Trip Report - Peace Lodge, Arenal, Samara
 

Thanks to everyone for tips & advice. This is our 2nd trip to CR. 2 adults (50's) & 2 14 yr olds.
Upon arriving at SJO, have 1 person wait in customs line and another pay departure tax. Will save time when leaving. This was not an option on our 1st trip to CR, but this time the tax booth was open.

Transportation: Got 4 bids. Costa Rica Shuttle was the cheapest so I went with them. Had private transfers to each location. Always on time, good vans & drivers (each spoke only a little English but never a problem).

Peace Lodge: 1st 2 nights. 1 standard room and 1 deluxe. Beautiful rooms & grounds. Only difference in the rooms is the bathroom. Can't go wrong with either. Ate dinner there both nights, didn't want to hassle with taxi, but did see Colberts Restaurant on our way in, probably about 15 min drive. Food was fine even though the menu was a little dull, good service. Expect it to be misty & cool at night, will need a light jacket.

Rios Tropicales-White water rafting: We had never done this before. Booked with RT on internet prior to trip. They recommended a Class II-III trip for beginners. We flipped our boat, the guide said he had never flipped with clients before this. Never felt in danger, they got us out of the water fast and had good safety procedures. It was actually fun & exciting. Kids loved it, going over made it that much more exciting! Talked to others at Peace Lodge who did the rafting/horseback ride booked thru hotel & they enjoyed that. They were with younger kids who couldn't have gone on the one we went on.

Arenal: Next 3 nights at Lost Iguana. When I booked this I asked if they thought a car was necessary because of the location. LI responded that we could take taxis & activities will pick up. Felt unsure about this so I had Leonel w/ Costa Rica Shuttle arrange for Alamo to bring a car to LI the day we arrived and pick it up at LI the day we left. I would HIGHLY recommend a car when staying at this hotel. It is a 25 min drive from the middle of La Fortuna to the hotel (I timed it) & most of the tours will NOT pick up there unless you pay extra (Sky Tram would have charged $10 per person for this). Sorry to say, this was our least favorite hotel. Would not stay there again. Had 2 rooms, 1 deluxe, 1 standard. The main complaint was the smell of both rooms, musty, moldy, yuk. We cranked up the AC, didn't help. Had to be the drapes or bedding since the floors are tile. Both rooms were worn out. The bathroom in the deluxe was nice, but in the standard very dismal. Talked to others at the pool was said there rooms also had awful odor. On the good side, service was fine, view & grounds are lovely, pool is nice & a great bartender at pool bar. Didn't totally hate this place but was disappointed the room wasn't nicer (maybe we had some of the older ones). I also would have preferred to be closer to town, driving back & forth got a bit much.

Puretrek: I booked this myself on internet before our trip. This was really fun. The guides were great, very well run. I am in my 50's & afraid of heights - if I can do this anyone can. I just didn't look down on the 1st rappel. When I got to the bottom I couldn't believe how high it was.

Hanging Bridges: Kids & husband thought this was a bore. It was pretty but didn't see much wildlife. Our 1st CR trip was to Osa, go there if you want to see wildlife, it is great place.

SkyTram/Trek: This was also fun. As I said I don't like heights and I thought this was fun. 1st line is a bit scary but everyone is nervous and you just go for it. We had done a canopy zip line on last trip but this is different - very fast. This is very safe.

Our favorite dinner was at Las Brasitas. We got a dinner for 4 (could of served 6) & everything was great including service. Met some fellow rappelers there & they also enjoyed their meal. Never saw the volcano erupt, only heard rumbles.

Playa Samara: Spent next 3 nights at Villas Kalimba (wished it had been 4 or 5). Although this was by far the least expensive of our hotels this was our favorite. Cute 2 bed 2 bath villa w/ small kitchen, modern amenities. Just loved the laid back, friendly atmosphere of the place. Samara is very small but has several dining options. We loved El Lagarto which is on the beach & serves grilled meat & seafood. Kids each had a private surf lesson at Jesse's Surf School. Neither had ever tried this & both were up within the hour. They give you a 1 hour private lesson & 1 hr board rental which you can use at any time. The staff here is great for beginners & waves at Samara are gentle. Kids were too tired after the lessons so they used the 1 hr rental the next day. In afternoons they went out on boogie boards which can be rented on beach across from VK. We thought we would want to go horseback riding in Samara but it was just too hot (unless you went out very early). Just hung out at the beach.

