would have to change to a different room each of the 3 nights we would be there. We were not thrilled about changing rooms and we were turned off by their rudeness, so we decided to check out. To make matters worse, they REFUSED to refund our prepaid money. At a ridiculous $265 a night, there are far better places to spend your hard earned money. We left anyway, feeling very cheated.

Compared to Makanda, Villa Caleta seemed like a bargain at $160/nt. for a gorgeous villa and extensive and beatiful grounds.

We then went checked into La Miraposa, which was wonderful! They have the best view in town and they were so nice and accomadating. We paid $130 (incl. breakfast) for a cute deluxe bungalow. The rooms were just ok, but the grounds were extremely nice. The location is much better than Makanda (which is at the top of a very steep hill) as we could walk to many restaurants. We ate at Karolas (good but pricey) and La Cantina (decent and affordable).

We took and enjoyable tour of MA park and saw lots of monkeys, sloths amd birds. We also did Canopy Safari zipline tour, which was fun, but suprisingly, there was no wildlife.

We then took and interbus transfer for $25 to Arenal. There was no A/C on the bus and we were crapmed in like sardines, which made for an uncomfortable 5 1/2 drive. (hint - I would opt for a private transfer) We stayed 2 nights at the Arenal Paraiso, which wasn't so nice. The rooms were basic and the beds smelled. The location is far from town and the Tabacon hotsprings (tip - the springs are well worth the $29 entrance fee.) In fact, I would stay at Tabacon just to be able to go the springs whenever you want to.
Tip - It rained both of the days we were there and we never got to see the volcano. Our hotel said the dry season is really the only time to visit Arenal.

We ate at El Novillo next to the Tabacon resort and we had a huge and wonderful filet mingon for about $7.00. What a deal! We went to the Damas butterfly farm, which was great. We saw tons of poison dart frogs, butterflys and lush plants. I would definitely recommend it.

We then yook another Interbus transfer to Tamarindo. It took 5 hours and the van was again uncomfortable. Our hotel said it should have been only 3 1/2 hours. (the van stopped twice for 20 minute stops at souvinear shops) We stayed at Cala Luna, which was a very beautiful hotel. They were customer service oriented and their food was very good. There was one drawback though, the hotel is about a 20 minute walk to town (and it was HOT and dusty!!) Also, their beach is very rocky, so it is unswimable. (Tip - I would recommend Capitan Suizo for it's better location and beach).

We ate at the Lazy Wave twice, which was totally amazing and affordable! The food was good at out hotel as well.

It was a great trip, but in hind sight, we would have spilt our time between Villas Caleta and La Miraposa. We would have skipped Arenal and Tamarindo because of the long transfers and the weather (Arenal too rainy and Tamarindo too dry and hot)

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Ally

I have a friend who got married at Villa Caletas and also loved it there. I was surprised about your review of Makanda! I only had dinner there (did not stay there) but this is the first bad review I've seen about Makanda By The Sea! I didn't know that some of the Villas don't have a balcony, I would have hated that too! Thanks for the information, as people do need to know these things! When we are in the area, we always have happy hour at Mariposa for those lovely views you speak of. We did see a room there, I don't remember what 'class' it was but is was fabulous, with a nice big bath with a view and a great patio overlooking the ocean. Wonder if you had one of those rooms? I have heard that Cala Luna is nice, but far from town....live and learn, right?
I was also surprised by your review of Arenal Paraiso, as it's liked by so many, but coming from where you had stayed already, I can understand why you might be a bit dissapointed! In any case, I'm gald that you had some good experiences while on vacation! Welcome home!

ctkathy

Makanda by the Sea: We did request a certain unit months in advance because of advice on this website. I believe it was #10. I did think there was an attitude in the front desk, but nothing awful. The worst part was the constuction on the Makanda owner's home that intruded all day while we were at the pool The Owner had gone back to the States, expecting his home to be completed. Our room was fabulous, we really enjoyed the service and the restaurant at Makanda.

I would request a certain unit before you arrive.

RufusTFirefly

It's always interesting how experiences can differ. We stayed at Arenal Paraiso and had a great time. No smelly bed, the rooms were fine, nice bathroom, excellent view of the volcano.

Don't understand the apparently negative comment about it being far from town--didn't you know that before you booked it rmorwig? If you wanted to be near the town, why didn't you get a hotel that is near the town? Of course, if you're in a hotel in the town, then you can't get a good view of the lava flows, which is the point of going to Arenal for most people.

trevorjoyce

rmorwig...was your room at Arenal standard or superior? We are planning to be there in Aug. for 2 nights and do worry about the rain. There will be 3 of us in the room and it sounds small.

blakeas

I am planning my honeymoon to Costa rica and was planning on having Arenal as one of my stops. Is it even worth it if i cant see the volcano? Do you need to be close to town to enjoy the area? And lastly, you hinted that people should use a private bus transfer, can anyone point to one i should use? Thanks again for your trip report - Woops i am almost forgot, I will be going to Costa Rica from Oct 4th to Oct 14th - Right in the middle of the Green season - That is why i ask about Arenal.

lvk

Rmorwig,

Thanks for all of your honest assessments. I am booked into the Arenal Paraiso for August, and would be interested in whether you had a superior or standard room also.

Thanks also for all of the restaurant reviews. Yours was also the first negative review I read of Interbus.

Blakeas: I have heard positive reviews (from Neta) of Costa Rica Transfers - www.costaricatransfers.com. However, it may be kind of pricey for only two people.

rmorwig

We had a superior room at the Arenal Paraiso. The resort was not bad, it was just very average. We never saw the tooms at the Tabacon, but everyone at the hotsprings that I talked to seemed to be satisfied.

I am not sure about who to use for private transfers...you may want to do a search on this board.

jblech

Thanks for your reality check of the places you visted. A few questions. We are thinking about Villa Caletas, it sounds divine. Is the beach nice and is it swimmable? Are there alot of mosquitos up in the villas? Were the sunsets nice and could you see them from your room? We are going in Jan. Do you know if it is overly hot? Is it very humid? Thanks alot in advance and I will be sure to update the forum like you did after our trip.

twbuss

Can you please tell me something about the Canopy Safari trip that you did. Is this a good one for a family? Not looking for fastest and the highest...
Thanks