Quick Question on Flamingo Hotel...
 

Heyyy Everybody...

Would anybody have first hand experience staying at the Flamingo Hotel on Playa Flamingo???

Can you see the ocean from your room?? What one or two acitivities would you suggest for 4 single lades (75, 56, 55, and 23)???

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a bunch!
Leigh

I sure need a reply to this post folks. Even if you have a better place in the neighborhood where you can see and walk to the beach a VERY short distance would be a plus! ;)

The best rooms are poolside unless you book a larger suite. We LOVE it here! The gorgeous Playa Flamingo is a VERY short walk across the street from the pool area. You ARE speaking of Flamingo Beach Resort, I assume?

I found poolside rooms for $104. Have you looked at their website?

In Playa Flamingo, there isn't a hotel where you can both SEE from your room AND walk a short distance! I don't think. . .

You can't go wrong with this one--recently remodeled, inside and out. It's a good choice and a good value. I'd eat somewhere else (except for breakfast), but that's the only downside. And there are plenty of places in that area to have great meals. We do, however, like ordering club sandwiches from the pool bar for lunch. . .

Also, it has a nice salon for hair, nails, and a wonderful massage therapist, Carolina. Her husband, Chris, does hair. They are French and have been in CR about 6-7 years.

Thank youuu Shillmac...do you remember how far it is to walk to the beach from a poolside room at the Flamingo Beach Resort??? Are there any hotels somewhere within 30 miles either way that is right on the beach that will have waves but no rocks to worry about???

Also, can you help me with this tentative itinerary??

June 10 -- Arrive SJO at Noon...head out for Poas and spend the night at Peace Lodge or just stay at the Orquidaes Inn and then ride up to Arenal the next morning???
June 11- 13 (2 nights at Lost Iguana)
June 13 16 -- Head for the Pacific Coast for 3 nights and then back to SJO airport to fly out around 1 p.m. on the 17th. Stay at Orquidaes or right across the SJO airport??

Ohhhhhhh, one more question??? Can we take the Interbus from Arenal to the Pacific Coast?? Do the Interbus again from the Pacific Coast back to Alajuela???

You can be on the beach from a poolside room in, uh, about 1 minute. It's right there. Playa Flamingo is very hard to beat for a beautiful long white sand beach. And the quality and location of the hotel is pretty darned good for the price!

Playa Hermosa, about 40 minutes (on the Monkey Trail) to the north has El Velero right on the beach. RIGHT on the beach. A little shabby, but that wouldn't bother me as long as it were clean. We've been there, but not in the rooms.

Hotel Sugar Beach--near Flamingo, but a little isolated down a long and bumpy road.

Bahia del Sol in Playa Potrero would be a good bet as well.

You can take Interbus from Arenal to the Pacific Coast. Check out their schedule and routes on www.interbusonline.com.

And then back to SJO as well.

We like Hotel Villa Bonita for those first and last nights near the airport just because we think the owners are such a nice Tico couple. But we like the Marilyn Monroe bar at Orquideas. We usually stay one place and drive to the other for dinner and drinks.

I'd skip Poas--that late in the day, you're not likely to see a thing. And you'd have more time to enjoy Peace Lodge. If you get there by 1:00 or so, you'll have a good part of the afternoon the enjoy, plus maybe a little time in the a.m. before heading to Arenal. It's a fun place!

OR go straight to Arenal--2 nights isn't very long! It's just a choice you have to make whether that 1/2 split is worth the Peace Lodge "experience". It would be very hard to do the wrong thing!

Hope this helps a little. I wouldn't worry about the rock I mentioned in another post at Flamingo. Stay to the left of center (you'll see what I mean) and you'll be fine. The hidden rock is a little to the right of the beach entrance. . .

Shillmac...which would you do?? Spend one night at Peace Lodge then move on up to Lost Iguana for 2 nights then Flamingo for or opt for 3 nights at Lost Iguana and 3 nights at Flamingo???

What kind of transportation would you take from SJO to Peace Lodge?? A red taxi or bank on Interbus??

How long will it take to get from Flamingo back to SJO airport???

Are you going to be down in CR anytime between 6/10 - 7/2?? I'll stay on for another 2 weeks after I see my mom and friend off on the June 17.

It would depend on what I wanted to do at Arenal. If I were doing a full day tour such as Cano Negro, then I'd stay there 3 nights.

