Where to stay in Costa Rica

SVanH031506

My fiance and I have narrowed our choice to Costa Rica. March 5-12. Now we are trying to decide a good, clean hotel to stay in. Don't want to go more than $250 a night but might be able to convince him to do $300

Any suggestions would be most helpful! 

[Deleted User]

I definitely second the frommers guide.  We used it to help narrow down which parts of the country we wanted to see, and then to help us pick out hotels.  There are some great places for $250-300 / night, especially if you visit the (many) good indepenant and boutique hotels.  Narrow down what you want, and then check out the reviews on triadvisor.

[Deleted User]

If you want to splurge on a few amazing nights, check out the Peace Lodge at the La Paz Waterfall gardens. It's only an hour from San Jose, and a once in a lifetime experience.  www.waterfallgardens.com. We stayed there on our hm for a few night an it was worth every penny.

femme55

We stayed at the J.W. Marriott Resort in Guanacaste and it was absolutely gorgeous, built recently, great service.  We got a great deal of $199/night, but it normally runs about $250/night.  

alithebride

tripadvisor.com

Molly&Andy

I used tripadvisor.com to get an idea of places to consider.  We are heading there in two weeks (so excited).  We are staying at Nayara Hotel near Arenal Volcano and then heading to the JW Marriott in the Guanacaste area.

beautynthebeats

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_where-to-stay-in-costa-rica?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:215af026-fb37-4070-9077-8b9a2e5b1c43Post:95fd6d42-e730-4da8-8299-3c07727d8b95">Re: Where to stay in Costa Rica</a>:
[QUOTE]I used tripadvisor.com to get an idea of places to consider.  We are heading there in two weeks (so excited).  We are staying at Nayara Hotel near Arenal Volcano and then heading to the JW Marriott in the Guanacaste area.
Posted by Molly&Andy[/QUOTE]

Nayara is an absolutely perfect hotel for your honeymoon. It is gorgeous, the people are lovely and the private balcony (with jacuzzi) and outdoor shower are amazing. My fiance and I actually considered going back for our honeymoon but we want to try somewhere different. I highly recommend ziplining (scary but one of the coolest experiences of our lives) and visiting the Tabacon hot springs. We did both in one day and that worked out well because they are both a bit of a drive from the hotel. You are going to have an amazing time!

SVanH031506

Is Nayara Hotel on or near a beach?

Delprisa

I absolutely LOVED Nayara. It is not near a beach... but there is so much else to do there. It's actually where I got engaged. Please consider going there. The views are breathtaking and the place itself it amazing. The staff there is so accomodating and nice. Food there is great too! It was 3 hours from the airport but well worth the drive. We booked our transportation and excursions through Nayara. Best decision I made.

hoffse

No Nayara is in the middle of the rain forest at the foot of a volcano.  FI and I's budget fell through, but we were originally planning on going there for ours.  We will definitely go at some point because it looks incredible and it gets the best reviews on tripadvisor.

tecah123

We stayed at Royal Corinin In Arenal. We loved the hotel and the staff were fabulous. It's more a hotel but on the smaller side. try to avoid staying there on weekends cause it gets packed. Found that during the week its less crowd there.  Most hotels in Arenal area are not near anything so you need to hire a taxi to take you places. During the day you are mostly on adventures and then you come back to the hotel to relax . All adventure provide transportations so you don't have to worry about that. Just at night if you want to go out you need a taxi. I don't have time right now to go in to details about our trip but will try to write you along info tomorrow. But defintely look on Tripsadvisor was very helpful. We stayed at Issimo Suites in Maunel Antonio also next to it was La mansion (we checked the hotel out one night and it was amazing as well.

souptin

I just got back (last night actually) from RIU Palace in gunacaste it is a brand new (only open for 3 weeks) 5 star resort.
it is a bit isolated with only the older RIU beside it so excursions take a while but we had a great time. The beach is lovely (black volcanic sand so wear flip flops) we saw fish in the water and sea turtles nesting on the beach so cool. that all being said the isolation was an issue for us and while we really enjoyed our stay when we go back to costa rica we will want to stay somewhere more connected probably closer to San jose.
Good luck with you HM planning, H and I LOVED the country and would go back in a heartbeat.