Sleeping Withthe Toucans
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100 GREAT PLACES TO STAY IN COSTA RICA Web Edition v. 2.0 February, 2009; Copyright © 2007 - 2009 HayFields Science Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
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Manuel Antonio is Costa Rica’s most visited national park, and the strip of highway from Quepos to the park entrance – passing through the town also known as Manuel Antonio – is possibly the most tourist-intensive six kilometers in Costa Rica. Every kind of lodging is available here as are restaurants, real estate offices, guide services, and a smattering of ordinary urban services like grocery stores. Some places have been here forever, others are brand new, and we expect that turnover will increase as the competition heats up. But this is Costa Rica, and the response of most locals to an outsider’s prediction is a laugh, rolled eyes, and “quien sabe.”
After the scary one-lane bridges made of loose railroad rails (United Fruit built the railroad, and the town of Quepos to serve it, long before anyone thought of putting in a highway) and the typically-awful road conditions, one of the first things you’ll notice about Manuel Antonio is the abundance of pricey places to stay. We’ve seen them all and stayed in many of them. Our favorites reflect our standards and biases, but you might want to explore. The newest place in town is the totally over-the-top Gaia, but even with its own forest reserve stretching down the hill behind it, it feels more like Dubai than Costa Rica. La Mansion provides traditional European ambiance, a mimosa with breakfast, and celebrity cachet; we liked it, but some of the basic amenities need an upgrade. If you’re traveling with kids and want fabulous views, plenty of monkeys, and “jungle” stripped of all that annoying undergrowth, try Issimo Suites. If you’re gay or lesbian and like a gays-only setting, Big Ruby’s La Plantacion with its lovely garden and cascading waterfalls is the place for you. For an American-style resort with all the amenities, try Si Como No, or the more Costa-Rican feeling Costa Verde. El Parador at the very end of the Punta Quepos road combines resort amenities with a Spanish-Colonial atmosphere.
There are plenty of lower-priced options as well and a few in the
middle, but prices here are going up and there’s construction on
every corner. Manuel Antonio is not the kind of camp-on-the-beach
place it used to be. But here you are, so enjoy the beaches, have fun
with the monkeys, and spend at least a little time emulating the noble
sloth. Don’t miss Bambu Jam, everyone’s favorite place for dinner
and (check the schedule when you get to town) live music.
If Manuel
Antonio gets too intense, head south toward Dominical or follow the
Rio Savegre up to Rafiki where it’s just you and the jungle.
Who knows, maybe you’ll fall in love with Manuel Antonio. Half a million U.S. dollars may still get you a starter condo. Come to think of it, those pricey hotels may be a real deal.
Manuel Antonio
Keyword: Downtown
Photo © Didi’s B&B
Contact Information:Essentials:
3 Rooms
English, Spanish, Italian
Visa, MasterCard accepted (cash preferred)
Private parking off highway
Swimming (well, cooling-off) pool
Breakfast included, Dinner available on request
Room Amenities: AC, TV, Fan, Private outdoor space (upstairs rooms
only), Internet available
How to get here:
Follow the road from Quepos to Manuel Antonio; DiDi’s is on the left
side, just past Gaia.
Despite being on the main drag between Quepos and Manuel Antonio, it’s so well hidden behind the jungle vegetation that we drove past Didi’s a couple of times before we actually spotted it. Everyone told us it was fabulous, but the prices were so reasonable we were a bit skeptical.
Everyone was right.Didi’s is the kind of place that stays full due to word of mouth. It’s so charming and such a bargain that people can’t wait to tell you about it. After a stay there you, too, may be walking up to strangers on the street and ordering them to stay at Didi’s.
The house is two stories high, constructed of what looks like rose colored adobe (but probably is concrete block). A long, wooden verandah stretches across the front where rocking chairs and little scattered tables welcome guests. The small swimming pool is just a few steps down from the verandah (not big enough to do your laps in but, hey, you’re on vacation) tucked into the gardens surrounding the B&B.
The Toucan Room on the first floor opens out onto the verandah. Upstairs the blue Butterfly Room and the white and green Monkey Room (our favorite) have their own private balconies. Each of the rooms is artistically painted and each has wooden ceilings, fans and air conditioning (the room rates are $15 higher if you use the air conditioning), and expensive mattresses as good as any you’ll find in upscale hotels.
