La Mariposa
 

We are about to book this hotel for our 10 days in Costa Rica - any comments? we have 3 teenagers. how are the beaches? any suggestions for &quot;must do&quot; excursions?<BR>sheila

Sheila,<BR>There was a previous post about La Mariposa in the last couple days- scroll back and you should find it and the responses. Most of Manuel Antonio is mountains, so most hotels have great views, but you have to go by the park entrance to access the beach- a few minutes by car. The beaches there and in the park are great, very pretty. There's tons of stuff to do there, your hotel should be able to arrange them for you and have info about different activities. Besides sportfishing, you can usually wait until the day before to book tours. Check out Hotel California or Si Como No if you change your mind about La Mariposa.

Thanks for the reply, scott. What don't you like about mariposa - do recommend the others instead? sheila

also check out the Makanda By the Sea, La Mansion, Tulemar Bungalows....

Sheila,<BR><BR>I stayed at La Mariposa in November. The hotel was under heavy cosnstruction at the time. They started at 6am every morning(bang bang bang). It was terrible. I would assume they will be under construction for a while - they are adding additional units. The rooms with 2 queen beds are in the main building. They have no dressers and minimal furniture - our room had 2 uncomfortable beds, 2 tabels and a wood bench. I would not recommend it for a ten day stay. The rooms have not TV's (may be a problem with the teens) and hotel food is expensive. We spoke to many people on the trip that were renting houses you may want to check that out this is one of the web sites we found. http://maqbeach.com/<BR>The area is beutiful - have fun.<BR>Aileen

We liked hotel Si Como No in Manuel Antonio. And I heard very good things about Villas Nicholas and Tulemar Bungalows. Makanda, I believe, does not accept kids under 16.<BR>Are you planning to stay in one location for all of your 10 days?

Mariposa is still constructing and there's construction right beside Si Como No...somethimes it's hard to avoid..if you go to Maqbeach site, don't reserve at Nature's Beachfront Aparthotel...it's a nightmare

I just came back from a week in Tulemar Bungelows and I highly recommend them. They are the most private luxurious and beautiful bungelows I have ever seen. There is a beatiful beach on the property and miles of Jungle full of wildlife. The staff is great and they serve great breakfast. You can use the Kyacks&lt; snorkeling gear and boogie boards for free too.