goingout33

Looking for a good hotel in MA area- interested in being close to the beach area (at least having a good view). Found the Makanda by the Sea by it's expensive...cheapest room at $265/night. Some others I noticed of interest were the Hotel Si Como No (concerned that too many families/kids may be at this hotel though) rooms here start at $170, is this worth the price? Any other hotel suggestions for a 3 night stay? Another consideration is that we'll probably be out and about during the day, so we'd be around the hotel at night mostly...

mishi

My husband and I recently stayed at Buena Vista Villas and Casas in Manuel Antonio for our honeymoon and loved it! I can't remember what we paid...and it varies depending on the season. Check out their website www.buenavistavillas.net for more info and their rates.

koa

My family and I stayed at Costa Verde and found it to be a good deal. The squirrel monkeys hang out at this hotel, which makes it real cool! The views are awesome from Costa Verde. The room we got was only $60 dollars a night, and we had a view of the National park and rain forest.

faithie

If you want upscale and romantic, go with Makanda. You will have children at the other 2 with the exception of Costa Verde 2, adult only part pf Costa Verde but children will be at the restaurant.

shillmac

Si Como No is nice, and there is an adult pool which helps some. Actually, I've never noticed that many kids around, either the one time we stayed there or the other times we've gone for lunch. I'm sure there are at times, though. We love the restaurants and gift shop there, and I often use the internet that is available in the gift shop. We liked Costa Verde as well.

mishi

When we were at Buena Vista in October for our honeymoon there were no kids around...in fact there wern't many people around at all...I love CR in the rainy season! Amazing place...we loved it...more info about it if you click on my name. We didn't like the location of Makanda because it seemed to be so far off the main road...but otherwise don't know much about it or any other place in MA. So I'm not really much of a help...sorry!

momlyn

For location at a reasonable price check out the Hotel Karahe. We stayed in the "villas" (stairs, stairs, stairs- but what a view!)because the part of the hotel that's right on the beach was full. Because we were so close to the beach we were able to spend more time there- early mornings, dinner in the open air restaurant(watching the monkeys), sunsets. And it's a lovely, short walk to the national park which has some very pretty beaches. Not posh but we thought it was a great location.

faithie

Missed the part about the good view.... For a GREAT view, proximity to beach, adult only, I'd go with Costa Verde 2.

Melissa5

goingout33, we stayed at Hotel Si Como No in June 2005. Since the buildings are scattered about among grounds with nice vegetation, so you feel like you are really in Costa Rica...and because of the space, I had no feeling at any time that there were "too many kids".

There is a family/kids pool, but our older teens were old enough to join us in the adult pool so this didn't affect us.

The rooms are very comfortable, but that's not really what you are paying for. In my opinion you are paying for the great staff, the fact that they are well-rated for being eco-friendly, and they have extras such as their own mini-movie threatre for example...I enjoyed the overall atmosphere at Hotel Si Como No. Also we dined in lots of different places in Manuel Antonio and in Quepos and liked the food (and prices) best right at the casual restaurant at Hotel Si Como No, Rico Tico Bar 'N Grill.

It is NOT right on the beach...you would need to take their free shuttle to the beach. However the best beaches are inside the Manuel Antonio park reserve and the shuttle doesn't go there of course. The shuttle goes to the public beach. I don't think there are any hotels actually on the beaches that are INSIDE the park...

Is it worth the price? It was to me, as I wanted to splurge at one accomodation on the trip. It was the overall atmosphere on the grounds that I loved...the views from our particular room were nice but not exactly what I expected.

My husband and I traveled with our son and 2 young adult daughters. I would say that Manuel Antonio in general wasn't our #1 favorite place. Our #1 favorite was Arenal.

tully

Well, since my 2 stays in MA were at the same place - Costa Verde - I really can't compare to other places, but for views I would say the studio-plus rooms are pretty fantastic and they are relatively cheap compared to some of the higher-end places.

shillmac

Hi Melissa5! Good to see you "on board" again! Our sentiments exactly concerning Si Como No. We paid about $140 in July of 2004. They've gone up a bunch, but then so has everyone else. I noticed the new Arenal Kioro (luxe hotel) is increasing about $50 in 2007. They'll be charging right at $300 per night. Amazing!

And although, there were some things (mainly staff) about Costa Verde that bothered me, it has GOT to be one of the best values around. As Tully says, SPLENDID views and great rates.