Apart from the charm and price, one of the best reasons to stay at Didi’s is the easy-going Italian host, Ezio. Pretty much anything you want to do is OK with him. Bring your kids? Sure. Bring the pets? No problem. Hang out in the hammock all day; Ezio will brew you a cup of real espresso.
And speaking of espresso, the continental breakfast at Didi’s is a treat. Fresh fruit, homemade pastries and (can you guess how we feel about our coffee?) that wonderful espresso. No other meals are formally served, but if you let him know ahead of time Ezio will cook you an Italian dinner that will knock your socks off.
Be advised, Didi’s is on the main road. That means road noise although it’s dulled some by the gardens and doesn’t continue on too late into the night. Didi’s is also right next to a nightclub. We weren’t there on a weekend so we don’t know how loud it can get or how late it lasts. But what the heck. Why not put on your dancing shoes and go join the fun?
Update (March, 2008): Ezio's just installed a new pool and soaking tub. His espresso is still the best in town.
Manuel Antonio
Keywords: Wildlife, Kid-friendly, Hiking
Photo © La Posada
Contact Information:
506-2777-1446 (voice); 506-8898-8251 (cell)
info@laposadajungle.com
www.laposadajungle.com
Essentials:
2 Rooms (1 with kitchenette), 4 Bungalows, 1 Apartment
English, Spanish
Cash only
Private parking off street
Swimming pool, Cold-water jacuzzi
Continental breakfast included, Pizza available at dinnertime
Room Amenities: AC, TV, Fans, Coffee maker, Microwave,
Refrigerator, In-room safe, Semi-private outdoor space
How to get here:
Follow the main road through Manuel Antonio toward the park; turn
left across from the Manuel Antonio beach one block before the road
ends. Turn right in front of Villa Bosque; cross the narrow bridge. La
Posada is on the left at the end of the road, just before the park
entrance.
At the very end of the road, just before it turns into Manuel Antonio National Park, you’ll find friendly little La Posada. We’d heard about it from our friends Kay and Tom, owners of Kay’s Gringo Postres in Atenas (when you’re driving through stop and get a supply of Kay’s cocoa bars to take with you to the beach). Then when we asked several of the upscale, high-dollar Manuel Antonio hotels which budget hotels they recommended, they all said La Posada. Like Didi’s back up in town, La Posada is a tiny, not-too-well-kept secret.
La Posada is tucked into the jungle, a footstep away from the park and a moment from the main beach. It has four brightly painted palm-thatched bungalows: Surfer’s Paradise, Parrots of Paradise, The Jungle Room and, this tells you a little bit about owner Mike Auvil’s sense of humor, Fisherman’s Dwarf. All the bungalows are spacious, tastefully decorated with bamboo and local art, and open onto the pool and BBQ area. In the main house, the Posada Room comes equipped with a kitchen and the Monkey Room has three beds and can accommodate up to five people.
La Posada is the kind of place we stayed in when we hitch-hiked around Europe in the ‘70s. Yes, we’re that old, but we don’t look – or act – it. It’s not the least bit snazzy or pretentious. Actually, it’s kind of funky. The rooms are simple but well thought out with lots of storage space, reading lights that actually shine on your book, and nice sitting areas outdoors. A hot breakfast is included in the room rate and you can get a pizza in the evenings. You have to go to the internet café down the dirt road to email your friends, there’s no bar (but there are plenty of bars and restaurants over at the beach), and there’s no room service.
But everyone we’ve talked to who has ever stayed there LOVES it. And we think we know the secret. There’s a camaraderie among the people staying at La Posada. Twenty-year-olds with tattoos, young couples with kids, middle-aged adventurers – everyone who stays there knows they’ve found a good thing. They’re enjoying hanging out in the hammocks eyeing the wildlife ambling in from the park or lolling by the pool working on their suntan. Best of all, when they get the bill they realize they can afford to stay another week!
Update (February, 2009): The main entrance to Manuel Antonio National Park has been moved to just a few steps from La Posada's front door. If you're coming for the park (and who isn't), you can't be any closer than this.
Manuel Antonio
Keywords: Downtown, Wildlife
Photo © Mango Moon
Contact Information:Essentials:
10 Rooms (avoid the least expensive room downstairs, which has no
view and practically no light)
English, Spanish
All major credit cards accepted
Private parking off street
Swimming pool
Breakfast included; Bar
Room Amenities: AC, TV, In-room safe, Refrigerator/minibar
How to get here:
Turn right off the main road in Manuel Antonio ontoPunta Quepos
Road (just after the Barba Roja Restaurant), following signs to
Makanda or La Mariposa. Start down the hill; Mango Moon is on the
right 200 meters past La Mariposa.
