www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Take a look at the CRT map.

But yes. Take a right out of SL. Turn right at the corner and Castillo is about 100 yards on the right. Next door is Las Palmas resturant and next door to Las Palmas is the Hemmingway. Diagonal from Hemmingway is Hotel Don Carlos. Don Carlos is a lovely hotel but it IS NOT chica friendly. They used to have decent food a cheap prices but the last time I ate there they had raised the prices and the quality and quantity was less.

The Deluxe rooms at Castillo have AC. Most of the Deluxe rooms are in the newer wing at the rear of the hotel. The rooms in the newer wing have enough windows and catch enough of a breeze that I have never used the AC, just the ceiling fan. Room 12 on the 3rd floor can get a bit warm being on the top floor of the old house so AC might be needed in the afternoon.

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Women are like beers. I've never had one that I didn't like. Just some that I like more than others! --Western

Bringing this up to ask another Castillo question: What are the current bottom-line rates for the standard and deluxe rooms after the cash discount, weekly discount and CRT discount? I checked out their web site, but I take it that it's outdated. The CRT discount is supposed to be 25%, but that's off of what? The cash price or the rack price?

I will be able to make another CR trip soon, but I gotta go cheaper than I normally do, even a quuen room at the Amistad is too much. My target is under $50, I'll probably be happy with the standard rooms at the Castillo, but all those discounts make the deluxe rooms appear to be very doable, unless I got the figures wrong.

I've paid as little as $34 and as much as $38 (all inclusive) for a standard room in the "old section" at the Castillo. I always pay in cash to get this discount. E-mail Darren at hotelcastillo@racsa.co.cr, tell him you are CRT, would like the discounted rate, and the dates you plan on being a guest. Within a few days, you will get an e-mail confirmation with the all-inclusive rate. If all else fails, you can call him at 2-221-5141.

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Blue Devil

Pura Vida...enjoying life to the fullest...

Thanks BD, what are the standard rooms like? I don't mind them being small, but are they furnished somewhat nicely or are they old rat traps? Regular hot showers or suicide ones?

I've stayed many times there, but only once in one of the standard rooms. It was #3 at the bottom of the stairs. It is a smaller room but has the same amenities as the deluxe rooms (other than the kitchenettes). Cable TV, telephone, chest of drawers, a place to hang up clothes, and a nice size regular hot water shower, no tub. This room had very good wireless connection, as all the standard rooms probably have since they are all located in the main building on the ground floor. I believe prices for CRT all-in right now would be standard-$42 and deluxe-$60. If you stay over a week there I believe theres another 10% discount making it $38 and $54 respectively. And this is cash only. It is more on credit card. If you could go the little extra for a deluxe, #23 is great. King bed and a wonderful view. Hope this helps.
SeaBee

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Knowledge speaks...Wisdom listens

Seabee, thanks, that does help. Sounds like the standard rooms would be fine for me, as I don't do any partying in my room, just need a decent bed for sleep, a good wifi connection for my laptop and a decent hot shower. Drawers are also good. Don't need a king bed or tub.

I'm also considering the Dunn Inn, $50 for a standard room, tax included. Beats the Amistad's weekly rate for a queen room, and it's good for any number of days, not just a week or more.

The Freebird also has potential, fantastic prices for the regular rooms, but no private baths and no on-site breakfast is a big negative.

I concur with Seabee's assessment of the standard rooms at Hotel Castillo. The rooms are not fancy, but have all the functionality a monger would need. The staff at Castillo has always been friendly and helpful.

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Blue Devil

Pura Vida...enjoying life to the fullest...

You need your calculator but the rates are here.

http://www.hotelcastillo.biz/rates.html

Deduct an extra 10% if you're a CRT (VIP ?) - not listed on this page.

Standard - 50 * .75 (week stay) = 37.50 - 10% (CRT) = 33.75, * 1.13 (tax) = $38 per night

"Green" (wet) season, $4-5 less per night.

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Reviews with Name, Where we can find her, Description (Height, weight, measurements (best guesses will do just fine)), and a rundown on services provided (and yes, YMMV is understood) would be GREATLY appreciated.

I stayed in room#5 on the second floor of the old building. No A/C only a small fan in the room. No curtains on the windows. the room was large with 2 double beds. One mattress was completely worn out and the other not much better. You could see through the floor to the room below. The worst thing was the safe was on the floor in a corner so you had to get down on all fours to access it. This hotel need some renovation. I checked out the next morning and paid about $55 cash. Went to the Morazon much nicer.

Hank, when was that? If it wasn't relatively recent, things might have changed. If not, well, I don't care for wildly varying room conditions, I like more uniformity. Need to know which are the bad rooms at the Castillo so I can potentially avoid them, #5 is at the top of the list. The Freebird is looking good as a budget alternative, despite its quirks, it's all new on the inside.

A bit of advice in staying at an Latin American hotel.

The first conversation I was taught in beginning Spanish class was to state #days/nights. The second thing was to inspect the room before paying or even taking my luggage there. Then I could change or renegociate.

Second, unless I did business with them on a regular basis, I would reserve without my card.

You need A/C in San Jose? The other stuff is a dealbreaker, but I prefer a fan over A/C...please don't let the Ticos know, particularly anyone from Guanacaste because they already think Americans are a bit wimpy.