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A nice hotel not used for mongering
https://forum.costaricaticas.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14122		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  Lawrence [ Thu Nov 02, 2006 4:05 pm ]
Post subject:  A nice hotel not used for mongering
My wife and I are spending the Christmas Holidays in CR would like a recommendation on a nice place to stay in the central valley not at the beach.
Author:  SeaRay460 [ Thu Nov 02, 2006 5:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Casa Conde
I personally like hotel Casa Conde. They are CRT friendly and have great rooms and good rates. Kinda looks like a european atmosphere, large rooms, kitchen, very safe, good people and quiet.
Author:  NYCMonger [ Thu Nov 02, 2006 5:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Great Hotel
Try the Grano Di Oro the hotel is really nice, its a few Km from down town and in a quite neighborhood. They have a 4 star restaurant there and the food is great. It's a converted masion. I stayed there the first time I went to SJO and unfortunately they do not allow chicas.
Author:  Zebra [ Thu Nov 02, 2006 8:38 pm ]
Post subject: 
HOTEL DON CARLOS :) Good place to take the wife. Excellent hotel.....NOT chica friendly. They also have an excellent tour office.

www.doncarloshotel.com
Author:  PacoLoco [ Fri Nov 03, 2006 1:01 am ]
Post subject: 
Heard someone speaking very highly of this place the other night, http://www.casa-roland.com/ he put his parents up there I think, anyone been there?
Author:  VegasBob [ Fri Nov 03, 2006 11:55 am ]
Post subject: 
Clearly the nicest high-end hotel in the area is the Hotel M. It isn't an obvious mongering hotel.It is discreet enough to accomodate a couple,in my opinion.
Author:  Jmacaula [ Fri Nov 03, 2006 2:21 pm ]
Post subject: 
The Marriot is fairly close, and its nice. Best Western Irazu is also a nice place, with a pool and family atmosphere.

Both arent really mongering hotels, but do allow "guests". I didnt see anyone bringing a girl back besides me at the Best Western
Author:  Dave [ Fri Nov 03, 2006 2:43 pm ]
Post subject: 
Without a doubt, Casa Vino is an excellant place to stay with the wife. It is an apartment with many amenities and has the Amon Hotel right up the block for easy, free internet service. Very centrally located and much privacy.

Have a Great Day,

Dave
Author:  Redman69 [ Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:34 pm ]
Post subject: 
As far as location and a great veiw. Holliday Inn Aruoa. Pool, hot tub exercise, Casino and resturant on the roof.
Author:  Azcentral [ Fri Nov 03, 2006 11:49 pm ]
Post subject: 
The Barcello palacio between the airport and SJ is nice but expensive. Will not see any ticas there. Has pool workout racketball and can usually find flight and hotel deal there. Mostly bussines people and families
Author:  Prolijo [ Sat Nov 04, 2006 3:55 am ]
Post subject: 
The places mentioned thus far are all nice in their own ways but also all very different. What it comes down to is that you need to tell us more about what you are looking for. Do you want to be able to sneak off for some side action or is this really for you solely a non-monger trip? Do you want to be far enough away and removed from any action such that your wife does not figure out how much mongering goes on in CR and spoil future solo visits? Do you and your wife prefer more of the smaller individualized and charming B&B type hotels or the larger chain type hotels with more of the amenities and atmosphere of the US chains you're used to? What is your budget?

I'm afraid a lot of the opinions offered so far seem to be for places that are already popular on this board for mongering purposes. That doesn't mean that some of them wouldn't also be suitable for what your needs are. I'm just saying be aware of a possible bias filtering into the suggestions as result of where you posted this question. Generally tourism questions of this nature might be better asked on a different type of CR forum although you can also get good general tourism info here as well.

If this is a non-monger trip keeping your wife in the dark, then I'd avoid downtown hotels near the gulch such as Casa Vino, Don Carlos, Amon Plaza or the Aurola HI. Otherwise, of those, my own preference would be the Don Carlos, where I've stayed a few times. That and the Casa Vino are more of the B&B type hotel. The Casa Vino, I don't know much about. The word on the board is that it is nice and also chica friendly, which is a big part of why Dave probably likes it but which may not apply to your particular situation. Dave actually mongers WITH his wife (lucky stiff). Yours may not be so open-minded. If your goal is to limit the possibility of your wife being exposed to the sight of older gringos such as ourselves strolling into your hotel arm in arm with young chicas and giving her bad ideas of why you're so interested in CR, then that is far less likely to happen at a non-chica friendly place like the Don Carlos. The Amon is also nice from what I've seen but more of a chain style hotel. The HI is definitely part of a chain and has gotten reports for being run down though it was recently supposed to have been partially remodelled. Of those 2, I'd go with the Amon.

