Ally

PART ONE:
This won't be a real vacation trip report, as we were there to 'work', but some things may help some people.
First, this is the first time in many trips we've flown into Liberia instead of San Jose. Getting through customs took an hour, as we were the near the back of the plane, and there is no a/c at this airport, so it got a bit hot during the wait, but if going to the northern beach areas, we would certainly go through Liberia again.
We saw just about every rental car bus there was waiting outside, except for ours, 'Dollar'. A nice guy from Budget kept telling us he would give us a 'better' rate than Dollar, even going so far as to tell us that they would take off the $50 Dollar was going to charge us for a 'no show' on a reservation, but since we DID have reservations with Dollar, we decided to wait. They did finally show up, after all other buses were gone, but in their defense, we had told them we would not be ready until about 1:00. Our flight was early, arriving at 12:15 instead of the expected 12:30 arrival time, and dollar was there about 1:45.
We were going to go into Liberia to 'look around' after we got the car, but were tired by this time so headed straight to Tamarindo. The drive took about 1-1/2 hours. We stopped by the Costa Rica version of Home Depot, called "Do It" and checked out prices on some furniture, air conditioners, building suppiles, ceiling fans, etc., but have not converted to US dollars yet so can't tell you what the price difference is at this time!
Part two to come: Tamarindo is sold out!

lvk

Hi Ally,

Welcome back. You're putting me to shame posting your trip report so soon. I've been home nearly a week, and have only been able to post one day's worth.

Did you happen to be affected by the trucker strike up there in Liberia? We left on the 24th from San Jose, when it was in full force (but just a trucker strike, not a general strike like it seems to be now).

It's going to be very interesting reading about your building experiences. DH is a builder and he had some interesting conversations with Neta about building in CR.

Ally

PART TWO:
We could not believe how much Tamarindo has grown since we were last there about 9 years ago! We had HEARD it had grown, but still did not expect what we saw! WOW. It's sure not the sleepy little town it once was! VERY crowded and slow moving, with big 18 wheelers running through those tiny streets! It was much eaiser to get around early the next morning before the town 'woke up'.
We did not have a reservation anywhere. Didn't think we'd need one in August. BIG mistake. Our first stop was Capitan Suizo. My husband and I had stayed in one of their bungalows many years ago when they first opened and loved it, so we wanted to see how they are now. We hardly recognized the place! They only had three or 4 bungalows ready when we were first there, now they have many rooms too! And the grounds were SO grown up! The gardens and all around the pool area, just stunning! Absolutely beautiful and great location,IMO. A little out of town, but not too far, which is what we like.
We asked about seeing a bungalow and found out they were 100% booked! They did have ONE 'regular' room we could look at as the party had not checked in yet. I'm sorry to say that for the $126 (or was it $136?) they quoted us, I was very dissapointed! The bathroom had a lot of rust in the toilets and shower, the bedspreads were very thin and tired looking and the furniture was very threadbare and very worn. There were no little nice touches such as flowers or anything. And no view! I hear from many that the bungalows are still nice, but I personally would not stay in that room for the price!
Our next stop was Jardin Del Eden, where we were planning on staying. They were 100% booked too! Not even a single room for us to look at! We did look around the property and found it very nice, I wish we could have stayed there! They suggested Apart Hotel Montebello and called them for us. They had ONE room that would be open, but would not be ready until after 6:00. We told them we'd take it, as we did not feel like driving all over looking for something else! We then went to Tamarindo Daria for a cocktail on the beach. Just for the heck of it, we asked about a room and they were also 100% booked, and it's a BIG place! The Imperial (for Rick, my husband), the Pina Colada for me and the lemonaide for my brother were all very good, but service was terrible! I mean really, really terrible. We saw one woman wait 15 minutes at the bar for 2 softdrinks and 4 bottles of water for her family. We finished our drinks and would have ordered another round, but even though we were sitting AT the bar, neither bar tender would give us another glance. We waited 15 minutes for someone to notice us, either for a refill, or the check, but nothing. So we left a $10 on the bar and left, assuming that was enough as we had no idea what the prices were!
PART THREE, more Tamarindo hotels, coming up.

