www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Hotel Freebird is an interesting place, overall I recommend it - Dennis and his brother are about as accommodating as possible and run a nice place. The rooms are a good size, clean and well-appointed (for SJ) and even the chicas like it.

However (comma), it has a couple of drawbacks. First of all almost nobody knows where it is and 90% of taxistas just can’t deal with the idea of going to someplace that isn’t a hotel they know about. “Avenida segundo y calle once” is not that complicated but most cabbies can’t deal with it. Calle once is a main drag but for these guys it just didn’t compute. My favorita tried explaining (in case my Spanish had gone flat) but had no better luck. I tried three successive cabs at San Pedro mall and none of them would even attempt it. It’s a 3-5 min walk from the DR; but for taxi purposes it might as well be on the dark side of the moon. One cabbie wanted c2000 for the c500 trip. Also ran into two hotties that had never heard of it and weren’t about to go there vs one that knew where it was and had no problem.

Second problem is noise. Suite 1 is between the office and suite 2 , connected on both sides by a door. Anything happening in either the office or suite 2 (sports events, arguments, chica squeals) is clearly heard in suite 1. Listen to the guy next door arguing with a (presumably) young lady in broken Spanish is entertaining but only if it happens before about 11 pm.

Other stuuf: Off-season rates: Suite 1 $78.00, $68.00 CRT price, Suite 2 (abt 20% smaller) $68.00, $60.00 CRT price. These are noticeably above average rooms as per the website photos, including microwave, fridge and island-style wet bar (but in lux rooms only). Also for some reason suite 1 has a toaster and suite 2 doesn’t.

Other 5 rooms are basic, std rooms at $50 (p1) $45 (p2) $42 (p3), except NO BATH, communal bath on the first floor for all three floors. These do offer the advantage of being quiet, away from street noise and squeals from the next room. For me, the lack of a bath is a big minus.

If there was air conditioning in any of the rooms I didn’t see it.

Fast internet service, however, is another real plus if you use a laptop in the room, best internet service I’ve seen in any hotel anywhere. Washer and dryer available @$2 each, or maid will do wash for $5 a load. Same day service.

Front desk manned (or girl-ed) only till abt 9 p.m. Whether this is good or bad depends on what you need. I never had a problem. Chicas are not registered at the desk unless you want to and come in before 9 p.m. One interesting thing, after anyone leaves your room, they can’t leave the hotel unless you open the gate for them from the inside. If there is a night-time security guard I never saw him. Dennis gives guests his 24hr cell phone number just in case.