www.CostaRicaTicas.com

GetRhythm and I had the pleasure of staying at the Barcelo Resort in Playa Tambor during our most recent trip, and let me tell you... it's an amazing place to go get away from it all with a special chica.

For about $150 a night, you get a beautiful all-inclusive package, including live entertainment throughout the day, disco (dance club) at night, casino, free unlimited local drinks, all inclusive buffets with wonderful food throughout the day, and there's even one special steakhouse and one seafood restaurant available to you at night(reservation required for this the day before you plan on actually going to it, but still free). Shit, just on booze and food we more than made up our nightly costs!!

Daytime activities are too many to remember - Volleyball, mini-golf, swimming pool sports, table tennis, pool tables, dance lessons, beach soccer... you name it, it's all provided.

The beach house provides kayaks, surfboards, windsurfers, and body boards (yes, all free). The beach was absolutely beautiful with a tide that had good enough waves and breaks in them to ride them into shore, but nothing large enough for experienced vets to truly show their skill.

The rooms were excellent... nothing spacey or extravagant, but definitely nothing to complain about. All facilities were modern and air-conditioned, and the beds were very comfortable. Service from ALL the staff, from front desk to the maids was top notch... great stuff here, guys.

Here's an address to the Barcelo website... they actually have similar resorts all over the world... GR and I will be checking out the Playa Langosta one in Tamarindo this coming weekend.

http://www.barcelo.com/Barcelo/en/default

DEFINITELY WORTH YOUR TIME...

DOWNSIDES-- The trip there can be a major pain in the ass. There is a ferry you must use to cross the peninsula, which leaves about every 2-3 hours. The ferry-ride for the most past sucks, and if you miss it or can't fit on the current ferry, you are stuck there with almost nothing to do 'til the next one. The process of purchasing the tickets for the ferry can be tricky... hopefully you have a chouffer or guide who knows what he's doing.

Also, the road to the resort from the ferry (about a 45-60 minute ride) is absolutely abysmal. Pot holes of all shapes, sizes and depths litter the whole way, which can be dangerous at night and quite annoying during the day. There's even a small river you must cross, and about 1/3 of the road crossing this river (more like a stream) has been washed away... definitely something you do NOT want to be falling into in the middle of the night... I almost guarantee you that you won't be walking away from that spill unharmed.

Besides the actual DRIVE there, this place holds absolutely no complaints from me... pm me for a good chouffer for this trip!

Ruffnutz

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You can also fly there. I've been there twice, flown once and it was certainly worth it.
I believe they also have a 9 hole golf course nearby (Delfines).

Very much concur with Ruff's assessment - definitely a nice place to take the honies for a romantic weekend. However, don't expect to see a lot of sunshine on the Pacific side this time of year.

Stay tuned for the sequel - "Barcelo-Tamarindo" - to follow after this coming weekend...(I know - you can't wait)

I agree with the report, this is a great resort. I think Barcelois even bigger than ClubMed as far as the number of resorts they have world-wide. Playa Tamboris great. Stayed there 2 years ago. It was $75 a person a night. Stayed there for a week with a tica friend from Puntarenas. But yes it was a drag getting out there. Long Ferry ride, bad road on the Peninsulaside with traffic congestion in parts. From the resort it is a short drive to Montezuma where I did some hiking and surfing. I paid a little extra to take a charter bus back to San Jose, which was nice because they worry about the ferry fare and Sunday traffic. The charter buses jump ahead of other vehicle waiting for the ferry.

Nice beach. What irritated me was having to pay a taxi $120 to get to samara. We had to drive through pastures, creeks , forests, peoples yards, and around a thousand obstacles. Didn't see gravel or pavement until we got to carillio almost 3 hours later. I'll come back when they build some roads.

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