Ally

Ivk,
we didn't have problems with the strike in general, but it did throw a wrench in our plans! We were supposed to stay with Neta on our last night but were afraid it would take forever to get there , if we could get there at all from Nosara, so we had to call and cancel. What a wonderful woman she seems to be! I enjoyed my short conversation with her on the phone and we were looking forward to meeting her and discussing our plans with her, but couldn't make it. Next time for sure!

Ally

Ivk,
I should also add that when I'm away from the office, my 'office' pays a lot of money for someone who used to work here full time to come in and fill in for me, so it's not like I have a TON of catch-up to do. Yes, it takes a good part of the day to find out what happened while I was gone and what's happening now, but it's not like someone was not here to 'keep the balls rolling'. I'm sure that is the only reason I am able to post so soon, so don't feel bad!

Ally

PART THREE:
Our room at Apart Hotel Montebello consisted of a 'living area' with TV, couch with 'pull out' single bed, a table and two chairs, and one additional chair. The bedroom had a/c (the only area that did) and a king size bed, a nightstands with reading lamps and a decent closet and shelving unit that could also be used for 'closet space'. There was a VERY small kitchen with a TINY 4 burner stove and a full size fridge, but no sink!! The bathroom, next to the kitchen had a faucet on the wall next to the shower, so I assume that is where dishes are rinsed if one can even cook in so small a kitchen. There is NO place in this kitchen for 'prep' work. No cutting surface at all. The pull out couch in the living room was hard to deal with though. The 'couch/bed' is made of wicker and was worn, so when you pulled out the 'bed', it was hard to get it back in. It was also very uncomfortable, according to my brother who was to sleep on it. He ended up taking the mattress out of the 'bed' and placing it on the floor and found out that was much better. At least it was firmer! This place was $95 a night. There was a small pool which we found very refreshing later in the evening after dinner.
The husband and wife 'team' at Apart hotel Montebello could not have been nicer. Just exceptional. When we told them we were building a hotel in Nosara, called Hotel Plumerias al lado Del Mar,(www.plumeriasdelmar.com) they GAVE us a three foot tall tree they had been rooting for planting on their property. How sweet was that!!
PART FOUR coming: excellent dinner, Cala Luna, and Sueno Del mar.

sclubb

can't wait to read more Ally!

shillmac

Hi Ally,
Wow! Can't believe no rooms in Tamarindo this time of year! Did you see the Hotel Pasatiempo? It's a fun little place to stay for usually $65 or so a night. It's on the road that goes by the Lazy Wave Restaurant. What a bummer you didn't get to see Neta and Arbel. . .and you guys had business to discuss! Anxious to hear more! Hope all of your plans are progressing nicely! I plan on meeting you when you are up and running in Nosara!

Ally

No, didn't get to see Hotel Pastiempo, as we were told by the people at Jardin that they were booked too!!!
Many of the hotel personel were telling is this was the first time that their hotels were completely booked for that time of year, and they were loving it and hope it continues!

