Paradisus Playa Conchal
 

We are staying at the Paradisus Playa Conchal. Could someone tell me something about the resort. I would also like to go to one of the volcanoes. Are any of them close to the hotel? Can you give me any ideas on tours to take to the volcanoe or other places. I like to book these online as they tend to save you alot of money rather than booking thru the hotel. So if you have a web address of tour companies I would appreciate that info also. Thanks in advance for your help.

We were there when it was a Melia...it is a large resort of over 900 acres with the largest pool I have ever seen..As for side trips..there are two or were travel agencies in the main building under the stairs.. If they have trips to the beach for turtle egg laying I would recommend that as well as the rafting.. The volcano can be kind of iffy..depends on the weather..One of the things I liked about the hotel, besides the junior suites were the jitneys that took you around...Watch out for the Howling Monkeys near the pool...they aren't too friendly..

Thanks for the reply. Can you tell me anything about which restaruants to eat at at the hotel? Or any other tips.

We were at Melia Playa Conchal 2 years ago. Didn't know about the name change. There were some guests staying there on an all-inclusive pkg. Makes sense since the resort is rather remote and gigantic. I wish we would have done that since it was really expensive doing it a la carte. I remember the Italian Restaurant being really good! It is a beautiful resort. Have Fun!

Volcan Rincon de la Vieja is a great day trip. It is only about an hour and a half or so from the hotel. Arrange the day before to have the hotel pack you a lunch that you pick up at breakfast if you go on your own (with taxi driver)(if you go with a tour they will most likely have arranged for lunch for you). There is a small entrance fee once you get there of about $5-6 dollars pp and the ranger gives you a map. I love hiking around there. Haven't made it to the summit yet on my two trips there because of windy weather up there at the top (they weren't allowing you to go) but did some wonderful hiking on other parts of it at that time. There is a great loop trail you can take that goes by mud pots and fumerols. The trail can be done in the morning and you could have lunch and then go to the waterfalls or swimming hole. Be prepared for the coatis to come begging at lunch time. They live in family groups of about 25 and if you give one a snack it will go get the rest of the family for you to feed. Toilets are scarce and so is toilet paper so be sure to tuck a little tissue in your day pack. Bring plenty of water as there is no place to buy anything once you get there. If you decide to just do a morning loop hike to see the mud pots etc. you could think about having lunch at a little place right on the square in the center of Liberia on you way back to Conchal.
I spent a few days up at Los Innocentes and they are a popular day trip from the Flamingo/Conchal area for horseback riding. It is up near the Nicaraguan border. Again, you can hire a taxi and go on your own or you can go with a tour from the hotel. You could make arrangements beforehand on the internet or the hotel travel agent could call and let them know you are coming in a taxi for the day. I believe the day charge by Los Innocentes includes lunch. There are various companies that can take you out snorkeling, fishing, turtle watching. Several are located in the Flamingo beach area which is only about 1/2hr from Conchal. There are several places just before you get to the center of the Flamingo area (very tiny area but very pretty beach). Just before you get to those there is a little dirt road that goes to Potrero. They call it the monkey trail because of the monkeys in the trees along there. Mostly mono congos (howler monkeys). Flamingo also has a casino. There is a little place called Maries that has some good food for lunch. Good old fashioned burgers also.
One other day trip you could think about would be to go to Tamarindo for the day. It is south of Conchal and is a cute little surfer town but has a lot of other people there also besides surfers.
I would not hesitate to go on some of the tours from the hotels. They aren't that much more expensive and quite often they have wonderful guides that can point out a lot of stuff both on the road and on the tours.
There are also several car rental companies in the Liberia area if you decide to you want to go that route.

It wasn't an all-inclusive resort when we were there, but semi-...we enoyed the Italian restaurant very much and the "gourmet" one on the hill.. We did not do the buffets at night..and thought that the grille for lunch at that time was rather expensive.. We did go outside the resort to the Golden Shrimp..and ate on the beach..whatever fresh fish was brought in for the day. We did do a tour of a dry tropical mountain/forest and were greatly disappointed.. we saw a few ants... a coral snake..and a few butterflies..oh yes,.. some huge trees.. Quite a few of the roads are like dry river beds and you willneed a 4 wheel drive. Franky, I liked Playa Conchal..and would go back in a heart beat

Check out my trips reported listed here under "Paradisus (Melia) Playa Conchal trip report". The resort was wonder and I made a comment about each of the restaurants, all were great. . Any questions, drop me a line at [email protected].