www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Gents,
I'm looking for a good $100 hotel option in MA, I will travelling in Feb. I researched some of the past threads, the info looked a bit dated. I will be bringing some chica company from SJO as well. I would like a hotel that is located near the beach and would also be somewhat easy to go to some bars at night. Any info/direction is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
FTF

http://karahe.com/index.html

i always post karahe because i like its beach proximity and the pool is isolated and uninhabited at night. not the greatest rooms i've stayed in but the staff is nice. german lesbians i think.

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im way deep into nothing special
riding the crest of a wave breaking just west of hollywood

If you haven't been there, MA is for all practical purposes two towns, Quepos, the biz center with hotels (none recommended), restaurants, bus station, groceries, banks, bars, and all that, and the barrios, and then MA maybe 6 miles up and down the mountain all the way to the beach. There's hotels from one end to the other. Most of the very nice hotels $$$ $$$$ are up the hill on the road to the beach and maybe 5-10 minutes by car to the beach. A bus runs every 15 minutes or so but you have to get to the bus stops. Costa Verde may be your best shot at $100 in that area in Feb, has a web site, nice place, spread out, get as far off the road as you can. That's a problem in MA, there's busses and trucks chugging those hills from dawn to dusk and cabbies and moto's and jerks with loud speakers all night.

There are only a few decent ones near the beach in MA proper (defined as the area at the end of the road and close to the park entrance). Hotel Playa Espadilla comes to mind, a few blocks from the beach, nice, quiet. Has a website, (also has cabinas--but not for me). There's also a few dumpy ones in that area that look decent from the outside. There's only two right on the beach that are decent, Karahe as mentioned is one but get the one's on the beach side of the road--they're newer, but small; and Verde Mar, which I prefer over Karahe because you get a kitchen and a fridge, nice to have coffee and beer and snacks in the room. Bring reg coffee filters. From either you walk right out onto the beach. Both have websites. From either, you can walk to the bars/food in MA.

Wherever you stay, do not ask if they have a chica fee or a CRT discount--they will have no clue what CRT is, just check in with her and that's that. It ain't like SJ or Jaco.

There is some night life in MA on the main drag, and at some of the hotels on the road to MA, Hotel Byblos comes to mind, and some in Quepos, Sargent Garcia's comes to mind. Since you're bringing your own, you won't need to worry aout Pescadora, but it's a gringo hang by Best Western. Ask around for the current hot night club, there aren't that many but it changes.

Anyway, check out quepolandia.com for alot of info and a Quepos map, and http://www.cupotico.com/maps/Manuel%20A ... 0maps.html for a very good hotel map from one end to the other with alot of links.

You will love that beach.

Byblos would be perfect--nice bar-restaurant and pool--casino

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I AM a Cien boy + Propina!

That is a cool hotel and I love the place and go there to party often, but a 10 minute cab ride ($5) or a bus with alot of stops (25 cents) to the beach. You said you wanted to be close to the beach. If that's not that important, great choice.

As you look at that site I listed with all the MA hotels, 98% of them do not have beach access--too far, or wrong side, or mostly too high up the hill. I'm not the type to take the bus, and though cabs are plentiful in Quepos, empty ones are hit or miss along the road to MA, they already have a customer from Quepos going to the beach or have been called for one returning to Quepos. Most times you will have to call for one and wait. If you do that, get all of their cell #'s for your phonebook and you can pre-arrange stuff and that will save you some waiting time, and also not be dependent on having a hotel call one. Best would be to hook up the same way with a few of the pirates (illegal taxis) you will meet, cheaper.

I always have a car because I go back and forth from my place to the beach to Quepos and vice versa too many times a day, and then elsewhere, 15km away at night. So, to me, cheap, easily use up the cost of a rent a car with my routine, and alot more fun to be able to move around when you want and like I say Quepos/MA is spread out. But get an automatic, the hill gets to be a pain in the ass in traffic. You can rent one there or in SJ. Quepos is easy to get to from SJ with the new Autopista, but rent it asap before you go and on line from the states or Canada, much cheaper.

Please post a trip report when you get home.

great tip on renting a car in MA. the taxis can be a pain not to mention some attitude. who do you use?

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im way deep into nothing special
riding the crest of a wave breaking just west of hollywood

Budget, hands down, best internet rates, and less bull shit about little scratches on car return which is the subject of a few whole other threads. Avis--the absolute worst on the return stuff--they've got it down to a money making science.

Budget has a Quepos agency at the Quepos airport, not sure anymore if Avis still has an office in Quepos, I always rent Budget out of SJ, 2 locations--1 off site at the Int'l airport, and 1 downtown near Sabannah on Paseo Colon. But other major rent a car co's are in Quepos, all downtown Quepos.

To me, rent out of SJ on the day you are leaving SJ for the beach and save the cost of getting there and back. Gettint to the autopista to the beach can be a little tricky depending on who and where you rent from, but post and I'll give you how to do it.

i would have no problem driving outside the city. so you taxi out to a budget and go from there? beats the shit out of the bus.

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im way deep into nothing special
riding the crest of a wave breaking just west of hollywood

Yep, rent Budget out of the Paseo Colon location and then you are only 6 blocks from getting on Rt 27 (Autopista del Sol--the new road to the beach), on the far side of the Park. Then you just stay on that all the way to Rt 34 and exit maybe 45 mins-an hour later at the Rt 34/Jaco exit, head south and you'll hit Jaco first in maybe 30-45 mins to take a pee and check that out and then Quepos 45 mins or so later. Easy country roads, and not like driving in crazy SJ.

love it. not sure why it never occurred to me to rent outside of the city. makes perfect sense.

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im way deep into nothing special
riding the crest of a wave breaking just west of hollywood

Yep, and all of the hotels in MA have some kind of overnight security or private parking so it ain't like SJ in terms of worrying about vandalism.

And if you want to just go back to the Int'l airport to go home, you can drop it off at their off-airport location, and they'll drive you over to your terminal. Again, a little tricky to get from the autopista back to the airport area and their location without going back downtown, but pm me or post and i'll tell you my way. Also, I always buy the gas thing, pre-pay a full tank to save the hassle of filling up somewhere before you bring it back. But to make that work financially, you need to bring it back on E=empty, fumes only, unless you don't care about a few bucks, because they do gouge you on their refill so be careful. Buy the pre=pay, less hassle, pressure when you have a ton of stuff on your mind re: getting home, just bring it back empty.

Make sure your internet reservation indicates you are picking up at Paseo Colon so they have the car that you ordered (it's a much smaller operation at their Paseo Colon location as opposed to their airport lot), but they don't really care about which location you return to. I also recommend calling the Paseo Colon office the day before your pick up to make sure they have the car you requested--a few times they have told me their computer doesn't match US reservations exactly when it comes to stick or automatic.

Even though they are better then Avis, take a zillion photo's of every scratch or ding everything wrong you see before you drive out and make sure all these dings/missings in and out are noted on the "inspection" carbon you sign.

Hotel Costa Verde might be a good option for your budget. Just google.

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as my father says "better to be lucky than good"

Hotel Karahe is nice but we had a ocean front room and were woken up every morning at 6am by a bunch of Elephants above us. They are doing construction adding a 3rd floor to the building and they work 7 days a week starting at 6am. I was very happy with everything else but I am on vacation i want to sleep a little, at least wait till 9am before doing friggin construction work.

wow a third floor. makes sense i guess. when was this?

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im way deep into nothing special
riding the crest of a wave breaking just west of hollywood

Stayed at Hotel Villa Prats 4 years ago during a fishing trip: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review ... renas.html

The rates were very reasonable.