Costa
Rica Hotels
Prices are for two people in
a standard double room in high season, excluding service
and tax (16.4%).
A number of Web sites help
you through the lodging search. Budget options can be found
through Costa Rican Hostelling International. Low-end alternatives
are often referred to as cabinas whether they offer a cement
cigar-box motel or free-standing rustic rooms. Most have
private rooms, cold-water cement showers, fans instead of
air-conditioning, limited -- if any -- secure parking or
storage, and may share bathrooms. Owners tend to be Costa
Rican. Often without Web sites, e-mail, or links to major
agencies, these hotels tend to follow a first-come, first-served
booking policy. They may have room during peak seasons when
mid- or upper-end options are booked solid.
Click
here to see our list of Costa Rica Hotels...
Mid-range options include boutique
hotels, tasteful bungalows, bed-and-breakfasts, and downtown
casino hotels. Those in the hotter beach areas may not have
hot-water showers. Many have pools, Internet access, and
meal options. They tend to be foreign-owned and, with the
exception of the casinos, have personalized service. Because
they're generally small, you may have to book one or two
months ahead, and up to six months in the high season. Booking
through an association or agency can significantly reduce
the time you spend scanning the Internet, but you can often
get a better deal and negotiate longer-stay or low-season
discounts. Costa Rica Innkeepers is a good resource.
High-end accommodations can
be found almost everywhere. They range from luxury tents
to exquisite hotels and villa rentals, and are often more
secluded. You'll find all the amenities you expect at such
areas, with one notable exception: the roads and routes
to even five-star villas can be atrocious. This category
is sometimes booked up to a year in advance for Christmas,
and during this season you may only be able to book through
agents or central reservations offices. Resorts are generally
one of two options: luxurious privileged gateways to the
best of the country (such as Punta Islita) or generic budget
all-inclusives (such as the Barceló) that probably
run counter to what you're coming to Costa Rica for. General
local consensus is that the Four Seasons hotel is in a category
unto itself, unmatched in pomp and price anywhere in the
country.
Several chain hotels have franchises
in the Costa Rica, leaning toward generic and all-inclusive.
The upside is that they are rarely booked solid, so you
can always fall back on one in a worst-case scenario, and
they often have member discounts.
Nature lodges and hotels in
the South Pacific (where restaurants aren't an option) may
be less expensive than they initially appear, as the price
of a room usually includes three hearty meals a day, and
sometimes guided hikes. These, and other remote accommodations,
may not have daily Internet access even though they have
a Web site: be patient if you're attempting to book directly.
Since many of the hotels are remote and have an eco-friendly
approach (even to luxury), and air-conditioning, in-room
telephones, and TVs are exceptions to the rule. Consider
how isolated you want to be; some rural and eco-lodges are
miles from neighbors and other services and have few rainy-day
diversions.
Most hotels, especially those
in San José, require that you reconfirm your reservation
24 to 48 hours before you arrive. If you don't reconfirm,
you may find yourself without a room. |
