cocoa3c

Hello everyone, my first time on this forum.
My daughter and fiance want to get married in Costa Rica and I've been helping them research. We're looking at the Malpais Santa Teresa area. One hotel they've been checking out is the Tropico Latino. They have a wedding service with fairly reasonable rates. I was just wondering if anyone has experienced or knows of this hotel and what their opinion of it is.
Also, we need decent, but fairly economical hotels in the area to put up the family and friends who are attending. So far the Funky Monkey and Escencia look pretty good. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Also, I've been trying to figure out the best way to acess the area; flying from San Jose to Tambor, then 40 min drive from there seems the most logical, considering it seems to be a five hour drive from San Jose, but again, if you have any experience or comments I'd like to hear them! Thanks so much!

tully

I would also look into Horizon hotel to put up family, it's just about the next closest hotel to Tropico and is very nice - kitchenettes, decks, reasonably priced, a/c, safe and 2 pools.

Flying into Tambor is easiest, the ride to Mal Pais is just 45 minutes, last 5 minutes or so kinda rough. The Funky Monkey & Esencia are a good 10-15 minutes away so I would look at some closer hotels, like Horizon I mentioned.

shillmac

We had a nice experience at TL back in 2004. Stayed in the only beachfront cabina that was available (then, not sure about now), and it was nice (not luxe, but nice being a few steps from the water). I know very little about any changes that may have transpired since then. Good luck and congratulations!

petite43

Although we stayed in the beachfront cabina at TL in 2006 and enjoyed it I think there may be better choices for a wedding. I haven't been to Tango Mar yet but it looks like a great place for a wedding...http://www.tangomar.com/
It's not in the Mal Pais area but located closer to Tambor.

We had a driver take us to TL on the same day we arrived into San Jose & would never do that again. Keep in mind that if the arrival flight into San Jose is close to or after 2pm or delayed then you will not have enough time to catch the ferry on the same day. I would suggest staying overnight in San Jose & starting out fresh the next morning if you choose to drive. Flying into Tambor seems like the better option.

benwilltravel

I was in ST/Malpais in January and stayed on the Malpais end of the road at a place called the Blue Bird Lodge. It was very nice, but not cheap. The sweet lady there gave us a smoking deal at $55/night (instead of the $65 we were expecting). If you want to be somewhere quiet, you need to be in Malpais. I found Santa Teresa to be a little bit crowded and it's always party time. You'll be a mile or two down the road in Malpais, but it was worth it for the tranquility for us. We rented a scooter for $20/day, so the mile or 2 was no big deal.

As far as getting there, all the info above is great. Another alternative is to schedule your flight to land in SJO early, hire a ride to Jaco and catch the jet boat to Santa Teresa. It's not quite as fast as flying, but about the same cost (total) and the ride across the Gulf of Nicoya is really beautiful. Otherwise, I would definitely recommend a flight to Tambor.

cocoa3c

Thanks very much everyone for your replies. My daughter has now chosen an area in the mountains Rosario de Naranja at VistadelValle resort to get married, but we will still be going to the Pacific coast afterward. Thanks for the heads up on Malpais.

shillmac

Beautiful area--nice views!

tropicalia2000

Hotel Frank's Place in Playa Carmen, the beach between Malpais and Santa Teresa is also a very good option for a stay close to the beach and centre.
Rooms are standard with all the comfort you need, the pool and jacuzzi are in a nice tropical gardens and there is a great onsite restaurant under the most amazing rancho.