Will be in CR for 4 days--arriving in either Liberia o San Jose.
Want advice on which to choose--
Hotels? Not really interested in MOnteverde.
Arriving in late Jan,Feb or March
Suggestions?

Thanks

Where you land will depend on what you want to do when you get there. Liberia is a good choice for the beaches on the Nicoya Peninsula and Guanacaste. Arenal is a little closer to San Jose. And San Jose is the better choice for destinations in the south (Manuel Antonio and the Osa Peninsula) and the Caribbean coast (Tortuguera or Puerto Viejo.) The time frame you are talking about is the dry season. The later you travel the hotter and drier Guanacaste will be. By April it's about 90-95 degrees every day.

I am thinking about Costa Rica as well-the North Pacific Riviera-in the beginning of December. Any idea about the weather? Is it the dry season?

thanks for th e advice
My question is, since we h ave linited time, where should we go?
I would like to see a volcano (maybe hot springs) and the beach.
Technically we will only have 2 full days. We will arrive on Friday and leave Monday afternoon.
Any comments about Rincon de la vieja? is that closer to Liberia (should we arrive there)
Also, how about hotels in that area? Want something nice (not luxurious, but wiht hot water and AC--for the beach)
Thanks!

Technically, with only 2 full days, you don't have time to see volcanos and the beach. I would suggest flying into Liberia. You can stay at the beach and make a day trip to Rincon for dry forest and mud baths.
There are really SO many hotels to choose from, it's hard to advise. What is your budget for the hotel?

am thinking around 80 anight
After reading many comments, I am considering going into San Jose then going over to the Arenal area (La fortuna) and just spend the time there.

Is there enough to do for 2 full days?
Should we just stay in S.J. the first night (we get in around 3) if we rent a car so we won't be driving at night?
Any interesting places to stop along the way? Rental car suggestions?

Yes there is enough to do there for two full days. Hiking, Cano Negro boat tour (a full day in itself) Hot springs, waterfall, horseback riding, canopy tours, hanging bridges.
If you don't get in until 3:00, they yes you'll have to spend a night as it would take time to get through customs so you could not get there before dark. Depending on how long it takes to get through customs and then get a car, you'd have anywhere from 1 or more hours driving in the dark and you don't want to do that.
Stay one night in the area and have a rental delivered to your hotel early the next morning. It will also save you about 12% in taxes to have a car delivered to a hotel instead of picking up at the airport. I've used and liked Dollar Costa Rica and Adobe rent a car, but most all car agents will deliver to a hotel. I suggest staying at the Orquideas Inn in Alajuela. Take a taxi there or arrange for the hotel to pick you up, it would cost about the same. It's a nice place with beautiful grounds, a pool, good views, a fun bar, really good food and great friendly staff. They have an excellent full breakfast bufett included in the price of the rooms.