Clean, Comfy, Quiet...Affordable?

Old Jul 10th, 2006, 08:09 AM
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Clean, Comfy, Quiet...Affordable?

Hey budget travelers! After splurging to stay on the Osa p. I'm going to have to cut corners elsewhere. I know there are little budget edens out there. (We stayed in one near Cahuita a few years back.) Maybe the place I'm looking for is near one of CR's less visited parks? Not fancy. No pool. No gourmet meals. Lots of wildlife - which is what we go to CR to see. Have you found that unique place? Please share!
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Old Jul 10th, 2006, 08:36 AM
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What is your approximate 'budget' price range?
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Old Jul 10th, 2006, 11:43 AM
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How about Pacific Edge near Dominical?
http://www.dominical.biz/pacificedge/
Not fancy, but well thought out. Reasonably priced. Gorgeous setting. Even a small pool. Two reserves nearby for wildlife viewing. . .. Hosts will cook (and charge reasonable price for) simple meal if you request .. . Otherwise, a few nice restaurants around. We loved it there.
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Old Jul 10th, 2006, 07:15 PM
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Thanks Glover. I have a couple of questions about Pacific Edge...if you don't mind?
Is this a place where we can get by without a car?
Is there any transportation down to the beach? I'll be traveling with two people who aren't up for strenuous hiking. And, speaking of hiking, I couldn't get a good feel from the web site what the area around the lodge is like. Is it surrounded by forest? Are there other homes/businesses/roads right next door? We're looking for a wilderness experience - as much as possible.
What did you do while you were there? Are there tours available?
Any further info would be greatly appreciated.
Gretchen
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Old Jul 10th, 2006, 07:21 PM
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Gannet, After the Osa prices, I guess I'll consider anything under $150. per night a bargain! LOL However, less would be better. Do you have some ideas for me?
Thanks!
Gretchen
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Old Jul 11th, 2006, 05:55 AM
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Happy to provide more info, Cactus. You'd definitely need a car for Pac Edge, and a 4 wheel drive at that I'd say (we had the baby cheap one - Terios and it was fine). No one there to provide transport to the beach. Not a service provided by the owners - and they have very little (if any) full time staff. The lodge is off and up the hill from the main drag that runs parallel to coast in Dominical. (It's a terrible road north from there to Quepos, and a wonderful road south from there to Uvita, etc.) The road up to the lodge is well defined dirt/shale (the first part is perhaps paved unless this has changed). It's a bumpy road, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile? The area right around that road is mostly open. Though we saw plenty of great birds in scattered trees there. Very little housing (though development was starting). The lodge sits on a fabulous piece of property. Not huge, but big enough to ensure privacy. A spectacular 270 degree view of the ocean/coastline below (and I don't recall being able to see any houses or other structures looking down - only forest). Saw whales from there. As you look down to the coast, the area below is (at least was 2 years ago) forested. There are no commercial establishments up there. Further up the road beyond the lodge, there was the occasional largish home, farm, open land. We saw a sloth in one of the trees on a nice walk up around there. In terms of walking right around the lodge - you'd do that on the road. Don't think there are any trails per se right there. But you could really enjoy that and see many great birds right on the property. They have a lookout area (not that it's needed - you're already high). For more intense rainforest/hiking/wildlife viewing you could visit Hacienda Baru (google it) which has its own reserve, guides etc. We did that and really enjoyed it. (They've got some rentable cabins too). You'll need to go north a mile or so on that bumpy road I mentioned to get there. OR you can go south to another reserve (i'm blanking on the name of that one, but George and Suzy at Pac Edge would know). At that one we could only raise a single young man to walk through with us. No one else around (may have been a Sunday in May). We really liked this area a lot and would have liked to explore it some more. Not many folks around in May. Beautiful drive south - though we couldn't go as far as we wanted because some bridges washed out - but that itself was interesting to see. Anything else?
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Old Jul 11th, 2006, 06:34 AM
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Hey Cactus, another idea for you. Based on many reviews I've heard, I'm gonna check out La Carolina (in CR's northwest) next time I go. Check it out and see if it appeals ... Some neighbors of mine went with their 2 pre-teens and had a wonderful time. No beach though.
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Old Jul 11th, 2006, 07:38 AM
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Thanks Glover! You've given me LOTS of great information. By any chance do you know the best months to see whales? I know they migrate up and down the coast - just can't seem to get clear answers on when.
Pura Vida!
Gretchen
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Old Jul 11th, 2006, 12:23 PM
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This site says Dec. - April, but it was the end of May when we saw them. .
http://centralamerica.com/cr/parks/mowhale.htm. As you may know there's a Marine National Park (Ballena) south of Dominical.
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Old Jul 13th, 2006, 12:54 PM
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Have you been to Montezuma? We loved Amor de Mar (amordemar.com) and it was $60/night, amazingly. It was even more beautiful than it looks on the website!
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Old Jul 15th, 2006, 02:58 PM
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Allison,

Would you mind elaborating a bit on Amor de Mar. It looks wonderful.

I checked their website and it lists one room as having AC. But farther down the page they say they have NO air conditioning. Do you know if they had one room with AC? Did you feel hot without it? My husband is an air condtioning junkie which is making planning this trip, for the 2nd and 3rd weeks of May next year, very hard.

Thanks so much.

Fran

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