But I love Peace Lodge, I've already seen Arenal a few times and done most of the activities around there, so I might opt for some luxury at Peace Lodge for a night!

You'll have to hire private transport to Peace Lodge, taxi or private driver, as Interbus doesn't go there. They probably should add it to their route! People are always and forever how best to get to and from Peace Lodge!

Flamingo back to SJO is about 5 hours. It would be nice if you could fly out of Liberia! That is what we are doing. Our dates are July 17-August 12--so sorry we'll miss you!

That sounds great Shillmac...will try and do Peace Lodge the first night. Hopefully we'll be there by 3-4 p.m. the day our flight arrives.

Are there any activities to do while staying at the Flamingo Beach Resort?? I wouldn't mind just riding in a boat on the ocean if anybody offers that type of tour.

Any "must" do restaurants near Flamingo Resort??

Lost Iguana is great about using golf carts for us old folks who have knee problems but I believe you or someone once said that Peace Lodge is steep??? If that's true, what should I ask for in the way of a room that will be close to the restaurant and such???

Leigh

One more thing from my in addition to the post above...how much does it cost to get from SJO to Peace Lodge? I guess I will need a taxi or private driver to get to Arenal from the Peace Lodge too...any suggestions??? There will be 4 of us.

I would check with Peace Lodge. They do offer transportation, for a fee of course.

Another option would be to just take a taxi. I used a great taxi driver from the airport all the way to San Isidro del General 3 hours south in Feb. His initial price was a little high but not out of a reasonable range. When I showed him a quote I had gotten from a transport company that was a little less he said fine and that was the same amount he took. He was one of the safest drivers I think I have ever seen in Costa Rica. He never once passed a truck on the Cerro de la Muerte.

He can be reached by email if you would like a quote from him. [email protected]

Do tell him how many people as his little toyota might be too small. He might be able to get a larger vehicle for you.

There are sunset tours by sailboat from Flamingo Beach Resort. The sunsets in that area are mind blowing. Everyone goes out to the beach from the hotel to watch it. It is even more incredible from a boat. My niece, her daughter and I did a combo snorkeling/sunset trip last July.

You can see the beach from the inside rooms by the pool although not a great view. I was in an outer room and just got to see construction across the street. Hopefully that will be done by the time you get there. The pool is lovely and you will get to enjoy the swim up bar. It wasn't done when I was there. There is also another little pool on the outside part of the hotel. There will be two places to eat when you are there. They were working on a small restaurant area by the pool near the gym. Can't say how the lunch was as we ordered ours at 11:30 and by 12:30 it hadn't come. They had forgotten us. We had to leave for our boat trip so didn't get lunch that day.

Maries is very casual but has very good food. The guard can point you there.

I would contact Leo Rodriques for a transfer. I found his correct email in my rolodex. [email protected]

Anywherecostarica.com also offers private transfers.

Stl, check with Peace Lodge ASAP. We have a standard for August 3-4 and when I tried to upgrade the other day, they were already booked up on the deluxe accomodations. They stay very busy. I've had the August reservations for about 4-5 weeks.

Suzie2 thank you for the great suggestions on where to eat and stay at Flamingo. How much does it cost to do the sunset tour and what is the name of the tour group??

Are there any discount coupons on stuff like that???

Shillmac, I was soooooo disheartened to find out on Saturday there booked solid on June 10 and only had one room for the 11th. I was thinking it would be the rainy season and wouldn't have a problemk boy was I ever wrong. Even on the tail end of our trip the place is booked!

Sooooo, we're opting to stay 3 nights at Lost Iguana and then 3 at the Flamingo Beach Resort and then 1 back at Garden Court close to SJO.

Hugs,
Leigh

stl, I was afraid of that. We had a standard booked for August (for over a month now). I called to upgrade the other day (temptation got the best of me) and they were already booked up on the deluxe rooms--4 months out. I did manage to snag one for the 2nd night, so we'll move. This place, however, has become extremely popular.

I spoke with the staff at Flamingo Beach Resort by phone on Sunday. They said the new restaurant is very nice (we'll see--their other one was awful) and all construction is finished with all rooms upgraded. We got a poolside room for $104 per night. Still a good value, although breakfast is not included in that. It always was before. Sometimes we like to go to Potrero for breakfast anyway, so it's okay.