We rolled into the Mango Moon at about 10 a.m. while late-rising guests were still having breakfast. Jeff didn’t disappoint us: “No problem” to checking in early, sticking our bags in his bodega, and sure, he’d call somebody and organize a boat tour for that afternoon when the tide would be right for running up into the mangroves. We were invited to have coffee, enjoy the view from the big open breakfast area and look at the maps and bird charts conveniently posted on the walls. In almost no time, Paul Gonsalves from Manuel Antonio Expeditions arrived to collect us and another couple who were also going mangroving. We spent the afternoon on the water staring down crocodiles, spotting water birds, and feeding palm nuts by hand to carablanca monkeys that appeared out of the trees, obviously used to boats full of tourists with handouts.
The next morning we slipped and slid down the steep trail to the Moon’s secluded little strip of beach, making it back just in time for the great weekday breakfast spread: pancakes, pan francais, gallo pinto, eggs, sausages, bacon, all sorts of fruit – the kind of meal that lasts all day. Which was a good thing since we spent the day hunting sloths in the national park. We spotted the first one – a big guy lounging on his back way up in a roadside tree – before we even got to the gate then saw several more on our loop past the park’s beaches and up to the overlook. There were plenty of carablancas, as well as a little crab-eating raccoon that ambled over and sampled my toes – very gently – while I stood as still as I could given the circumstances.
The Mango Moon doesn’t serve meals after breakfast so on Jeff’s advice we headed over to El Avion, a bar/restaurant and general local hangout built around the reassembled hulk of one of Ollie North’s clandestine CIA transports. This one was abandoned at the San José airport after its sister ship was shot down by the Sandinistas, blowing Ollie’s cover and opening up the Iran-Contra scandal. Oh well, mistakes were made. Nothing like calamari and good tequila to close off an excellent day.
The Moon has a great little pool for cooling off in the long afternoons, the local congos (howler monkeys) show up and howl every morning right on schedule, and the view from the deck can’t be beat. Jeff can arrange anything and will regale you with stories of ex-pat life into the wee hours if you’ll just hang out at the bar and let him. Our only complaint is that the only way to get from your room to anywhere is to walk past everyone else’s sliding glass doors, so be forewarned if you have a strong sense of personal modesty. We don’t, and you probably don’t either, so hey – no problemo!
Update (March, 2008): A new stairway to Room #6 and some skillfully-placed dividers give the Moon's rooms a lot more privacy. But the big news is that Mango Moon has new owners, Brian Marshall, bass player for AlterBridge and his wife Donna. They've already added a Friday-night dinner with music for both locals and guests, and are planning more arts and music activities. Good luck Brian and Donna!
Update (February, 2009): New managers Rebecca and John are taking the Mango Moon to a new level, with two additional rooms and almost-nightly dinner service prepared by Diego, who we can attest is a master chef.
Manuel Antonio
Keywords: Downtown, Kid-friendly
Photo © Buena Vista Villas
Contact Information:Essentials:
6Villas, five 3-BR and nine 2-BR Houses
English, Spanish
All major credit cards accepted
Secure parking
3 swimming pools, Houses have private hot tubs
Private beach
Breakfast included delivered to villa or house, Poolside bars
Room Amenities: AC, TV, DVD player, Fully equipped kitchens, In-room
safe, Private outdoor spaces
How to get here:
Turn right off the main road in central Manuel Antonio at the gate
into Tulemar Resort, and follow signs to Buena Vista Villas or Casas.
Parking lots are near assigned lodgings.
Every now and then we think we’d like a house down on the coast. Someplace high enough up for great views and a constant breeze, but with a secluded, private beach nearby for morning walks and kayaking, and plenty of jungle for bird and monkey watching. Oh, and we want a pool, a bar, secure parking, and plenty of restaurant options. Most important, it has to be lock-and-leave; we like the coast, but it’s way too hot and touristy to live there all the time.
