www.CostaRicaTicas.com

i was down super bowl week and stayed at the amistad and this past weekend just back from a 4 day stay at taormina and for me hands down taormina just top notch over amistad. room i had at amistad just so out dated and needs to be updated so bad. room was small furniture all old and the bathroom could hardly move around in it so small. breakfast was just so so aswell. one day venture out to castillo to eat and took 30 mins to get my order in cause no one even spoke english to take our oder. looked like the maids were doing the cooking and had no idea what we were trying to order.
taormina is just top notch all around. rooms huge and everything updated and new and the king bed is just awsome. bathroom is huge aswell. the staff there made me and my friends all welcomed every day. breakfast buffett was great everyday and they are happy to fix you anything else too such as omlets. too me for same price i paid at both these places just no camparsion at all where i would want to stay

Has Taormina remained chica friendly? I heard good and bad stuff...have not stayed there myself.

yes even had 5 plus chicas at the sports bar at night. of course chica friedly by all means

Standard hotel vs Mansion style hotel....i prefer Castillo / Amistad set up, expectations have to be dialed back, they are on tico time...plus the all inclusive rate is best deal around

May stay at T to in the future, but no plans to in the foreseeable future

Been going the La Amistad and recently Castillo for 5-6 years
I never not had my order taken by someone who didn't know English.
The cook as the Castillo is probably one of the best in CR, he has taken culinary classes work at a restaurant in Italy to learn Italian food.

I'm wondering if you stayed in one of the queen rooms. There was only one queen room I didn't like at the La Amistad but I only stay in the kings/suite/pents now

Also if you paid the same price with all inclusive then it isn't even comparable.

I'll go check it out my next visit since I always have an open mind, but I doubt you'll pry me away from the amazing service La Amistad has provided me over the years.

It is but you must register every chica visiting your room at the front desk. Which is for your protection actually.

mh

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mh

Taormina and Amistad/Castillo have different business models. I find the Penthouses at Amistad with the all inclusive fully meets my needs. Additionally, should you hook up with a lady for a day/night date, you can include her in the all inclusive for $50 a day. I found the food at Taormina to be good, but also a little costly, especially if you have a date. I have never stayed in the Taormina rooms, so I cannot comment on that.
All in all, it depends what you are looking for and which business model best fits your needs.

To clarify for the OP, Dinorah who cooks the breakfast at Castillo and is also the maid, does not speak a lick of English....which is not too odd considering it’s a Spanish speaking country!!!

Taormina rooms though are unbeatable..big and clean with big bathrooms which is my preference anyway

Hmm... I think it might be that they speak Spanish in Costa Rica.


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What is the rate at this hotel?

amistad i had just queen room there and it was 89 night before crt discount and then the tax of course. taormina hotel was 81 bucks and includes tax and also free breakfast which is awsome. they will make you omlets or anything you like thats not on the buffet.

That explains a lot I think. Amistad Queen rooms are not the best, which is why they are the most affordable and lowest priced. If you book a queen at Amistad it's because it's last minute and all that is available or you still want to stay at the Amistad because it's the other things that make it great. The "family" feel of a shared house, the bar area to hang with like-minded guys, the excellent staff and bartenders, and the option of all-inclusive for $10 more per night which includes 3 squares a day including desert, liquor, beer, wine, and oh boy the pork chop!!

You should give a King room for $99 a night at Hotel Castillo. Some of them are very large and set up differently. Add $10 and get the all-inclusive. The rooms are all newer at Castillo compared to Amistad.

The $89 Taormina Room ONLY I would not doubt is better and perhaps the breakfast choices compared to the Queen Room at Amistad. But take $99 King at Castilllo and add $10 for all-inclusive if you also enjoy lunch and dinner and drinks along with you can probably get help from another fella there to help you with translation for your huevos and jugo at desayuno.

And of course the best if you have the funds grab the Castillo penthouse or Suite or Balcony rooms!

But if you only need a queen room at $89 that's nicer than Amistads, you prefer eat out around town, you don't drink at all, and want a larger spread of food for breakfast are your only needs, then I can see where Taormina would be right for that particular traveler. I prefer the other benefits Amistad or Castillo offer.

Taormina had the 2 hottest maids I have seen in a long time ..so that helps:)

I was up in the air about Taormina for my first trip to CR. The rooms looked great, but when checked the map it seemed to far away from the action of HDR for me as a newbie. so with the cost of the room, the taxi back and forth, chica rate and hotel chica fee, I wasn't sure about it.

Also I mentioned in one of my previous post that i couldn't get a definite answer about the chica fee. i tried e-mailing first, and then i called when i didn't get a response, and the answers i got did;t really clear things up or me.