Ally

PART FOUR
We had told out host at Montebello that we wanted our hotel to be 'the' upscale place in Nosara, and they suggested we go to Cala Luna for dinner, not only for the good food but for the ambience of the hotel. We were so glad we took them up on their suggestion! That dinner was the best we had on the trip. The setting around the pool, with candles on the table was beautiful and the service could not be beat! Excellent staff. The had a sushi grade tuna for an appitizer for $7 that was out of this world. They asked how we wanted it cooked, and of course we said 'raw'...how else DO you eat sushi! There were about 12 bite size peices and it absolutley melted in your mouth. It came with the soy and wasabi and ginger too, but the ginger was not the shaved type you get here, it was grated. Anyway, we loved it so much we ordered another one! I had the 3 Pepper tuna for my entree which was SO good. I think my husband had mahi and my brother also had tuna, but prepared a different way and wrapped in banana leaves. All was very, very good. We also had two bottles of good wine. And all of that, 2 bottles wine, 2 appitizers and three dinners for less than $100. What a deal! After dinner, we asked to meet with the chef. After waiting a couple minutes, we were taken back to the kitchen. Boy, was it HOT in there. I mean to die for HOT. I don't know how anyone can work in that condition! He was extemely nice and showed us around. He had 3, maybe 4 other people working in the kitchen, which would also explain why we had no long wait for our food. He said he is ready for a change, so we may steal him from Tamarindo and move him to Nosara if he's still interested in more than a year from now! LOL!
We loved the atmosphere of this hotel. Nice wide open lobby with beautiful art on the walls. We like the 'rounded' shape of the stairs leading from the lobby to the hotel, as we are going to build our hotel with many curves, not to 'straight line', so the next day we went back and took more pictures. We also met with the chef again and exchanged emails and phone numbers.
PART FIVE COMING: Sueno Del Mar and on to Nosara

sclubb

Did you see any rooms or villas at Cala Luna? I was so torn when making my reservation at El Jardin, but what won me over was the price, the ocean view room & the full breakfast. Was it really a big difference in atmosphere between the two? I'd love to see your pics of Cala Luna! We never even got over there to have a drink.

Ally

PART FIVE
This morning we had our first 'business' meeting, although it was very informal. We met a guy named Mario for breakfast, who is the son of an architect/builder out of San Jose. It's a little confusing to me what his role in the business is, except that I think he is some sort of on site manager. They are building yet another kind of 'strip center' in Tamarindo. We were supposed to meet him at Zulimar (sp?) but they were not open at 8:00am, so we went accross the street. Sorry, I can't remember the name of it, but it's across from Zulimar in the 'circle'. We all had the 'Tico' breakfast with eggs, gallo pinto, toast and a piece of lettuce and tomato for about $5. After eating, Mario took us to his job site and showed us the plans to the site. We were quite amazed at the details in the plans. At this point in the building, all they have started is the 'footings' with the excavation, cement and rebar but Rick, having built our house on a 40 degree angle on a hill, was very impressed and felt confident about the work they were doing. After saying goodbye to Mario and making arrangments to meet with he and his father the next day in Nosara, we decided to go back to Cala Luna for more pictures in the daylight. We also wanted to see a room but guess what? They were booked!
We then headed over to Sueno Del Mar to look around there. It's very close to Cala Luna, but on the beach side. I mean RIGHT on the beach. What a lovely place! Very cozy. Cute, clean little pool with a little palapa with hammocks and only steps to the ocean. It's a bit rocky on their beach, but they do have one little area about 25' that you could get in without rocks. I can't imagine a more romantic place for a honeymoon as it's such a small property. Sueno was also fully booked. Seeing a pattern here? However, at the time of our visit, the 'honeymoon suite' was being cleaned, so the manager walked us up there and let us look around. The suite is all wood, floor, walls and ceiling, so it had a very rustic feel, but was quite large. There was a queen size bed with nice plush bedspread, handmade with painted flowers on it, a good size table and chairs and a lot of room for storage. Although the room did have a/c ( I think that's what she told us?) there are windows on three sides so you can get a great cross breeze up there, and good views to the ocean. My favorite part was the outdoor shower. Small, but nice. We hung around for a few minutes takling and was told the same people also own the Flor Blanca in Mal Pais. It sounded kind of familiar, like I'd heard that before, but in any case, I was impressed with Sueno and would love to stay there for some R&R and romance.
After leaving here, we drove around for awhile, trying to find the rivermouth where Rick had surfed years before. It was a little difficult tying to figure it out, as the big Barcelo hotel is now located at that point and we could not figure out where to park. We ended up driving through the gated hotel parking and found out from the guard there where we could go park. We found the 'parking' (only about 6 spaces for public parking!) and walked down the beach a little so Rick could look at the surf. Nice beach here. I think the hotel has some umbrellas, but around the corner there is some vegetation on the beach that provides some shade if you're not staying at the hotel and want a very quiet beach.
We then left, headed back to Montebello, packed and moved on down the road to Nosara. It was about Noon.
PART SIX COMING: The road to Nosara and the Guilded Iguana

