A Flawless Costa Rican Adventure :-)

Costa Rica | Nov 18 - Nov 25, 2023

Beautiful property with comfortable, well-appointed cabins situated at the foot of the Arenal volcano. Friendly, helpful staff, great food (I especially loved the Arboleda bar menu and its exceptional Costa Rican chifrijo), covered jacuzzi (soak with a drink while it rains), pretty pool area and great breakfast. Would've loved to have stayed longer and taken better advantage of the yoga deck, the hiking trail (wear good shoes, it's a real hike!), and the gorgeous grounds; will definitely stay again next time I'm in La Fortuna.

This is a gorgeous property staffed by friendly, helpful people, but the room itself fell short for me on a couple of measures. My three kids and I stayed in a family suite, which contained three beds--a full and a queen on the first level, and a king in the loft upstairs. I don't love this arrangement because nobody gets privacy--four people sleeping in one room is tricky for light sleepers and people who don't all go to bed at the same time. We were given a heads-up at check-in that the room contained neither heat nor AC; you're in Monteverde, it doesn't get very hot, and can dip quite chilly at night. I can never be cold enough when I sleep, so I wasn't worried about not having heat, but the room was pretty stuffy and the loft actually hot when we arrived--I suspect it hadn't been occupied in a couple of days. It did cool off once we opened it up, and by our second night the loft was very comfortable, but the first night not so much. Another complaint is that the room was *dark*--Costa Rica is known for its energy conservation measures, and of course Americans are spoiled with our expectations of bright lights and blaring AC everywhere we go, but once the sun went down (which it does in CR between 5 and 6 all year), this room was ridiculous. There was one mirror in the sleeping area, but it was practically useless because by daylight it was brightly backlit by the windows and by night it was too dark to see yourself; this left only the mirror in the bathroom for dressing and getting ready which, again, when there are 4 people gets complicated. Hot water can be a challenge in lots of Costa Rican hotels, and that was very much the case here, where basically one of us could count on a hot shower per day, even with long intervals between people. This hotel was also just missing lots of little touches--nowhere to put your suitcase (except the floor), no extra blankets or pillows, no key to the safe, not enough water glasses or coffee cups, or supplies to make everyone's coffee or tea. I'm sure all of these things could've been had by calling the front desk, but it's already necessary to call for a shuttle to get most places on the property (which is a mile long from end to end), so who wants to keep calling for blankets and a safe key? The lunch/dinner restaurant was good, pretty views and good menus, and our dinner server Carmen was lovely. My daughter and I headed over to the pool for a hot tub soak at happy hour after a long day of hiking, only to find there is no hot tub and the pool is not heated, so we bundled up in towels and watched the sunset with our drinks. Again--delightful young woman working the bar, good drinks, but how is there no hot tub in a place that gets so chilly?! I loved sitting on my deck with a cup of coffee and watching the clouds over the gulf of Nicoya in the mornings, and we saw lots of birds and small animals as well. The location is good, walkable to some restaurants and bakeries, close to town and attractions...just a little more rustic in terms of the actual accommodation than I would've preferred. But also not a bad value for what you get in terms of the whole resort.

We ended up at Alma del Pacifico a little bit unexpectedly after having to change plans for the last leg of our trip, but my hopes were high after viewing their website. As it turns out, the website does not do the accommodations justice--Alma is one of the coolest, most surprising and delightful little hotels I've stayed in. I prefer quirky boutique hotels to big chains, and Alma is absolutely a unique little property that I cannot wait to visit again--our two nights were not enough. The first great surprise came at check-in, when we were informed we'd been upgraded; instead of two regular beachfront villas, one of our rooms was actually a beachfront suite with its own private pool. Everything about the layout and appointments of these bright, airy rooms brought me joy, from the minibar area--each had its own sink, nicely stocked bar, generous assortment of snacks and coffee and tea supplies, plus glassware and silverware for all the available beverages--to the fact that each room had abundant seating, table space, a writing desk, and an assortment of fresh fruit. The bathrooms knocked me out with their size, spaciousness, and beautifully tiled open showers, which face sliding glass doors that open onto private courtyards so you can almost have the experience of showering outdoors--one of my favorite things 😂 These are the kinds of rooms you can stay a long time in, because everything you need has been provided. Each room faced the gorgeous Esterillos beach with floor-to-ceiling windows and a private patio with a table and chairs as well as lounge chairs. The suite also had a lovely little pool that we spent an afternoon in cooling off and reviving with coffee after hours at the beach (which is not to say the pool was cold--I hate a cold pool). In addition to all this, Alma del Pacifico also features two full size pools and a hot tub nestled amid gorgeous gardens--flocks of scarlet macaws passed overhead--as well as a spa that I regret not having had the time to visit. The restaurant has a great view of the beach, as does the bar where we enjoyed our second happy hour (we took the first poolside), and the food was delicious. I'm sorry not to have gotten the name of the young woman who was hostessing/serving on Thanksgiving night; we had a reservation for dinner but when we arrived, the live music was crazy loud and we could not hear ourselves think. I asked the young lady who seemed to be in charge if she could help us out and she promptly had us re-seated on the patio by the bar, where we ate our thanksgiving dinner under the stars at a much more enjoyable decibel level. The beach is not my favorite--we left one day for Manuel Antonio, which I love, and where we had booked a parasailing excursion--but it's beautiful and the sunsets are gorgeous. Just a different vibe, very quiet, not a lot of people, but if that's what you like then you'll appreciate the beach too. We showed up for the included breakfast with only 30 minutes til our excursion and were surprised to find it was not a buffet but a sit-down, order-from-a-menu situation--ordinarily a great surprise, except we were short on time. Not a problem, though, we told our server we were rushed and he got our meals to us in no time so we were able to enjoy a delicious breakfast before we hit the road. My booking was arranged by a travel agent so I googled the rates while I sat in the pool and could not believe how affordable this experience was. I was desolate to leave this hotel.

This was our third time parasailing with Aguas Azules, and they never let us down. Parasailing is a glorious experience, especially over a setting as amazing as Manuel Antonio, and these folks make it easy, safe, and so much fun. A great bonus is that for a little extra, you can rent beach chairs and an umbrella on their plot of beach, make use of their boogie boards (and the lifeguard on duty) and order food. The public beach at Manuel Antonio is very popular, with lots of foot traffic, but this end of it tends to be a bit quieter; I also felt a little more comfortable leaving belongings at our chairs while we swam knowing that the folks from Aguas Azules were close by. I wouldn't say they provide security, but I think they'd chase a monkey away if it was trying to snag my phone :-)