adkmud

One of the other posts mentioned that there have been both good and bad reviews of the Tabacon Resort. I will be staying there for a few days in July and then moving on to the Fiesta Premier (I think) in Guancaste for a few days. While at the Tabacon, we plan to do one of the canopy tours and also the Cano Negro Boat Tour.

Any comments on this itinerary and also any suggestions for the Guancaste area?

Thanks.

missypie

YOu MUST eat at El Novillo...a steak place very near Tabacon. The steak was butter tender and the prices were very reasonable.

Meredith

Totally agree with Missypie about El Novillo - it was fabulous!! As for Tabacon, we only visited for a few hours, but we loved the hot springs and hated the dinner buffet. It was Italian night when we were there. It was awful. I'm not sure if there is another restaurant for overnight guests, but I'd recommend avoiding the buffet and trying El Novillo or Don Rufino.

We also spent several days in Guanacaste, not too far from Fiesta Premier. For restaurants, I highly recommend Ginger, a tapas bar along the main road into Playa Panama. We also enjoyed Cangrejo's in Playa Panama, Picante in Playa Ocotal, and Cantina Las Bristas in Playa Potrero. (Just a warning - the road to Playa Potrero, informally called the Monkey Trail, is possibly the worst road in Costa Rica. And that's saying something!)

Incidentally, I'll be doing a trip report (hopefully in the next few days) about all these restaurants and the activities we did in Guanacaste. Hope this helps you with your planning!

shillmac

Thanks, Meredith, for the restaurant suggestions. We will be in the Golfo de Papagayo area in July and will check out some of the places you mentioned. Although we have spent a lot of time in the Flamingo/Potrero area, I didn't learn of the Monkey Trail until recently. We have always just driven down Highway 21 through Communidad. It sounds like quite a road!

adkmud, we, too, enjoyed Tabacon Hot Springs immensely. Others think it is overcrowded and overhyped. We've never seen it when it was super busy. Both times we have been there, we have met people coming out of the restaurant (buffet, presumably) warning others not to go in! That certainly left an impression with me! That and reviews of moldy smelling rooms. And of course, the fact that it is located in a "red" or danger zone for volcanic activity. We enjoyed Arenal Paraiso.

shillmac

adkmud, forgot to mention. Definitely do a day trip to the Rincon de la Vieja park while you are in Guanacaste. It is lovely there, and so much to do--mud baths, horseback, hiking, giant waterslide, ziplines, etc.

Jayneann

We did an evening tour of Tabacon including the Dinner Buffet and lived to talk about it!!!! Tabacon is beautiful, crowded, and SO touristy, but we're still glad we did it!!!! The buffet was fine, in fact, because we were expecting it to be awful, it exceeded our expections!!!! It was one of those things we just had to do!!!!! We talked to many people who loved staying there also. We stayed at Arenal Paraiso and enjoyed it, but definitely think a couple of nights at Tabacon would have been great fun!!!!!

adkmud

Folks, thanks for the replies and feedback. I generally have very low expectations of buffets so I am sure I will not be disappointed. But will definitely check out some of the local restaurantes.