shillmac

I can't believe Tamarindo was so booked! That's amazing, and in August. I'm sure all the hotel people WERE quite pleased! Prices will be going up soon. . .

Ally

Shillmac, yes it was quite strange. We never would have guessed! Oh well, at least we did find a room for a night.

PART SIX:
It was about noon when we headed out for Nosara. Talk about an awful road! Potholes galore! We were expecting about a 2 hour drive but it was actually about 2-1/2 hours because of the slow drving we had to do! Seriously, I'll take the hard packed dirt/gravel over paved potholes anytime!
In any case the drive was uneventful and we didn't make any stops except for gas at the split in the road for Samara/Nosara.
Of course, the first thing we had to do was go check our porperty. WOW! It looked great! Last time we saw it, it was difficult to walk through because of all the vegetation, but our lawyer had arranged for most of the underbrush and some very small trees to be cut down about a week before we got there, so we actually saw more of the layout than when we'd bought it! It's a beautiful spot.
We usually stay at Taype, but due to the downhill slide of this property, we went straight to Gilded Iguana instead. We are saving our pennies for the 'project' and we knew they had inexpensive rooms. And unlike Tamarindo, Nosara was not booked so we were able to get two rooms. The first thing I noticed about the rooms are how basic they are. It was a good sized room, with two double beds, a small table and 2 chairs and a mini fridge. Small bathroom but good closet space and nice size walk in shower. But, that's it! There was nothing on the walls except an air conditioner. The only mirror was the small one over the bathroom sink. Only sheets on the beds, although I did find one nice blanket in the closet. My brothers room was the same size, except it only had one double bed so felt much larger. But talk about basic! Oh well, the second thing I noticed was how QUIET the a/c was! Rick had gone out to get our luggage and when he came back he asked if I could not get the a/c on and I told him it WAS on, it's just quiet! We loved that! After getting somewhat settled, we just hung around in the hammocks under the palapa which was right outside the rooms, and that's when we got our first BIG rain. It has sprinkled on us for the last 30 minutesof the drive, but had stopped when we got to our property. Now it was POURING. I was very pleased as I love a good thunderstorm, and there is nothing like swinging from a dry hammock, under a palapa during a storm. It rained hard for a couple hours then stopped about 6:00 so we headed to dinner. We decided on the Harbor Reef. They always have good food. Unfortunately, because of that they are also usually pretty busy and we got stuck next to a big table, about 10 people, that were very loud. To top it off, they were out the the special appetizer and the special entree! I can't even remember what I ended up having because it was not my first or even second choice, but it was good. Of course, as we had not had any lunch we were all starving!
Well, it seems like we have been up and at it forever, so turned in early. The next day was to be a very busy one.
PART SEVEN COMING: Meeting, meeting, meeting and then a fun dinner.