Big mortgage, you’re thinking? Not at all. At least, not ours. We just call up Buena Vista and stay in someone else’s beautiful lock-and-leave beach house. Whoever has been kind enough to buy these places has equipped them with everything we could conceivably need including quality sheets and kitchen gear, a fully-stocked spice rack and a nifty non-stick electric grill out on the balcony. If we had kids, we’d even appreciate the miniature Sarchí-style rocking chairs. Why stay in a hotel when you can have a whole beach house with all the mod cons plus an obliging staff to do all the work?
The villas are on one level with luxurious master bedrooms, big well-equipped kitchens, and wrap-around decks with spectacular views. The casas are two-level with peaked roofs, heavy Balinese offset doors, hot tubs on the upstairs balconies, and two downstairs bedrooms, each with its own huge bathroom. Two couples could easily share this space without getting in each other’s way. There’s even a washer-dryer – a good thing in this climate, but a rarity in Costa Rican lodgings. There are three pools, each with a bar. You can drive down the hill to the private beach if you don’t feel like walking and even park on a paved surface.
If you don’t want to cook, the friendly Buena Vista staff will deliver breakfast to your casa or villa. A new on-site restaurant is planned, but until it’s finished you’ll have to either use that nice modern kitchen or make your way back up the hill. The Barba Roja is right next to Buena Vista’s driveway and is famous for its sunsets as well as its food. Manuel Antonio is full of restaurants, and even the fancy ones don’t require you to dress up. The driving can be a bit crazy after dark, though, so you might want to take a cab.
There you go. Your own house by the beach? No problem. Just don’t tell your realtor.
Update (February, 2009): The on-site Tulé Cafe is now open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with its own pool and a fabulous view. Your order can also be delivered to your room, the beach, or one of the other pool areas.
Manuel Antonio
Keywords: Honeymoons, Adults Only, Wildlife, Destination Restaurant
Photo © Alison Tinsley
Contact Information:Essentials:
6 Villas, 5 smaller Studios
English, Spanish
All major credit cards accepted
Secure parking
Swimming pool, Beach access
Breakfast included delivered to villa or studio, Restaurant, Bar
Room Amenities: AC, TV, Full kitchens, In-room safe, Private outdoor
space
How to get here:
Turn right off the main road in central Manuel Antonio, following
signs to Makanda. Bear right at the Y-intersection part-way down the
hill; Makanda is farther down on the right, one km from main road.
The howler monkeys woke us at 4 a.m., and then the rain came – a torrential downpour with crashing thunder. We were visiting Manuel Antonio in October at the height of the rainy season to avoid the dry-season crowds. By dawn the rain had slackened, and we could see the roiling ocean below. Our favorite room here – #1 – is completely open: there is nothing, nothing at all, between you and the Pacific but the sheer-white mosquito net around the four-poster bed and 100 meters or so of air. This morning, rainy misty air. We drank our coffee, put on yesterday’s clothes, and set off down Makanda’s steep but well-maintained stairway to the secluded and very private beach. Aside from a moored sailboat or two, you’d have no idea that a human settlement was even nearby.
Some luxury hotels can be stuffy and pretentious or make you feel like you have to act right or even that you shouldn’t be there at all. Makanda isn’t like that. Here it’s just you, the jungle, the wild sky, and the roaring Pacific below. Everything around you is meticulously perfect, from the furnishings in your stylishly contemporary room to the instantaneous and personal service in response to your every need. Relax. You don’t have to go anywhere or even think about anything. This is just to be enjoyed.
Makanda specializes in weddings and honeymoons and it’s clear why. It was created for couples. The six villas and five smaller studios are scattered along a steep hillside, all facing the ocean, all with private spaces protected from their neighbors and everyone else. The villas themselves are enormous – about 1,000 square feet each – with full kitchens, huge closets and bathrooms, plenty of room for dining, relaxing, whatever. The grounds look like undisturbed coastal rainforest, but in fact 1,100 trees have been planted here giving Makanda a lush, dense and, especially in the rainy season, intensely green atmosphere. Birds, monkeys, sloths, and other Central Pacific critters abound. An infinity pool seems to hang in space over the treetops.
Breakfast at Makanda is served in your room by a very discrete waiter who raps ever-so-softly on your door. For lunch or dinner, drift down to Sunspot by the pool, with its hanging platforms and fluttering purple and yellow curtains. You’ll think of Arabian Nights, one of the luxurious garden scenes with the Pasha’s attendants somehow transformed into your engaging Rastafarian waiter. Pura Vida! It doesn’t get much better than this.
