www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Update on ML hotel - I have it on good authority that they are really stepping it up at the ML to help us with the recent purchase & installation of 30 new in room safes for their guests. They are slated to be installed this coming month, SO A BIG CRT THANK YOU to Guy and the owners there for listening to our concerns and acting on them! And, they have a ton of new flat screens going in too! Plus, they have responded to customer concerns about wifi reception by installing new towers and relays and all the gizmos needed to have great reception.....more routers and boosters all over the place.......

We all know that we have some down time while visiting CR.....looking for things to do after our shit, shine, shower & shaves.......so be sure to check out this great spot.....IMHO, it should be given a look.....the place has class......it is like a 4 star hotel in the US - (think big comfortable couches)..... investors are doing many things to make it the classiest place in the gulch, and I personally like the layout of the bottom floor, casino, bar, poker room, etc.....I am returning & staying there for Halloween..............they have hired a new head chef too!

I am hoping they have those famous banana pancakes and big ass french toast for breakfast..with crispy tocineta (bacon)..damn good!!!I dont want to eat those too often, but while on vaca seems like the right time to splurge.

I will report back after my trip in November.

another subject - Baldi Resort in Arenal - one of my favorite spots - 2 hour ride from gulch.....at the Arenal volcano......fabulous place to take a friend for a day trip, but i heartily recommend one or two nights.....25 pools to relax in....all thermo pools.....hot hot hot water....its a great get away for a couple to enjoy....and good food and drinks........not included tho.....expect to pay about $200-250 a night for room, food, pools, .....but it is great......

I also really like Tambor beach from Puntarenas.....take the ferry to Barcelo hotel.....ALL INCLUSIVE.......all food, all drinks, all entertainment included...and you can ride horses on the beach from the hotel....fun afternoon....then lounge at the pool all day long...........decent rooms...try to get yourself a VIP setup for daily chocolate strawberries and champagne.....nice for the long siesta in the afternoon.......if you want any more info, pm me........important......BARCELO.COM you need reservations before you go.......dont just show up....and it is very remote location....(think Gilligans island) so you will have to bring a companion..... $$ to $$$ per night is fair......same as with Baldi Resort - bring a companion.....she will love it....a real nice vacation for her away from the gulch, and she is all focused on your hairy butt!

Jaco is great......i've stayed at Poseidon and Copacabana.....first one is great, second I will never return...(if I make it to Jaco this time, I'm gonna try the Cocal)...guided ATVs in the city are too much fun......2 hour tour.....ask for Pachi.....he will show you a great time.....and the zip line at Vista los Suenos in Herradura is a great high energy ride......personally i have done it 4 times on different visits and it is usually the highlight of my vaca.....i think I want to try the white water rafting....but after traveling over crocodile bridge on the way to Jaco, I am always concerned about what may be lurking under the waters....they say it is safe, and my friggin sister did white water with her two teenage girls, so I guess I need to grow a pair and just do it........

like I said, if you want any info, pm me.........happy travels............see you at Halloween!

see you bros at the DR and KL and HLH when not at the ML.......gonna check out 360 too!

DiegoC, Thanks for your really informative post. I really hope that the Mona Lisa works out its kinks. I would love to see them be a major player in the gulch. The new chef is definitely a positive move.

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" Omit no happy hour that may give furtherance to our expedition."

Bare in mind that they have a lot of rooms at ML. If you don't have a certain percentage filled consistently you run into problems affording upgrades, though they may be needed. It's not just as simple as seeing an opportunity to improve comfort and experience but also having cash flow to do it. I'm going to check out ML a little more this next visit.

I stayed on the 4th floor over Labor Day. The room was fine, but there were a couple of issues.

-No Wi-fi in the room for 95% of my stay (I connected to Dunn Inn wifi)
-The safe was missing (only saw the holes in the closet where the safe used to be)
-The sheets are still not fitted to the beds and if you do a lot of shifting over the course of the night, you wake up on a bare mattress

Quote from DiegoC on 9.28 above: "I also really like Tambor beach from Puntarenas.....take the ferry to Barcelo hotel.....ALL INCLUSIVE.......all food, all drinks, all entertainment included...and you can ride horses on the beach from the hotel....fun afternoon....then lounge at the pool all day long...........decent rooms...try to get yourself a VIP setup for daily chocolate strawberries and champagne.....nice for the long siesta in the afternoon.......if you want any more info, pm me........important......BARCELO.COM you need reservations before you go.......dont just show up....and it is very remote location....(think Gilligans island) so you will have to bring a companion..... $$ to $$$ per night is fair......same as with Baldi Resort - bring a companion.....she will love it....a real nice vacation for her away from the gulch, and she is all focused on your hairy butt!"

