Hi there, Has anyone stayed here - any info about the property would be great! thank you!

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<<< Author: suburbantrain
Date: 09/26/2003, 09:00 pm
Message: We just got back from 10 days in cr. if this is useful to you, we stayed at orquideas inn in alajuela on arriving and before leaving - 15 min from sj airport - really nice hotel and super-helpful, friendly staff and owner.>>>

Above comment is a portion from another poster in a thread titled "Hotels in Costa Rica" --- http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34448503

I've also read other positive reviews on this website from posters who've stayed at the Orquideas; I think staying in Alajuela (outside city of San Jose) is preferable on your first/last nights in CR. Especially if you're renting a car to drive around yourself; OR if you're planning to fly in/out from one of the other cities in CR.

assuming you're referring to orquideas inn in alajuela, cr, its a great place to stay. my wife and i just got back and stayed at orquideas after arriving and before leaving sj - its a short ride from the airport and they'll pick you up/drop you off for about ten bucks. they have nice rooms with a wonderful garden you can walk around - introduce yourself to the leaf-cutter ants before seeing them in the forest. they do a great breakfast (included) and the staff are extremely helpful in making hotel reservations/confirmations, renting cars and so on - they made things very easy for us. the new owner, gary, is a really nice, entertaining guy (even though he wouldn't give me a job there!) and the marilyn monroe bar is a nice place for dinner (the chef's pretty good) and cocktails - if luis is behind the bar he can fix some awesome south american cocktails (beware if you have an early flight next morning). its also a pretty convenient place to access if you're on your way to or or from arenal or manuel antonio.
i'm still hoping gary will give me a job there - so maybe i'll see you.
st

by the way, your post doesn't have any reference to costa rica, so its not in the cr section.

To 'suburbantrain',
I'm so glad you enjoyed The Orquideas! I've stayed there 7 times and just love it. One of the reasons we kept going back, besides the gardens, view, bar, and fabulous breakfast, was because we really liked the previous owners. I was wondering how things were running now with new owners. I'm very happy to hear it sounds like the same place I've come to know and love!

ally - it was largely because of your enthusiastic recommendation that we stayed at Orquideas - thanks so much! i hope that if and when you return you'll enjoy it as much as you did before and we did - gary (the new owner) is a really nice guy and as far as i can tell most of the staff from before are still there. i'm still trying to get the "pool guy" job there - unfortunately gary was put off by my PhD. - i'll have to work on downgrading my resume!
pura vida,
steve

We stayed there a few years ago in one of the cheaper rooms near the busy road. If you go there make sure to get a room away from the road. It was convenient to the airport. The bar was fun.