I just got back from there a couple of weeks ago. If you have a resident or national go with you the exemption is 1,750,000 Colones. You will need to register the day before you go in to buy. We stay at a place called Samoa del Sur but I think it has a new name Sea Breeze Hotel. It is on the left side as you drive in and has a car rental sign out front as well. The price was 32,000 colones per night and included breakfast, nothing special mind you eggs, pinto, plantains, and coffee/juice. They do have a pool which is nice for when it gets hot and the A/C will freeze you out at night. You will want to get inside the Duty free area early as it gets very busy unless you are midweek. You need to hang onto all your paperwork and do not be afraid to ask for deals. I have bought major appliances, tools, Alcohol was priced best at the Florida Beverage store there. There is a great selection of items and you will get pounced on by salespeople. Know what you want and make sure you shop all the places before committing to purchase. You can have your items trucked up to San Jose for reasonable amounts. About 14,000 colones and figure a few days for delivery but they bring it to your door. Some things are still better to bring from the states. To give you an idea I have purchased 11.5 Cubic Foot whirlpool chest freezer 160,000, 6 burner Samsung gas stove/oven 220,000, Samsung microwave 1.2 cu ft 1200 watt 64,000, one store had a Cuisanart 7qt cast iron dutch oven for 48,000. Best price in the states is about 85.00, the thing weighs 13lbs though. Had to buy that though. Kitchenaid mixers there range in price but you can figure 245,000 - 350,000 for them so that is something better to bring from the states if you want one. They have great deals on TV's as well. There is a place in there that we buy shit loads of shampoo and conditioner for 1000-1200 per bottle and they have a ton of other things as well but you need to know prices in San Jose as some things are more expensive, just because they are there does not mean they are cheap. The other thing I would suggest is take a drive to Paso Canoas at the Panama border and buy things there. Just before you would get in line to cross into Panama take a left and drive up the street until you get to a big red building on the Right side called City Mall. There is a McDonalds inside it as well and you will see the ice cream stand out front, really you cannot miss it. Park your car in front and there will be the typical hustlers that will watch your vehicle for a tip which will be less than the parking lots around there. Do not try and drive your car around the building though as you will enter Panama without going thru their checkpoint. I accidentally did that and luckily I was able to make a uturn and get back into Costa Rica but there was a truck of Panamanian Soldiers that pulled up behind me when I was making the U-turn and it kind of freaked me out as I really did not want to deal with that bribe. Inside they have all kinds of things from Appliances to clothes, shoes, food beauty products etc. In the food section you will find a ton of items that you do not find in San Jose. I like to cook and one of the things I always buy is bread flour (Bobs Red Mill) brand even. Probably 20-30 different products from that company. Condiments, hot sauces, Cheeses. Meats, all kinds of stuff that the Auto Mercado gets a fortune for in San Jose. I always take a cooler and cooler bags with us since I know I will be buying a load of stuff there. They do give a great rate on colones there but using dollars is the way to go in Paso Canoas and colones in Golfito. If you want more info on shopping down there I will be happy to answer whatever questions I can for you. For the record I have made 6-7 trips down there and have learned the better ways of doing things from my first trip. Try to stay away from Friday-Sunday if you can avoid it. Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best. On the Drive back if you can get to Uvita by 2:00 there is a BBQ place called El Toro Loco that I highly reccommend. If you do not want to make the drive back in one day and want a nice place to spend the night check out Coconut Grove
http://www.coconutgrovecr.com/ very nice quiet place and a short drive to Dominical for drinks and food open late.