Tulemar vs Si Como No? Any input?
 

Hi,

I've looked at both of these resorts in MA as well as many others. My wife and I are looking for scenic vistas from our room and wildlife (I've read about the monkeys on the grounds). Kids are ok but I'm not interested in family stuff (we will be on our honeymoon). I had settled on staying at Tulemar Mot Mot villa.

I was emailing with a tour operator about somewhere else, and they offered the complete itinerary (I didn't ask for it as I've spent so much time researching myself). In their itinerary they said to stay at Si Como No since it was better than Tulemar as Tulemar was more family orientated.

Two questions -

1) Are they right? I liked the idea of staying in a villa (the mot mot villas are new) vs a hotel atmosphere and the views both looked good. Any inputs on both?

2) How do the tour operators get paid? Do they mark up the pricing (they don't itemize in their quote) or do they get all their money from the hotels. If so, do they have the problem of pushing certain hotels over others because they get a higher percentage of the rate?

Thanks for any help.

We stayed @ Tulemar for our honeymoon in one of the Villas before Buena Vista took over that part(they are pretty much similar to Mot Mot). It is a small resort and the Bungalows/ vlaas are spread out across the hill...so it's not like you'll be "overrun" w/ kids even if there are some families staying there. The views are great - although most hotels in MA have great views - and we had monkeys waking us up every morning.

I recommend Tulemar totally. Matter of fact, my wife and I are returning in November. The location feels secluded, great for a honeymoon...and it's got the private beach, Si Como No does not as far as I know.

As far as question #2, I'm sure tour operarors have deals with different hotels. as far as pushing one over another, I'm sure it happens...it's the tourism business.

Let me know if you'd like any more info on Tulemar - [email protected]

We just got back from staying at Tulemar's Mot Mot villa (top floor) last week. I've been too busy to post a trip report but will within a week. I highly recommend the Mot Mot. The views were amazing, it has a beautiful wrap around balcony, and the monkeys came straight thru our balcony every morning between 5:30 am and 6:30am. We didn't notice any kids while we were there. It was one of the best vacation experiences we've ever had.

Excellent! THat really confirms my thoughts that this place would be great for views and beauty. Are the grounds nice? Did you get out with the kayaks and is there places to paddle to?

We will not have a rental car, but it appears that we don't need one to walk to restaurants and take a shuttle to the Park. Is that true?

Now to decide if we will spend 2 or 3 nights there...

No, you don't need a car in Manuel Antonio at all. cabs are abundant, and there's plenty on restauarants within walking distance. Actually there's a great little place right next door to the Tulemar enterance called Salsipuedes...great little tapas place if it's still open.

The grounds of Tulemar are nice, but hilly. Nice little path through the forest down to the beach though.

Taxis and local buses are plentiful and pass often. From Tulemars beach you can paddle over to Biesanz Beach, or if more adventurous in the other direction to Doctors Beach.

Si Como No is a nice hotel, and we liked it there. But it is very kid friendly (even has a special pool with slide for kids), so in that regard, the person you spoke to misled you a bit. No experience with Tulemar, but it sure seems to get consistently good reviews.

When we first stayed at Si Como No about 3 years ago, it was about $140, I think. At the time, it was a splurge for us. Now, if I'm not mistaken, it is closer to $250. I'd say that it isn't such a good value anymore, although you should try their restaurants (Claro Que Si and Rico Tico Bar) and check out the gift shop. Very nice art work.

Ok then, Tulemar Mot Mot is it with a trip to their restaurants...

THanks, on to make my reservations.

One note - it appears that The Peace Lodge is perpetually full. They only had one date open in November and the tour operator said they are always like that.

The grounds are beautiful, and we did take the kayaks outs and there are great places to paddle to, there is even a spot you will see out by some jutting rocks to snorkel, and you can bring the snorkel equipment while is available on the beach. The only real challenge is getting beyond the waves with the kayak, our first 2 days there were OK, our last 2 days there the waves were huge, and I'm not a wimp when it comes to waves. Tulemar has a free shuttle to and from the private beach, and you can take cabs to restaurants. If you do a tour of the park, the tour will include a shuttle pick up from Tulemar. The restaurants in our opinion weren't as good as in Monteverde, but they were still good. Our favorites included El Avion and Roni's for sunsets, Marlin for fresh fish by the beach. Everything is very casual. We didn't make it to Barba Roja but have heard many good things about it.

Thanks rmeyer, that sounds wonderful! I hope we can duplicate your time there. We are staying 3 nights at Tulemar so we should have plenty of time.

The only potential bad part is that we will be there Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights. I know the park is closed on Mondays, and weekends bring more of the locals. But we won't spend any time at the public beaches and will go into the park for our beach visits, as well as the private Tulemar beach.

Is it best to get to the park early in the morning to beat the crowds (and make it under the 600 person limit), and also to see the most wildlife? I hear that in CR the morning and dusk are the best times to see wildlife.

Thanks again.

Get there as early as you can on a weekend. I believe the limit is 800 people
on weekends, but still get thier early. If you book through Tulemar, the shuttle will most likely pick you up at 8am or so anyway.

Yes...Tulemars shuttle picks you up early. Interestingly though, in other places (Arenal, Monteverde), we had to do early morning to see wildlife. However, inside MA park, it was very quiet in the morning, and not until middayish did all the wildlife come out. It could have been a fluke because it rained heavy the night before, but then again, it always rains at some point! By midday, we saw plenty of howler monkeys and sloths.