Ally

I woke up very early this morning, no later than
6:00. Rick had already gone out to check the surf and found it not worthy of paddling out so we just decided to take a LONG walk on the beach. It was very cloudy, with rain threatening so a good day for a walk. The first thing I noticed was that I have never, ever, in all my trips to Nosara, seen the tide that high. When we were there in May, you could walk out 100 yards to to where the waves were breaking. This time, there was hardly any beach at all. There were big 'bluffs' in the sand where the tide has eaten away at the beach. Wierd. We ended up doing some of the walk on the little path above the beach, as there was just not enough beach to walk on in some places without being IN the surf! What a walk it was. I was SO sweaty at the end it looked like I had just stepped out of a shower. Talk about humid! But I felt great for getting the exercise. Rick said we walked at least a mile, one way, so total over 2 miles. We got back to the hotel about 8:30 and took showers. That's when I decided I was not crazy about the showers at Gilded Iguana. Yes, it's large enough and the water pressure was fine, but it's so dark in there! The bathrooms have a dim overhead light in the ceiling and a dim light over the sink, but not much of that light makes it into the shower. Oh well, I know where all my parts are and don't need to see them, but I would have liked more light.
After changing, we had a good breakfast at the hotel. Not included in the $50 per room/per night, but fairly cheep and they charge it to your room if staying there so you don't need to worry about having money.
At 10:00 we met with Mario's father and brother, talked business, drove to the property to 'walk' it. Then had a 12:00 meeting with our lawyer to start the set up of the corporation for our hotel, and talk other business. Then we had 2:00 meeting with another architect/builder! We were just a few feet away at the Nosara Sandwhich Shop to grab a bite when they showed up. After going though plans with them, walking the property, etc., we had just enough time to shower again and catch a drink at the bar before heading off to dinner.
Dinner tonight was to be at the guys house who sold us our property, Daren, from Nosara Real Estate. He lives on a hill off the road to Ostional. He had told Rick earlier in the day when we called to confirm dinner, that Playa Ostional was expecting the biggest Olive Ridley Turtle Nesting of the CENTURY that night, with some 300,000 turtles. Ah-ha! I could see this happening because the moon was slight and the tides were SO high!
BUT, unfortunaltey, it had been raining off and on all day, and had been POURING again for the past 2 or 3 hours, and there was just no way we were going to get past that river, even in our 4x4. Bummer! Oh well, I've seen smaller nestings and we would be living there soon enough, so I'll see it again someday.
Darens cook made us a great curry chicken dish, and we shared a couple bottles of wine, and best of all, he confirmed a meeting he had set up for us with another builder for the following morning.
It was still a little early when we went back to the hotel, so decided to stop at the bar for a nightcap. That is when we discovered that they have grand Mariner (sp) and they serve it in a wine glass for about $3!!! What a great deal! I wonder if they know they are losing money? I'm not telling!
Needless to say, we stopped there most nights after that!
PART EIGHT COMING: More meetings and general info on restaurants in the area.

Ally

PART EIGHT:
I won't bore you with the other meetings we had with architects and builders during the next three days. I'll just say of all we talked to, we have narrowed down our choice to two, and will get preliminary sketches and numbers from them in the next 10 days or so and will make our final decision on that.
We had tried to squeeze in one more meeting, at least, in San Jose, but we could not get there due to the 'truckers strike'. We were hearing reports of people waiting for over 24 hours trying to get through the mountians into San Jose, and just didn't want to take that chance.

