Manuel Antonio with kids
 

Hi,
We are going to CR over New Year's with our two kids ages 5 and 11. Staying one night at Villa Blanca for the cloud forest (Peace Lodge is booked), 3 nights at Las Lagos in Arenal (too cheesy? Lost Iguana better?) and then would like some beach time. We considered Paradisus Playa Conchal (all inclusive) but it is VERY pricy and seems too Americanized. We need recommendation on a very nice beach hotel in M.A that is good for kids. Also suggestions on the rest of hotels/itinerary would be welcomed. Thank you so much.
Laura Mouw
Austin, Texas

The hotels are not on the beach per say in MA, but nestled in the hill above the beach area scattered in the jungle. Lots of great places to look at in different price ranges. Taking local buses, taxis, and shuttles to the beach is a 5 min drive and no trouble. We did it with kids on 2 separate trips with no prob. Look at Costa Verde, Si Como No, Tulemar/ Buena Vista Villas to start.

I think the perspective on the cheese at Los Lagos is that it is indeed, set up for families with crocs, butterfly garden, ziplines overhead, horseback riding, thermal pools, slides and swim up bar, volcano view all-in-one. That said, it still gets great reviews from the adults as to both grounds/rooms and food seems to be decent. I normally like smaller, more intimate places, but we are considering this for our next stay in Arenal, mainly for something different from the rest of the trip and for child happiness :)

El Campo del Silencio is a wonderful, smaller place to stay with lovely grounds, direct volcano view from individual bungalows. Pool and restaurant on site and the best Tico owner's and staff ever. We just love them!

Side note: Peace Lodge offers it's own element of cheese as well, as the rooms may be lux and have all the amenities, but are slightly "Flinstoney" in my opinion. Don't get me wrong though, I have no regrets about staying there...There is a lot to see and do in a couple of days and we had a fantastic time!

We stayed at the Lost Iguana last year and absolutely loved it - great volcano view, restaurant with volcano view, small pool on site, and right next to the Hanging Bridges. The rooms had nice balconies with jacuzzis.

I agree with hip that Peace Lodge can be a bit cheesy, but we loved it for a night. My husband was joking that it was like some hip bachelor pad - you push a button and the fireplace comes on, DVD player, CD player with romantic music, balcony, waterfall shower, etc. Very fun for a night or two but not really beyond that. We loved the 5 waterfalls at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens and highly recommend hiking to them.

In Manuel Antonio, I would say either Costa Verde or Si Como No if you have kids; both get good reviews on this board. We toured the SCN property, and they had a separate children's pool and a movie theater on site for showing movies in the evening. Seemed like a nice place for a family.

Thank you all for your advice. I have heard mixed things about Costa Verde so I've been wary. Si Como No is my first choice but its booked. I guess I look into Costa Verde.
The other option, instead of 4-5 nights at MA, was Capitan El Suizo near Tamarindo or El Sabanero - any thoughts on these hotels with kids or on which locale (MA or Tamarindo) would be better for beach time?

We are going in November with our 7 and 9 year olds and are staying at Lost Iguana, then Beuna Vista Villas and then Bosque del Cabo. I chose BVV in MA because you can use their private beach, the pool looks lovely and the villa has a small kitchen.

Camp Julie,
Just curious as to why you choose Lost Iguana vs. Los Lagos in Arenal. I looked into Buena Vista Villas but they were booked, will keep trying. Heard wonderful things about them. Something just opened at Issimo suites so I'll probably grab that. Busy busy time over New Years and this is late to plan it.
Laura

I have 2 children and Issimo would not be very high on my list.....

If your searching for more upscale look at Hotel Gaia and reserve, could work.

Faithie, why would you not recommend Issimo for kids?
Thanks for the info.
Laura

Lost Iguana is very nice..Heated swim up pool. Views of the lava at night, and a great resturant serving delious pina coladas!! Close to Tabacon Hotsprings (Tico side Hotsprings much cheaper and right across the street)

M.A- I stayed at Villas Mymosa (these are privately owned and with vacation rental manager.Not much as far as for young kids- but they do have a nice clean pool. Not far from the Manual Antoino National Park (which has a beautiful private beach inside)
or Si Como No- Very pretty with awsome views.

There is a great resturant near both hotel made from an old airplane, the kids will love that.

