www.CostaRicaTicas.com

has any1 stayed here? is it worth the money? thanks, mike

MrM

Please dont take offence but I notice all your posts are in Upper Case which is considered SHOUTING. Maybe check your caps lock before you post. Thanks and welcome to the board

my bad

Mike,
Maybe you could tell us a little more about your circumstances. Whether something is worth it to someone or not often depends on their situation. I do know you're a beach person and I know that VC is not on the beach, but atop a a tall cliff overlooking the ocean. I haven't stayed at the Villa Calleta myself, but have been curious about it for quite some time. It looks to me like it would be a great place to take a gringa. Are you travelling with a wife or girlfriend? Or do you plan to find some chica in SJ to bring there with you or pick up some local hottie to bring back to the hotel? Do you plan on renting a car or hiring a driver? If you bring your own fulltime date it might be okay, but I suspect it would be overkill for most chicas. You'll impress them more if you fork over the money to them directly rather than to an expensive hotel. For most of them even the Best Western is impressive enough. If you plan to stay there alone but bring back chicas you pick up in town, you have a couple of things to consider. Do they allow "guests"? Some hotels, particularly classier ones may frown on your parading a working girl through their lobby. Make sure they have no problem with that sort of activity before you reserve a space. Secondly, VC is near to the town of Jaco but not overly close. You probably won't want to drive back from town yourself after dark and having been drinking. If you have a driver you have to add his expenses on to your budget and you could grab a taxi but that might be an extra hassle. I don't know much about your circumstances, but I think if you are planning to visit Jaco Beach and partake of the nightlife in town, you would probably be better off at a hotel closer to town.

I am coming there on may 10, 2005. We are just thinking about moving there, but definitely want to see what CR has to offer. We are probably going to rent a car for a few weeks and just move around a lot. I was actually trying to find somewhere that is near the beach in a kind of quiet area where there is a chance to get a small piece of property and possibly build or purchase a small house on or near the beach. I speak some spanish , but not fluently. I am half cuban/american and my wife is asian. But my wife let me bring back a couple hotties if im lucky, real lucky. Anyway , thanks for all your help! Mrmike

Like I said, if you're going with your wife, she'll probably love the place. I still can't say if its worth it. If you stay there please post a review and let us know how it was.

Now buying beachfront property in CR is another topic altogether. You may have missed the boat on the Jaco area, as it has gotten pricey by Tico standards, though is still much cheaper than anything similar you would find in Florida. But prices are still going up. Another super hot area is in the Guanacaste beaches, that I mentioned in another thread. Since they made the Liberia airport an international airport and improved the road to the beach, that area is booming with americans and other foreign investors. Unfortunately it looks like it might be heading in the same direction as the beachfront properties in Florida, overdeveloped with highrise buildings. Nosara and Samara beaches in the middle of the Nicoya peninsula are a bit more remote and may have more of that quiet (and affordability) you are looking for.

Another area still on the cusp and just a little but further off the beaten path that you might want to check out is Dominical. It is more of a surfer beach but as yet still largely undeveloped. It is about an hour south of Quepos or 3-4 hours from SJ if you go through Cartago and San Isidro de General. I beleive there is talk of improving the road from Quepos, which would bring more development and enhance property values if it ever takes place. I'm not a beach person but if I were that is definitely one place I'd be looking into.

I like CR because I like the warm climate, but I also like the mountains and I like the fact that there is a bustling civilized city close by in the middle of it all. If I were a beach person and wanted someplace quiet and affordable to get away from it all. I might consider other places than CR, that have nice beaches and are considerably cheaper. Nicaragua is one place that comes to mind. You might want to check out http://www.escapeartist.com which has information on living/retiring/working/investing/buying property in all sorts of foreign countries. Just keep in mind that any property advertised over the internet is not likely to be typical of the best deals one can find since it is targeted at wealthy westerners, but it will give you lots of ideas and info.