Sansa: Flew Sansa from Samara/Carrillo to SJO. On previous trip had flown on Nature Air & had no problems, nice planes. When our Sansa flight arrived (airport is basically like a bus stop next to a field) they decided that they would not let us on. There were about 9 of us waiting for this flight. A Sansa employee showed up about 15 min prior to the arrival of the plane & checked everyones tickets. She never said anything about a problem. The flight was to go from Samara to Liberia and then to SJO and was overbooked. The pilot told us they would send another plane in 15 min to pick us up and that it would then go directly to SJO. So we waited about 20 min. The plane shows up. The pilot gets out and opens theluggage compartment (we had all packed within the 25 lbs) and informs us that we can't take our luggage, no room. So my husband rearranged the luggage compartments & shoved ours in. Did they think we would leave our bags by the side of the road? I spoke to one of the passengers & he said that the flight was to be nonstop to SJO and while enroute they were informed that they had to stop in Samara. Oh well we made it & so did our luggage. If there is a choice I would recommend Nature Air over Sansa.

San Jose Marriott: Spent our last night at the Marriott. 2 deluxe rooms. This would not normally be my choice (last trip stayed at Xandari which is very nice) but we have Marriott points & stayed for free. I was very impressed with this place. Not your normal airport Marriott. Beautiful Spanish colonial style building with large open courtyard. The 2 girls had manicures (the staff rearranged other appointments so they could have them at the same time) & I had a facial in the spa. Dinner in the upscale restaurant was excellent, and so was the service. Free shuttle to the airport which is about 10 min away. This is a very nice hotel.

That's about it, enjoy CR!

We were at LI March 11-15th. Were you there then? I think the major odor in our suite was insecticide; I couldn't exactly complain since I had previously been posting about fearing bugs in the room at LI. We LOVED LI, overlooking a few problems because it was just so beautiful. We stayed in suites that were just completed in December, so everything was new, I guess (although not everything worked.)

Interesting that you should both bring up the strong insecticide odor in your rooms. When we were staying at the Tabacon Resort last year we too noted a very, very strong odor of some kind of pest control product. It was so strong that I could literally taste it in the air. It was a little less strong our second night so I think it had been applied to the room just before our stay.

The odor was not from insecticide. It was mold. I talked to another couple who complained their room smelled like mildew. The odor in both our deluxe & standard rooms was so bad, plus the long drive to town, would keep me from recommending LI. Also a few other minor complaints like very poor lighting, and no safe. The standard room did have a safe but it was useless because it was just sitting on a shelf in the closet not bolted to anything and so lightweight that even a child could pick it up and walk away with it. About the smell, as I said we were not in newer rooms. I realize the climate can cause this but in 2 trips to CR and 7 hotels this is the only place we have encountered this problem.

Kskc, what was the price to rent the car in Arenal? Thanks!

theapollomacs: I believe it was around $55 per day but can't remember if that included the insurance. We haven't gotten the bill yet since we just left the car at Lost Iguana and Alamo picked it up there after we left. It was some type of Toyota, economy car. In Mar 4x4 wasn't necessary. 4 door, AC with manual transmission, just very basic transportation...but it was fine.

I believe that it the odor WAS mostly insecticide...the odor was very strong when we first arrived but we could not smell it by day 4. A mold smell would have remained constant.

Whatever...I guess other readers should take away from this discussion that the rooms at the LI do have some sort of strong smell and if strong smells bother you, maybe you should stay somewhere else.

Lost Iguana is pretty expensive for the area. Based on all the postings I've been reading, it seems OK, but not worth the extra money compared to other area resorts and hotels.

missypie: Don't know about your room at LI, but the odor in ours was mold. We were there 3 nights and the odor remained constant in both rooms our entire stay. LI does get many mixed reviews. There are many nice things about the hotel and maybe it just depends on the room you get and how you feel about driving 25 min each way into town for dinner etc.

I read in a post a while back that someone talked to the owner about the mold odor and that she said it was in the drapes and that they were being replaced. I think that she must have addressed that issue in the new suites, because the drapes were of some material that appeared to be ventilated, if that makes any sense.

kskc - loved your report, you included many good tips for other travelers, which will certainly come in handy.

I too wonder about all the mixed reviews about Lost Iguana. I had pretty much thought this would be the place to stay if we ever return to the La Fortuna area, however now I am asking why change when we were perfectly pleased with Arenal Paraiso?

About Samara - I have yet to get to this area of the Nicoya. Your description of Villas Kalimba has my mouth watering!

Again enjoyed your report!