This is a small, new, modern hotel perched on a hill(as most are) at the side of a now busy little road, there was a TON of construction going on right under your nose(but that was December) and the pool is very tiny... If it was just my husband and I it would be a better choice, but with children it would not be my first choice. But thats just my opinion, you could love it.

Laura: I liked the "feel" of LI - Lagos seemed a bit "contrived" but please remember I have not stepped foot in Costa Rica yet... just lots and lots of research. At first I wanted to plan my entire trip around a resort - Punta Islita - but when I got into it I ended up not including it at all. After days of research I chose Bosque del Cabo as the "must" and planeed from there. As far as my LI choice, it sounds secluded and I like the idea of walking to the hanging bridges. The pool looks lovely and the Suite (lower level) looks beautiful and gets rave reviews. Decided not to spend the money on a bigger unit here.
In MA I like the private beach in Tulemar. Supposedly they have bech stuff to use so we won't have to bring anything, plus there are snacks and restrooms. This sold me with kids. Have you looked into Tulemar if Buena Vista is booked?

We stayed at Las Lagos in June with our 3 kids. I didn't find it too cheesy. In fact i would probably stay again without kids.They LOVED it. the pool is geared for kids with a great waterslide and it also has a thermal swim up bar pool for adults. The room was great too. We had a room with 2 QN beds and each bed had a trundle that the kids loved. The room was spacious and we didn't feel cramped. ( opposed to other rooms we have had ). The restaurant was good and the view of the volcano was perfect. We were in the last building in the back so our view of the volacano was right there. I would def. stay again.

In MA we were there for a week and stayed in a house that was on the road to the beach. Great location, close to most things. We didn't have a car so we walked everywhere with no problem. There is A LOT of construction everywhere but that seem to be the case wherever we went. If you want more info just let me know .
We were going to stay at Paradius Playa Conchal( we have a time share) but they were full and we didn't want to pay their prices! I would like to try it as it looks very nice.

Good luck

Julie,
I will try Tulemar but if I remember correctly they were sold out. I am looking for Jan 1-6 at MA so its a very busy time. Now I am intrigued by Bosque Del Cabo....perhaps that should be on our list. How do you get there? Is it good for kids? We will have about 9 nights total so I was going to do one at San Ramon Cloud forest (Villa Blanca Hotel), 3 at Arenal and 5 at Manuel Antonio. Should we consider BDC?
Thanks,
Laura

BDC is amazing and it should be exceptionally pretty at that time of year. I took my 10 year old and she loved it, so I'm sure your kids would to. Are they adventurous and outdoorsey? Because the main attraction is the beautiful well cleared trails for you to hike, and all the wildlife (along with the on-site guides to help you spot things). Yes, definitely worth looking into if you don't have firm plans yet.

We are arriving San Jose (1 night)- hiring a driver to take us to LI - Arenal (3 nights) - same driver to be available for our days in Arenal - then drive us to MA (4 nights) - We then take Nature Air from Quepos to Bosque del Cabo for 4 nights then Nature Air to SJ for 1 night before our flight home.
Our kids are 7 and 9. One is really adventuresome and the other is not! We are looking forward to seeing a lot of wildlife on the BdC property and taking a trip to the animal sanctuary. From what I have read on this site and others, I am really looking forward to this leg of our trip!

Hi, laura - the best way to get to BdC is via Nature Air or Sansa - it's a quick flight to Puerto Jimenez, and then the BdC staff will come to pick you up for about a 45-minute drive to the BdC property. It's really secluded with amazing animal life.

We saw howlers, capuchins, and wild scarlet macaws right from our front porch. If your kids love animals, you can visit the animal sanctuary and hold the monkeys or you can take a boat out to swim with wild dolphins. They also have candlelight group dinners every night where everyone comes together to compare their day's adventures. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then I'd definitely check into it. Also, you can read all the raves at tripadvisor.com. I think it has 5 stars pretty unanimously.

Ok now that I've read about Bosque del Cabo I really need help, because it sounds like its not to be missed! We have 9 nights max to be in CR. If I assume we will need t 1 night on either end in San Jose, that leaves us only 7 nights for some combo of Arenal - MA - BDC. Should I just try for 3 nights Arenal and 4 in BDC and forget the MA part? Or try to do it all - 2 nights Arenal, 2 nights MA, 3 nights BDC -- or is this too rushed? We have a 5 year old and an 11 year old. Thanks for your help.
Laura