Happy Thanksgiving, both of you!

faithie

Hi guys, we had a few small issues with the front desk staff at Costa Verde, not every one of them but a few. It is indeed a great value...

airwayvz

In my opinion, if you are staying in the MA area and looking to spend $150 - $200 a night then Tulemar or Buena Vista Villas (located on the same property) is by far the best way to go.

There is absolutely no comparison in value to other hotels in the areas in that price range, as Tulemar / BVV have an accesible beach located on the property, something that none of the other higher end hotels in the area have as far as I know.

Just returned from a few days @ Tulemar this weekend, actually. We met a couple that stayed at BVV. They originally were supposed to have the lower florr of a Villa, but BVV double booked it, apparently so thaey were upgraded to a $950 a night casa at no extra charge for thier entire stay...even got to add a few extra days at the same price.

Can't beat that!

jkheigle

Hi airwayves...

welcome back from Costa Rica! Did you happen to stay at Villas Nicolas? Can you give any feedback on that? -- I am booked there for 3 nights in a Type 3 room.... (Costa Verde was booked, Tulemar and BV were much higher!).

I recall reading an earlier post that you would be staying there a few nights.
Looking forward to reading whatever you've got to share... We leave December 14!

Thanks!

swigswig

I just returned and stayed three nights at Villas Nicolas. It is a charming small hotel with great views! The pool is simple but nice and the young man at the front is extremely helpful. Do yourself a favor and eat a meal at Escondido (part of the Hotel Espadilla)--turn left at the Marlin on the beach and go back and to the left. Awesome fish. If you just want to see a great sunset, have a drink at Ronnie's Place (off the road toward Quepos) or at Mariposa hotels place. Makanda by the sea has a great trout appetizer, good shakes and a nice view, jungle and sea, but no sunset.
Have fun!

swigswig

p.s. If you stay at VIllas Nicolas you are next door to Si Como No and can use their internet cafe, restaurants and movie theater at night. They also have a nice butterfly garden.

faithie

LOVE Villas Nicholas... Its a sweet, charming, hotel. More intimate than SiComoNo and the larger hotels.

airwayvz

Hi jkheigle,

Yep, we stayed at Villas Nicolas for two nights. As the previous posters mentioned, it's a charming little place. We stayed in room 3 Down. It was a "Type 3" room Nice view, great deck, air conditioned room if you want a/c. I agree, the young man working the front desk in the afternoons was VERY helpful 9can't remember his name right now). If you plan on touring MA park or doing the Damas Island Mangrove tour, I recommend booking both through Villas Nicolas. They use Nature Adventure Tours, run by Paul (Pablo) Gonsalves. It's a small company, w/ great guides and more private tours for a good price. (www.nature-adventure-tours.com)

Anyway, for the price I'd say Villas Nicolas is a great place to set up camp. Head to the pizzera just across the street next to the Billfish Bar / Byblos for lunch if you get a chance...but not for the pizza. Order a casado there w/ fish as your meat. Inexpensive lunch, and it tastes great.

Also make sure to hit Mi Lugar (Ronnie's Place) for sunset drinks and dinner. Try the Mi Lugar Super Chicken...it's FANTASTIC.

I'm in the process of uploading some pictures of my trip...may take me a few days, I'll make sure to upload some of my pics from Villas Nicolas, and post a message here, or feel free to email me at [email protected] and I'll send ya an email w/ a link once I get 'em loaded.

airwayvz

Here's a link to a few of the pics i took on our trip...including a few of Villas Nicolas. I'll post more as I get time:
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=536...=SYE/otsi=SALB

jkheigle

Thank you all for your quick replies! I look forward to seeing your pictures airwayves! And thanks for all the food and tour recs! Now, I need to pull all the posts together and make the list of recs!

Time will go quickly!

Quick question: We have two nights in between Arenal (Lost Iguana 3 nites) and MA (Villas Nicolas 3 nites). I have not booked anywhere yet (Dec 18/19) and I'm torn about what to do. We have a compact manual 4x4. What do you all recommend? I should post this separately, I suppose. My apologies. But maybe "goingout33" is still planning itinerary, and this info might be of interest. If not, I'm sorry.

Budget for the two nighter? Would like to keep it moderate (no more than 200) but would consider a splurge if it is really worth it. Of course, availability may be an issue.
I also wouldn't object to 2 one nighters as we make our way to MA from Arenal. Adventure, the real Costa Rica, romance are my priorities.