Getting out of the Gulch area, you become more removed from mongering action , which can be either bad or good. Get out of the city and into the surrounding valley you also become more removed from the traffic, smog and congestion of the city.

The Grano de Oro is very nice. It is in the Paseo Colon area on the west side of town. It is just a few blocks from Oasis, if you want to sneak away. But staying there or even going up the street for dinner at Machu Pichu, which is directly across from Oasis, your wife would never even realize Oasis was there. The downside? It is a little more expensive than the other places mentioned so far.

Hotel M is supposed to be very nice on the exact opposite side of downtown in the nice residential Barrio Dent neighborhood. I went to language school right next door, but the place is new and wasn't there yet when I was there (or at least I didn't know about it at the time). VB says you wouldn't know that it markets itself heavily to mongers but that is what it they do and its hard to believe you and your wife could stay there without her seeing what goes on. Also, it seems to also be on the pricey side for what you get although that is mitigated with the great CRT discount you can get there.

The last of the SJ hotels mentioned was the Casa Conde. It is in yet another direction from the city center on the south side of town. I've stayed there too and think it was very nice. It is a short cab ride into town but the area around it has a lot of traffic as it is just off of the auto-pista that encircles the city. And there is nothing else in the area that is really of much interes. The Casa Conde itself is in a quiet gated compound with several nice apartment style buildings. I'd recommend the Casa Conde if you wanted to make it a base for your extended stay in the SJ area with its kitchen and washer/dryer facilities in each apartment (also very nice stereo sound system, TV and jacuzzi).

Pesonally, if I was going to CR and didn't plan on doing any mongering I probably wouldn't even stay in the city let alone in the Gulch (particularly if you plan on renting a car). The city itself has at best 1 day of sightseeing in it. It does have nice restaurants but you can still come into town for that or avoid downtown and try one of the many nice ones that are also in Escazu. BTW, while I'm on the subject of restaurants, I recommend you go to one of the Mirador restaurants that are up in the hills overlooking the valley for one of your nights. The sparkling city lights are gorgeous from up there. If you stay at the Casa Conde than the Ram Luna in Aserri is your place but if you're staying elsewhere there are also several in the hills above Escazu.

I've stayed at the BW Irazu too and if you want a US chain hotel that is devoid of any character then the BW is your place. OTOH, its very affordable, has a nice pool (if thats your thing), casino, Denny's restaurant, has plenty of parking if you have a car and is right off of the highway leading into town from the airport.

I hope this helps you sort out some of the options mentioned thus far. However, just to confuse you further, I'll throw out one more suggestion on a place to stay and that is the Hotel Bougainvillea. It is in a nice natural setting just outside of town. They provide a free shuttle that will take you into town and drop you near El Pueblo (which has many nice restaurants and nightlife) or you can catch an inexpensive cab from ther and go anywher else in the city. So the place is good whether you have a car for getting out of the SJ area or whether you don't. Just another thought.
Author:  AndySpb [ Sun Dec 24, 2006 3:17 pm ]
Post subject:  w
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Author:  Californicationdude [ Sun Dec 24, 2006 7:26 pm ]
Post subject: 
Hotel Nuevo Johnson.

$10 bucks a night.

Private bath.

cleaned daily.

right next to Central Market.

See how the Ticos live.

Pretend you're going camping.
Author:  Veelee [ Mon Dec 25, 2006 2:26 am ]
Post subject:  Aparthotels
There are several aparthotels that might also apply. If you are staying for a time, they have a kitchen, which for me is a big plus. It is hard to tell what you want so far. Aparthotels are usually chica tolerant, but it is not a big issue most of the time.
Author:  Czar [ Mon Dec 25, 2006 2:09 pm ]
Post subject: 
I went to Costa Rica with my boss [female] and her best friend also a female and stayed at the Melia Cariari about 10 minutes out of town and was able to hunt for chicas without them knowing what was going on. The Melia Cariari is a bit pricey but worth going to if you want to keep your wife in the dark. I even sent them white water rafting without me, which give me several hour to run around town. If you rent a car it’s a 10 min ride into town. 8) 8) 8)
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