Peace Lodge
 

Interesting information regarding. .

Not long ago, there was a thread discussing a bit of "price gouging" or "taking too much advantage of a good thing" by Peace Lodge.

For example, Monarch Villa, designed for 4 people and priced according at $100 more than the deluxe accomodations: More than 2 persons, and they tack on ANOTHER $40 per person, bringing the total to almost $500. Double charging is the only name for this practice.

Another example: discontinuance of the included breakfast buffet.

Another example: High prices $30 at dinner (is this really TRUE?) for mediocre food (or reports of mediocre food--we don't eat there).

This is tourism at its worst. A friend who recently stayed there shared with me this past week that they had met the owner, who is indeed from Florida, as hipvirgochick mentioned. . .

Their impression was not good, and they are generally quite tolerant folks.

Now all that doesn't take away from the fact that La Paz Waterfall Garden is a fabulous place and Peace Lodge a gorgeous hotel. It does make me think twice about giving them my business. For first timers to CR, it is still a don't miss location, but now that I've given them my business several times (hotel twice), I think I'll move on. . . .

The thought of someone who is already prospering quite well working so hard to bank just a little bit more in a country so gracious and generous doesn't set well.

That said, I'll agree that all the improvements (and there have been many over the past 3 years) have surely been costly. And perhaps I don't have all the facts. I hope not. Maybe the higher prices and changes in policy have been necessary to provide the product that we all enjoy. But still. . .think I'll move on now! :)

shillmac - I hear ya - and no it isn't me in FL that owns it, ha! I guess it's easy to say as we've both been there but I totally agree - if it was now and I was to visit there I'd probably stay at Poas Volcano Lodge or do it as a day trip. And you forgot the hassle of their reservations dept as well that many go thru. The dinner was, yes, around $30, and no, not worth it. Good food yes but on par with about Applebee's and far over-priced for CR. The cut off of the breakfast included, the extra person charge in the Villa, the small bag of $7 (!) chips etc is really taking it too far.

I am so glad that some body is calling the things by there name...Peace Lodge even that is a great place...is not worth it...the owner has been reported several times with the Costa Rica labor department...he loves to scream at his workers!!

The hotel looks like the FLINSTONES... most of Peace Lodge is full of fiberglass rocks!! And fake flowers!!

GPS

We're excited to be trying out a new hotel this time around, for one night!

When I get back to CR with Isabelle (returning to U.S. to get her while DH stays there), Humberto doesn't have a room for us. We are scheduled at Peace Lodge (our last hurrah there, I guess) August 3 and 4. So we decided to drive as far as Doka and stay at Siempre Verde B&B. We've had breakfast there a few times and have always wanted to stay overnight. It's one of the best breakfasts in the country, surely!

It will be a good choice for us, putting us close to La Paz for the 3rd--and we can relax and take it easy that morning. The photos online look so nice, and we got it for $80, the 3 of us, breakfast AND TAX included.

Still wavering on the other accomodation. If we decide on Sanchiri, the only purpose would be to hike Tapanti National Park. We've never done that--although have done everything else in that area. Like the area.

That'll be so cool shillmac. Had breakfast there as well once and thought it looked just lovely & peaceful.

We stayed in a standard room last time at Peace Lodge. We were completely content with it and didn't see a need for a deluxe, so for our trip this summer, I booked a standard again both in my online request form and on the fax I sent. My husband just pointed out to me that our confirmation says deluxe room - holy sticker shock! I called to rectify it, but they don't have any standards left. The prices they are charging are absolutely astounding. And with the prices they are charging, I am dumbfounded that they don't include breakfast.

shillmac - We were looking for an alternative to Peace Lodge for our 1st trip to CR in January. Peace Lodge just seems so pricey and like they nickle-and-dime for everything (like breakfast!).

We are staying 3 nights in Arenal (at AOL) and probably our last night at Orquiedas Inn. So our first 2 nights are still open (husband really wanted to do MA, but I think it's too much as we don't arrive until 1pm). I think Siempre Verde might be the perfect addition to our trip! Do you think it's feasible to stop at La Paz on the way to Arenal?

Oh sure--and Siempre Verde is not far from Poas OR La Paz.

Leaving Alajuela, it is just up the road and very near the entrance to the Doka Estate Coffee Tour. Owned by Doka. . .

If you'll go to the Doka website, that is where you'll find the links to Siempre Verde.

Only problem (and I have e-mailed them about this) is it is VERY hard to find the entrance if you don't know exactly where it is. There are signs, but they are not clear. Last time we stopped by for breakfast, we were back and forth on that road about 10 times. I'll post the directions when I hear back from them.

It is truly a beautiful property and very serene. There are only 4 accomodations--very small. And a gift shop. Breakfast is outdoors.

I wasn't going to say this, but what the ****. Our friends said the owner was extremely obnoxious (right then I knew it wasn't you, Tully) at dinner. Loud, abrasive and obnoxious. That pretty much did it for me. . .as I said earlier. . in a country where la gente are gentle and soft spoken and well mannered. . .yuk.

If I'm gonna be gouged, I'd rather it be by some one charismatic LOL!
not by my LEAST favorite type of personality!

Rereading my post, I decided I'd better clarify. . .

The **** were meant to imply the word "hell". . .some may read a whole lot more into those little symbols than I intended! Sorry!
Guess I'd better stay away from the curse words!

We had our last stay at PL this past Feb., after the no-breakfast thing and the price of the rooms, I'd rather splurge somewhere else (like BDC :)!