Update (February, 2009): Makanda is still lovely, but Villa #1 now has sliding glass doors and air conditioning like the other villas and studios.
Savegre River
Keywords: Birding, Art/Architecture, Horseback Riding, Wildlife
Photo © Alison Tinsley
Contact Information:Essentials:
9 Safari tents with attached enclosed bathrooms
English, Spanish
All major credit cards accepted
Secure parking
Swimming pool, River access, 750 acre private reserve, Horses and kayaks available
All meals included in room rate, Full bar
Room Amenities: In-room safe, Free WiFi, Private outdoor space
How to get here:
If you don’t have a strong, high-clearance 4-WD and a good deal of
confidence, call from Manuel Antonio and they’ll send a driver. If
you’re confident and equipped, follow CR 34 through Quepos toward
Dominical. Just past the Rio Savegre bridge, turnleft (inland) and
follow the dirt road through Silencio and then Santo Domingo,
following the occasional signs to Rafiki. Plan on at least 1 ½ hours
from Quepos. The road ends at Rafiki’s front gate.
It’s a bit of a safari just getting to Rafiki Safari Lodge. If you don’t much like those one-lane wooden bridges with no sides or are uncomfortable driving your car through river crossings where you can’t see the bottom, maybe you should hire a driver in Quepos and close your eyes for the tough spots. Once you’re here, though, you’ll be happy you came. A note in the guestbook has become Rafiki’s informal motto: “Where the bad road ends and the good times begin.”
The good times began for us with lunch – big plates of house-made South-African style sausages washed down with South African wine served on the wide verandah looking out over the jungle and the forested lower canyon of the Rio Savegre beyond. It was early afternoon, we’d been driving all day, and storm clouds were building. After all that food, we zipped up the mosquito flaps on our big South African tent and curled up in our king-size bed for a nap.
Sleeping in a tent always adds a certain sense of adventure, and it’s even better when your tent has plenty of room, a hardwood floor, a beautiful big bathroom with hot water, and a WiFi link to the outside world. We emerged cleaned up and refreshed, just in time for drinks with our hosts before dinner. Rafiki promises braai – South African barbeque – but we weren’t expecting perfectly-grilled very-rare tuna. Delicious!
Rafiki Safari Lodge occupies 750 acres of rainforest at the very top of the narrow Rio Savegre valley. Our fellow guests were all world-class white-water kayakers, there to surf a unique wave formed by the latest meanderings of the river’s massive rocks. Kayaking and rafting on the Savegre are a Rafiki specialty; only a few kilometers separate perfect flat water for birding or just relaxing from raging Class-V rapids. Lautjie Boshoff, Rafiki’s manager and resident biologist, will arrange a safari by water, horseback, hiking, or a combination of all of the above to fit your interests and adrenaline level. We opted for a natural-history hike and got an extended introduction to rain-forest geology illustrated by the previous hurricane season’s rearrangements of Rafiki’s landscape, as well as an introduction to local flora and fauna. Rafiki’s wetlands are a perfect habitat for the endangered Baird’s tapir, and reintroducing the tapir to these mountains – they were hunted out – is a Boshoff family mission. The lodge itself is step one of an ambitious plan to link wildlife conservation with sustainable tourism in the Rio Savegre valley, so by staying here you are contributing.
There is a lot to do at Rafiki so plan to spend a few days. After all, you’ll have to tackle that road again to leave!
Arenas del Mar is Manuel Antonio's latest luxury offering, competing with Gaia for the kind of tourist who wants a Costa Rican view from the familiarity and comfort of a North-American style, nothing-left-out resort. The rooms are well appointed, the cliff-top location offers stunning views, and the staff is cheerful and accomodating. There are two restaurants, two pools, and two beaches, all accessible by electric golf cart if you don't want to walk.
The El Mirador restaurant is top notch, offering excellent food, artful presentation, and impeccable service. Dinner is well worth a trip to Arenas del Mar, wherever you are staying.
Arenas del Mar stands out among Manuel Antonio resorts by being designed from the top down for compliance with the Certificate for Sustainable Tourism program, from the architecture and placement of the buildings to the efficient air conditioning and water systems to the staff training and guest information. Hopefully Manuel Antonio's many other high-end innkeepers will follow Arenas' example.
Reviewed March 5, 2008