And if she is a Tica, make the reservation in her name, they get discounted pretty good. I stayed there maybe 13-15 years ago and I learned that trick by luck before I went. Something about they had to do that for Ticos in exchange for getting the maritime concession. Don't know if that's true or if it's still the deal. but it worked then.

Very nice place, all inclusive so you get the idea, the Euro's lining up an hour before dinner time. But that's all that there is to do in the immediate area, at least when I was there. It is remote but there is an airfield and thought I read here recently that Sansa flew there, kind of hard to believe and I never checked it out because I know I am never going back there. If not, a long ride and be sure to check the ferry schedule. I like a rolling surf and that beach is flat, probably due to its location on the gulf I guess. The only thing I would caution is that the Howler monkeys get real close around 4 am, very loud, so maybe earplugs?

I was planning on staying at Tabacon Resort next month (quoted $190 per night for standard room without food). I was at Baldi at 5 or 6 years ago before the hotel was built. It seems like pricing between the two places is neck to neck.

I stayed at Tabacon in April. It was nice and the hot spring are good. Very relaxing for 2 nights.

That's what I was thinking.. 2 nights at Tabacon. And then maybe two more on the Nicoya peninsula (Hotel Barceló) with la senora...

Just a quick note on the Baldi vs. Tabacon debate............I can only speak from personal experience.....I have stayed at Baldi 3 times and only visited Tabacon to check it out.....both are highly rated and I think that a great time would be had at either resort......but here are my thoughts since checking out Tabacon......

I toured the rooms and toured the waterfall areas as much as could be allowed......

IMHO, the rooms at Baldi are superior.....they are nestled inside a ton of rain forest type growth.....you go onto your balcony, and you are greeted by lush tropics.....easy way to set the mood for a toke or a shot or two....the cement border is perfect for your lil honey to hop up on as her seat and then your approach to body to body contract is really at a different fun level.....

also at Baldi, your rooms are centered in the middle of the resort....just a quick walk out of your room and the pools (25 of them, many the size of half a football field!).......are right within a few steps.....

the opposite is the rule of thumb at Tabacon.....the waters are located "down the road" from the hotel rooms.....you must either walk along the roadside, (think cars and trucks passing by within 3 feet of your bod as you carry your stuff with you), or take a shuttle.......(think cattle)....its just easier to manuever at Baldi....B....however, the food at Tabacon appears to be 5 stars while I would rate Baldi at 3.5 stars......

full disclosure - I own stock in NEITHER resort........lol

Very nice place, all inclusive so you get the idea, the Euro's lining up an hour before dinner time. But that's all that there is to do in the immediate area, at least when I was there.

Responding to this comment from Gersen about Barcelo -

I highly recommend quad riding in the closeby city of Tambor....the hotel has the information, but check it out yourself..(15 minute walk up the road)...negotiate on your own....you will save the upcosts......some guy rents from his home right on the main road....good bikes...I had a Honda 400 big quad two seater with electronic shift! That was bad ass! never had that on my own quads.......but I have to be honest here....its a fun ride but novices beware! riding alongside the beach can be tricky on trails that have 100 year old trees and the gargantuan roots they sprout right across the trail.....be careful! but if you are a seasoned ATV rider, tons of fun......lots of trails leading from beach to beach......

and then.....the city of Montezuma..on the island, cool spot for lunch and hanging out.........after that, DONT MISS Montezuma falls.................this place is A W E S O M E ! (beats the hell out of staying stuck at the hotel pool) ...... but you will not find it without a guide......cross through about 3 pastures of different farms to get to the entrance, then hike down about a few minutes (steep), while holding onto a steel cable strung by the locals, to some really great S E C L U D E D waterfalls and big pools........the friend I had was a tica from Jaco and she absolutely loved the falls, took some great photos of her tight bod inside the whitewaters of the falls, and then we found a log across a small inlet, and the photos just got hotter and hotter.....memories to last a lifetime......but be sure to hold on tight to your cam or phone!