We were told in Nov. that the owner is building a resort in Arenal which will make Tabaccon look like nothing. Maybe the jacked up prices are financing this contruction. Too bad. It's such a neat place.......

MY

Probably one of the new "high rises" in Arenal. What a shame.

We're going back in a little over a month and I guess I'll see how it compares to our trip last year. I think a lot depends on your expectations and perspective. We had just come from Tabacon, which was also a comparably expensive hotel, however it did not include breakfast and their breakfast is outrageously expensive. At the time Peace Lodge did include the breakfast. The staff at Tabacon was just there to be there and never went out of their way to do anything for the guests and the rooms were just very basic. I would probably never stay there again, unless I planned to visit their hot springs every day of our visit - since they're included in the room rate.

However, when we arrived at Peace Lodge we were blown away, not just by the rooms, but by the service. The entire staff was amazing. The grounds were beautiful, even in the rain. We found the food to be very good and in no way overpriced for what you get - as compared to US prices.

Sure, we're disappointed that breakfast is no longer included, but it isn't included at many of the places we've looked at. I also do not understand charging extra per person for the Monarch Villa - we're staying in it this time, and paying extra, and not thrilled about it either.

I'm sure we didn't meet the owner on our last visit, but we did really feel that at the time our stay was well worth the price that we paid. We truly felt relaxed and would not have missed the whole experience there for anything.

So - I'm just hoping that it hasn't changed too much when we return! That would be sad...it really is beautiful -

We will be there next February, so I read with much interest all the opinions voiced here. It will be our first CR trip, and would love to be close to waterfalls, birds, hummingbirds, frogs and nature, in general.

I understand that PL is not exactly ‘wild’ and yes, it is very expensive. For these prices, absolutely, breakfast should be included in the price.

But we’re going to give it a try and hope we’ll not be disappointed.

We will be at Peace Lodge on July 15th. I originally (about a year ago) read so many excellent reviews/comments, that now I'm interested to see if we think it's worth it. I think the kids will love it, and it's only a one-night splurge in a two week trip, so of course the cost seems diluted considering the entire trip cost. I'll post when we return, and let everybody know what we thought, although we can't compare it to anything since this will be our first trip. Is anybody going to be there when we are?

ShellID,
After such mixed reviews, I was happy to read your comments. We are also paying extra for the Monarch Villa, but we have 5 people in it, so we would have needed two rooms anyway. Since we both have the Monarch Villa, obviously we won't be there at the same time.

There has been talk for several years about PL building a place in Arenal. Wonder if they really will. I believe Pat Hewitt told me about it in the first place. Been quite a few years. So many that I had given up looking for it.

We enjoyed our stay at PL for the most part and understand what it must cost to keep a place like that up and continue to build. I too think breakfast should be included for the price though. The double charging is not kosher either imo. Without breakfast there isn't that much extra expense so why the extra charge. We thought the service was good except for two things...we were out and out lied to about something on two different days. And, we thought we had a private driver to the airport and wanted to change the pick up time so he could drop me off at Orquideas and then take my husband off to the airport. I was staying for a couple more weeks on my own. They kept telling us they couldn't get ahold of him. When he showed up it was not a private driver but a shuttle that was timed for a bunch of people to go together. We would have been fine if they had just told us up front that it wasn't a private driver and that they couldn't change the time. Lie number 3 and it didn't sit well. We complained and they gave us the owners private email which we promptly lost. On the other hand, we asked them to turn the temperature up for the hot water because we couldn't get the Jacuzzis warm enough. They did it immediately. We were there over Valentines day and we all got roses in our rooms. We would consider going again possibly and would not discourage people from going as it is a neat place but some of my expectations will be a little lower for some things.

As far as dinner goes. We were underwhelmed in terms of what we got for the price. We didn't like the formality of the meal either. We enjoy mixing with other guests when we travel and it was not conducive at all at dinner anyway.

Maybe someone who has recently stayed in the Monarch could leave a review on tripadvisor about the double booking. Owners are welcome to comment.

Dana, you'll be there just a couple of weeks before us - we're staying one night on August 2nd. It's the one night my kids are most looking forward to! They're 7 and 9 years old and after seeing our pictures from last year are so excited! They can't wait to see the butterflies in the emerging from the cocoons and the hummingbirds! And my daughter, who will be 7 is absolutely thrilled at the prospect of actually holding a tree frog during the night frog tour!! It's what she's talked about most since finding out we're staying there!

I'm looking forward to your trip report!

ShellID,
We are all excited about Peace Lodge also. We are taking 5 children, ages 10-18. I supposed I should now say 4 children because the oldest just turned 18 and has declared herself an adult! The youngest children were the most involved in the planning of our trip, and along with Tortuguero, Peace Lodge was at the top of their wish list.

Do we have to make reservations for the night frog tour? I read somewhere that even if staying at Peace Lodge there is a possibility they could run out of space for th tour. There are 12 of us traveling together.

My family will be staying at Peace Lodge June 23 in the Monarch Villa. The price is outrageous, but the experience will hopefully be priceless. My kids are also most excited about our night there. As I plan for another trip on the East Coast, I'm looking at an average rate in an upcale hotel costing $300+/night. It makes me feel a "slightly" better about the money I'm spending at Peace Lodge which includes beautiful grounds, gorgeous rooms and a lovely experience. I plan to give a lengthy report on our visit there and the Monarch Villa. Just a note: after many e-mails to them to reconfirm reservations, which they never answered, I called. Apparently the office is only open 7am-3pm so they were closed when I called. A girl did answer (ola, not Peace Lodge))and very sweetly told me they would call me back in the morning. And they did!