chilisa

I know everyone does this, but....thank you to all of the fodorites who have been so helpful in posting their advice and recommendations. I never even posted until now. I just read all of the posts and collected so much great info for our honeymoon trip to Costa Rica. I will always use this forum for every trip I take in the future!
My husband and I returned a few weeks ago from our honeymoon. We stayed at Si Como No in MA and then traveled north to stay at the Peace Lodge. In general, we had an amazing time. It did rain quite a bit. We went just after thanksgiving and it was dead. The hotels were empty and the restaurants with only a few people here and there. I think part of this was the economic situation and the other being it was the very beginning of the dry season. The following are our comments for the stay.
1. I am a very anti-adventure trip taker so this was a big deal for me to go to Costa Rica. I must say, I don't know what I was so nervous about. I never got a mosquito bite. I didn't care about the iguanas walking around. I was never nervous about theft or crime (again, I listened to everyone's advice from this forum). So I highly recommend Costa Rica for most any traveler.
2. Our biggest negatives for the trip were both expected and not expected. Yes, the food is nothing to write home about. We thought the food at the "sodas" was just as good as the tourist places. Which brings me to our biggest gripe. It was way more expensive than we had planned. Yes, we stayed at very luxurious hotels, but the rest was not what we expected. When you add up the taxi rides, dinners, tipping, tours, and travel between destinations, it was over the top. Don't eat at the hotel because it is ridiculously overpriced. $19 for nachos??? We went to the market and stocked our fridge with snacks. I guess we were expecting local pricing. We were in very touristy areas, however, but be sure to budget for this if this is your plan.
3. The other recommendation, if you are a television addict, check to make sure the hotel has a t.v. I assumed that Si Como No would have one, but they are great in keeping with the "green" theme. This would have been fine normally for us, but it rained for days on end (continuously) and there were only so many "honeymoon" activities to be had or books to be read before we were utterly bored. Our second hotel had a television and it was like paradise. Of course the weather improved and we were not in the room as much. go figure.
4. Every single Costa Rican was soooo incredibly nice and courteous. We speak pretty decent spanish which really made our trip fun.
5. The Peace Lodge is AMAZING!! If you are honeymooning....you must stay there!! It appeared a bit cheesy in the photos, but not in the least! Fireplace, jacuzzi on the balcony overlooking the rain forest...doesn't get any better. And they have a "mini-zoo" right on the property.
6. Don't do any boat or sailing trips if you are prone to motion sickness. After the fifth time puking, I had enough.
7. Recommend Pozo Azul for a variety of tours near Arenal.
8. Recommend Costa Rica shuttle for private drivers.
9. If we did it again, we would have done the little flight on Sansa to MA and back. It was a very long drive and it would have priced the same.
10. Damn it, don't feed the monkeys. Those little boogers are like trained circus animals from all of the guides and tourists feeding them. I never saw a human and a monkey wrestle over a bag of food until this trip. Hilarious!
That's it for me, I need to get on the Tuscany forum for our next trip.
alisa

cm318

Thanks for the trip report. I always appreciate when people are honest about their experiences -- and include some of the negatives along with the good stuff. It sounds like overall you had a good time.

Congratulations on getting married - I hope you life together is filled with wonderful adventures.

volcanogirl

I love the details! Peace Lodge is the ultimate honeymoon hotel in my book.

dfr4848

Nice report and really appreciated the pros and cons. All that rain certainly doesn't help. We stayed at Si Como No in Aug 08. They must have gone up a LOT on their food - we didn't encounter those kinds of prices you mentioned. I know we got very good room rates because we were there in the wet season, but maybe we also got a break on food expense.

Linda137

We found that once the Trout Bar closed, room service was a nice option at Peace Lodge. We were there on 12/3/08 and ordered their club sandwich. It was huge and really tasty. Not sure why they include that fried egg (most places in CR did) but it sure was juicy and good. It cost $12, came with a lot of fries and was enough for both of us. We had a drink in the lounge and looked at their menu but it was hard for us to get interested in an expensive four-course meal when we were underdressed, soaked from the rain and picturing that beautiful room. Next trip I'd like to get an easy to pronounce butterfly name and I need more time with the little grey tabby cat.

$19 nachos does seem pretty crazy. Glad you enjoyed your honeymoon.