FOOD: We had another great dinner at Marlin Bills. All three of us had the Tuna Sushi. As usual, the tuna was perfect, the salad crisp, but the mashed potatoes boxed. LOL! Sorry, but I can ALWAYS tell fresh mashed from the kind that comes from a box.
Had lunch one day at Panchos. Rick and Brad had the tacos that came with rice and beans...typical mexican meal, and I just had the guacamole and chips, plus a 'dinner salad'. I could LIVE off of their guacamole. Love it. And the chips that came out with it were HOT! Excellent. I also like this property a lot. Nice little pool and the cabinas look nice, although I've not been inside. This place also has a great little convenience store on site. I just wish the whole property was closer to 'our side' of Nosara!
We has a couple lunches at the Blew Dog. (yes, I thinks it's "blew', not 'Blue') Great selection and cheap and in LARGE portions. They are a budget property, with a younger crowd, and you know those young surfers can eat, so portions here are HUGE! Really loved the onion rings! They have them listed as an appetizer so we ordered those, plus we each got a sandwhich. The onion rings came out in a LARGE basket, then Ricks HUGE hamburger, my BLT with avacado and Brad's Sloppy Joe also all came with french fries. We didn't know this as it was not stated on the menu. Needless to say we were stuffed! On another day, Brad and I split the Nachos from the appetizer menu, also good size portion. Could have split with a thrid, but Rick was MIA, meeting with someone.
For dinner one night we went to the Pizza Place up on the hill down the road from Cafe Paris. Can't remember the name, but you can't miss the sign of the big pizza. This place was closed in May, but open for dinner this time. Great place. We've always liked the food here. Decent wine selection and service. This may be the only place in town that the wait staff wears a uniform! Very nice.
On our last full day, we had lunch at the hotel. The breakfast we'd had a couple times were good, and some of the dinner's we saw going by while we were at 'happy hour' looked good, so we decided to try lunch. I had the 'tico tacos' and Rick and Brad both had some sort of 'basket' with the same spicey chicken that were in the tacos. Well, the menu said 'spicey chicken' but it was not at all. We were a little suprised how small the meals were, but in the end, it was enough for us, so that's good. However, none of us ate dinner that night as we were all VERY sick.
Rick started feeling it first, about 5:00. Just a very upset stomach. I gave him some pepto and told brad we'd wait an hour or so to see how he was, and if need be, go without him. But, by the end of that hour I was feeling bad too, and it went from bad to worse. Long story short, we were all up, all night, running the the bathroom about every 20-30 minutes. I had no idea how any of us were going to sit in a car and plane the next day to travel home. Thank god, we were all feeling better by about 7:00 and were able to clean up, pack and head home. While checking out, we told the guy calculating our tabs about our sickness and he promised he'd tell the managers when they got there. But 'Chicky' the guy who runs fishing tours through them (A wonderful friendly man) heard us and told us that there was 'something going around' and that a lot of people were getting sick for 24 hours. Well, maybe, but when three people have the same chicken for lunch and then all three get sick within two hours of each other, you have to wonder!
PART NINE COMING: More market research, "Casitas Romantica" and "Villas Kilimba"

Americano

Ally,
I love this thread. I haven't been on this board since last April, after returning from our first trip to CR. We picked Nosara for our surf spot (based largely on your posts) and had couldn't have been happier. Good luck.

Ally

Thanks Americano, as you can tell, a lot of people don't venture to Nosara as surfing is by far the biggest draw. In fact, you'll notice I stopped writing my report after 9/1 because it just didn't generate much response! LOL!

Sometime during that week, a thread was started about Villas Kilimba in Samara and I could not have said it better than those folks so I just stopped writing. FYI, I really loved Villas Kilimba and would stay there if I was in the area and needed two bedrooms. I will note something that no one else did and that is that the villas don't have a 'living room'. There are the two nice bedrooms (one bedroom has a TV), two nice baths and a kitchen. The dining area is outside under a covered porch and is nice, but for those who might need a soft couch in a typical 'living area', this is the one thing they don't have.

I also loved the new Casitas Romantica in Nosara. Nice size rooms with king beds, a decent bath and small kitchen. The rooms are nicely decorated and 'homey', not stark like Gilded Iguana (but then again, Gilded Iguana was $50 a night where as Casitas Romantica were $65). All the rooms at CR are built around a small courtyard and pool and it was lovely. Another advantage is that they are within a stones throw to Casa Romantica, a nice place to eat.

For those interested, we were not totally thrilled with the drawings we got from the architects we asked to send us something, so for the past two weeks, my brother,(the computer expert), with input from me, Rick and Leslie, have put together our own site plans. Rick leaves for CR next Tuesday to present our plans! We are going back to one of the architects we've already met with, and he'll be meeting with a couple people we did not talk to on the last trip. (Neta at Finca Ama will be one!) We were hoping to be able to award the job by now, but we all think it's worth the extra time and money to meet with other people. Afterall, this will be our 'life' going into this, we might as well take the time to get it right. Still, we're hoping to start building in Dec.