www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Two blocks my friend Traylor. It's sobering!!

Let us know how you like it??

Dutch

I'm at the Castillo now, on a 5-night stay ($42/night, including tax - with CRT discount), and must say I find it a VERY good value.

I've stayed at the SL and Prez on previous trips, but I'll always stay at the Castillo from now on. Here are my observations...

- It doesn't have the "boys club" feel of the SL, and there are no "in house/in bar" ladies available on-site.
- If I want brotherhood and/or companionship, I can walk 5 minutes to the SL, and bring a guest back here (no fees)
- In room safe and hi-speed wireless (no charge)
- Breakfast (also free) is simple, but quite tasty
- Courtyard area (El Ranchero?) is absolutely delightful (am sitting here now)
- Service is first-rate. Manager (Darren), Asst. Manager (Art), housekeepers, bartenders, receptionists are ALL great hosts
- Refrigerator, coffee maker, and toaster oven in room
- New firm king-sized bed
- Nice bathroom, hot water with good pressure
- Good food at decent prices from Sonny's (next door, same owners as hotel)
- Imperials are less than 700 colones 4-7pm daily in the courtyard bar

This is NOT a knock on the SL or the Prez. I really enjoyed both. But every traveler has his own preferences, and The Castillo suites my preferences perfectly.

PS - I have room 18, level one of the "new" wing. I'm not certain if all rooms in the "original" part of the hotel have all the features above.

MacMasher, I completely agree with you.

I love staying at the Presidente, love the location, staff and service but after making serveral trips one starts to look at ways at stretching your dollar. The prez was booked in jan, feb and march, so I decided to check out hotel castillo and really enjoyed my stay there. I love the hustle and bustle of avenida central but that's the only thing i miss about not staying at the prez. I love the staff at the prez and walked over ever day to say hello. other than that Hotel Castillo is great. the staff is very friendly and always addressed my by my name. whenever I walked in they had my key out already, knew which room i was staying in. bringing chicas back was no problem at all and they never made me and the chica feel uncomfortable about what we were up to. they were always very polite to the chicas. i liked that.

I too will be booking HOtel Castillo for all future trips. I wish there were more people hanging out evey now and then, wouldn't mind sharing a beer with a CRT bro or two. I walked over to the SL on a couple of occasions since it's so close. one day I had a chica sleeping in my room until 1:00pm I walked around the neighborhood and ended up at SL where I dediced to grab a bite to eat. ordered some type of taco salad which was incredible.

Not a big fan of SL, also very expensive.

Oh, one problem i did have with the chicas... I told them I was staying at Hotel CAstillo and they thought i was talking about Saturn or something, never heard of it. It's like they only know Prez, HDR, Marozan, Hotel Asia, and the very nice but expensive Sleep Inn. Hotel Castillo? Is that in Costa Rica? I heard that a lot.

Thanks for the info. This is useful. Rooms are getting hard to find. I'm planning two trips both around Gringo holidays and rooms are scarce for both.

Xman

I get the feeling that the Castillo is trying to strike a balance betweeen being monger friendly... while still being acceptable to business travelers, couples, and the (very occasional) family.

With that in mind (and in the interest of being a good guest), I would recommend slightly more discretion with chicas than one might feel is necessary at the SL or the Prez.

Also - about the Castillo... I'm not SURE about this, but the CRT discout may yeild an even better rate in their off season (it seems their regular drop May 1, and the discount is percentage-based).

Hey Macmasher,

Enjoy your upcoming trip!

RHM

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Eu gosto de brasileiras...

Does Crazy Lisa still work at the front desk?
Last time I stayed there she told me some Canadien had asked her to marry him and she was moving to Moose Jaw or some place like that...

PIDD

Pidd,

She's probably in Moosejaw as there's only Patricia and Marta; unless things have changed since January. Excellent accomodations for the denero.
Who was Crazy Lisa !!!

_________________
Que ???
Paz,
Sluthog

Never met a Crazy Lisa but Patricia is friendly, efficient and fun. I really like the service staff at Castillo....they have the same desire to please as the Sportsman and the Presidente.

To each his own, but I like to believe that you get what you pay for.

IMHO, I don't mind paying a little more for a nice room, extremely hospitable staff, nice bar area, great place to shoot the shit with some of the CRT goodfellaz, good food and good atmosphere. Factor in the CRT discount, and the "no chica fees", and (realistically) you're not paying that much more! But as I said.... just my opinion.
Mikey-B

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

Based largely on the reviews in this thread, I stayed here with a friend at the end of Feb. I concur with all of the posts. A good value and very nice people.

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SlickWings


Seems like I spend half my life drinking, gambling, and mongering. The other half... I waste.

Sounds like the Castillo is the up and coming property for mongers. Nice to have an additional choice particularly one that is a bit more economical.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I will be checking into the castillo on the 15th.......I will offer up my opinion after my visit.....but from speaking with Darren over the phone and several emails , I'm sure everything will be fine.....hes been more than gracious answering my questions and offering his help with anything and everything.