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Reviews posted on this page
Adventure Inn - San Jose
Hotel Capitan Suizo - Guanacaste
La Playa Negra - Cahuita
| La Playa Negra | David ~ Hamilton, Ontario |
February 2009
Arrival
A 4.5 hour bus ride from San Jose through beautiful clouded mountains and rain forest to the town of Cahuita, then a short walk to this small resort (1KM).
Rooms
There are three rooms under the main house(owners) and 2 large houses for rent at the rear of the property. Our room for 2 was the smallest but ablsolutely clean. A complete bath with shower, mini fridge and coffee maker. A double bed with one dresser and stand up bamboo shelving. An in room safe.
Restaurants and Bars
Breakfast at Brigette's was a short walk away. Everything fresh and lots of it.Lunch could be had at several restaurants in the local area but we preferred a small fruit/pastry lunch at our room/pool. For the evening fare a walk into town will offer several options from pizza to filet mignon, all prepared to your taste. More bars in town.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The grounds are spectacular and offer much privacy.Pool is very clean and warm and offers a cabana for B-B-Qing, lounging and also a stocked cooler (beer, pop, etc.). The beach is just across the road and is great for walking and swimming, surfisng and boogy boarding. NOT for the novice as the signs are posted to watch for rip tides.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
As this resort is small most of the activities are yours to do, although there are many tours avaiable through Brigette's and in town. The Cahuita National Park is at the south end of town and for a donation you can spend a day watching all the wildlife the park has to offer.
Other Comments
During our stay we ran into some rainy days. Gregg and Michael who operate this resort were very kind and looked after our every need. This type of holiday is for the person looking to experience Costa Rica in its full flavour, mingling with the Ticos, experiencing their lifestyle and exploring their country.
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| Adventure Inn | Sharkbait98 |
November 2008
flew Continental arriving a couple of days early because I had concerns of my dive gear not making it. We stayed at Adventure Inn, San Jose until we cabbed over to the Marriot Courtyard for our pick up to be taken to Puntarenas to board the Okeanos Aggressor liveaboard going to Cocos Island. The Aggressor only picks up at the Marriot or the Alta but I didn't like the price tag that came with these hotels so we decided to stay at the Adventure in. The Adventure Inn was amazing and inexpensive. The cab ride to the Marriot was a mere 12 US so it more than made up for the cost of the Marriot. For 79.99 US per night (10% discount if paying cash) got you a nice BIG room, clean, great staff, and a full breakfast. This place was amazing. It was probably one of the best hotels I have stayed in. For every day you stay there you get free entrance to a water park that is about a 10 minutes walk. This hotel is owned by a Canadian who went there in 1994 and never came back. Nancy, who worked the front desk was very personable and did everything in her power to make our stay memorable. If you go to San Jose I suggest you stay at this hotel.
Anyway, we board the Okeanos and the trip out was rocky. There were four divers who got pretty seasick. I was lucky as I took Bonamine and it worked great for me. We get to the island 35 hrs later and anchor in a bay. We do our check out dive and it was awesome. White tip reef sharks everywhere, not to mention guinea puffers, lobsters, eels, plus a multitude of fish that I can't name. We do our "real" dive and hammerheads everywhere. All I can do is stare in awe. The week of diving was all hammerhead, white tip sharks, marble rays, eagle rays and a many fishes. I did four night dives and one was amazing. I got to watch about 50 white tip reef sharks go into a feeding frenzy about 3ft below me. WOW.... what else can I say.
Now about the liveaboard. The food was ok. Nothing special per say. Don't get me wrong. It must be hard to feed 22 divers all that food when you are 36hrs away from everything, but it was nothing to write home about. The boat staff (and that I mean non-divemasters or skiff captains) were amazing. There english wasn't the best but they did their best to accommodate everybody.
Now for the divemasters. In my opinion, I may as well have been diving on my own. I only saw them on two-three occations. It appeared they cared more about getting their personal underwater photos and videos than they did the clientel. There was one man who was on his fourth Okeanos trip and they didn't seem to mind showing him around personally. In fact, this man was apparantly so special that when two women on our skiff got hit with jelly-fish after our dive, the divemaster and captain thought it would be beneficial for this man to go and get footage of the island for 10 minutes before returning to the Okeanos where these women could get some vinegar to sooth the sting.
Another incident happened on our skiff. We were on our way to Alcyone (dive site) and the motor crapped out. No biggy. It happens. They tried and tried to get it going for about 10 minutes. So, as we are floating about in the skiff the boat captain calls the Okeanos. He called for approximately 5-10 minutes and NOBODY was responding. The other liveaboard was responding to us, but not ours. They did eventually get the boat going, but it was a bit unnerving knowing that if there had been a medical emergency then the Okeanos would not have responded.
Overall my diving was amazing. In my opinion it could have been better if the divemasters would have paid half the attention to the clientel as opposed to their cameras. There were certain fish I did not see because only the divemasters knew where they lived and they were never around to show me, even after I had specifically asked to see them.
If I return to that magical place, I think I will probably pick "the other liveaboard".
On the way back from the island we had smooth sailing and sunsets and dolphins. Definately life altering.
We got off of the boat and was transferred back to the Adventure Inn (which was nice because they really didn't have to transfer us back to our hotel, seeing as they only pick up at the Marriott Courtyard and the Alta ). The staff at the Adventure Inn was all happy to see us again and treated us great AGAIN..... Not only that, they gave us free transfers to and from the airport included in that price at the top... GREAT PLACE !! If you go to San Jose, make sure you stay there.
This of course is all in my humble opinion,
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Hotel Capitan Suizo - Guanacaste — Not Rated
Location: Short walk to beach - 200 miles from San José, 45 miles from the International Airport in Liberia
Breakfast Included - 8 thatched-roof bungalows and 22 rooms
Description from resort website: At the open-air restaurant and bar, savory meals and refreshing drinks are served in this informal, inviting ambiance. Situated underneath a thatched roof, you can revel in the ocean view and breezes. Or perhaps you'd prefer poolside service as you laze in a leafy atmosphere, visited by friendly wildlife. International cuisine (with a Swiss accent) highlights the menu - Tilapia Calabrese for fish lovers, Beef Stroganoff, unique pastas, and dreamy desserts. The chef keeps in mind your need for variety, creating new temptations for the tastebuds. - Exotic, free-form pool
 ~ Reviews posted on this page — 2
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| Hotel Capitan Suizo | John and family of 4 ~ Wilmington, NC USA |
August 2005
We stayed at the Capitan Suizo for 5 days during our 9 day visit to Costa Rica. We did find the hotel to be a garden setting with a large pool and short walk to the beach. Everyone was friendly and the rooms were very clean. There is internet service, but only one terminal, so its hit or miss getting air time. The second level rooms have a nice balcony, but do not have air conditioning or a TV. We found this to be a real problem for us as it gets very hot and humid in the afternoon and evenings plus not having a TV can create some boring moments, especially with kids. The first floor units do have AC, so I would demand one of them if you want to stay there. The ceiling fans just don't cut it. We also had a few bug visits, but nothing that shocked us, as we came with warnings about that. The walk into Tamarindo is about 15 minutes over dirt roads. There are some good restaurants (Geicko's, Happy Days, Taco Stop). The town itself is not really for a family vacation. It is full of dirty, muddy roads with little to do.
The Beach at Capitan Suizo is not good at all for snorkeling and there are a lot of rocks just below the water surface. Be sure to locate them at low tide for your safety. We found a lovely beach at Playa Conchal for both snorkeling and swimming. We also chartered a boat for 5 hours for $250 which was a highlight as we love to snorkel. We also did a horseback ride trip, prepared by a local by the name of Mario (your hotel staff will know of him), which was terrific. I would not go back to this hotel due to location (wanted snorkeling beach...go to Conchal), Town (not for family) and lack of AC. I would rate it 2 star.
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| Hotel Capitan Suizo | Maldonado's ~ Texas - USA |
April 2005
Flying into Liberia, Costa Rica is the best route to go not only in location to resort but also getting in/out of customs. It was a breeze. Resort is located about an hour from airport. Tamarindo Beach is a small surfer town. April may not be the best month to visit as the heat was almost unbearable. On the up side, no mosquitoes.
We were greeted very warmly by the staff. We chose to stay in a bungalow. They are quite large in size, excellent patio areas and although it has an inside bath & shower, we chose to use our outside shower all week. The pool here is really large and resort is located right on beach.
Rosa (Tour Desk) is extremely efficient and a nice lady. Four months before visiting we had already scheduled our sport fishing tour since this is prime fishing area. Capulla is who we went through - chartered a 36 ft. Topaz. Caught fish right away - including a big 4 ft long Dorado who put up quite a fight. Staff was very accomodating and filleted the fish and packed on ice. German chef at resort did fabulous job of preparing it for us for dinner.
Canopy Tour - we went to the newest one that opened about 30 min. outside town - Cartahena Canopy. I tried to chicken out once we climbed the first tree but the guide said I would regret it and he was certainly right. As we zipped from tree to tree - I never wanted the tour to end. This is a must!
High Tide is who we went through for an ATV tour. You'll want to do this as well to see some of the country side. You end up on a bluff overlooking the whole area. Rigo, the guide, was a real sweet kid.
The resort restaurant serves good food. However we had a difficult time finding lunch options outside the resort that we liked. The day before we left we walked down the dirt road by the hotel, headed back toward town and on the right side of the road is a place with a Taco Stop sign. Wish we'd found it earlier - their tacos (nothing like in US) were fabulous.
This is important - due to the remote location of this town - they don't have access to malls as we do here in the US. Three months before our trip I shipped 2 large boxes of childrens clothes and toys. The shipping cost was outrageous, it took almost 3 months to get through customs and someone from the resort had to drive a distance to get them. I would encourage any of you who can afford this to please bring a 2nd suit case filled with new items for the kids. The resort staff couldn't stress how much this was appreciated as the kids have so little there and we are so blessed. Now, go get a pencil and write this down: Jorge Espinoza is the awesome guy they have in reservations. You can't meet him without liking him immediately. He will go out of his way to make sure all your reservations and transportation are taken care of before you arrive. We took a special gift bag for him filled with different items from our area with logo on it. I also included a box of Lindt Lindor Truffles - white chocolate balls. You can find these in the special candy section in Wal-Mart or possibly your grocery store. Grab as many of those as you can afford to carry on with you (they would melt if you pack in suit case) and take to him. He couldn't get over how good they were and it would be a nice gesture. When you get back and do your review - please keep this going so he's stocked with those. Tell everyone the Maldonado's from Texas send their regards and have a nice trip yourself. Oh! one more thing - we've never traveled anywhere else that we felt so safe and the local people were so friendly.
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Last updated: February 24, 2009
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