This was our first stay on our novice visit to CR from flying in to San Jose. Our flight was a disaster, our rental car rep never showed up, we were stranded at the airport and our luggage was lost (at least for that day). When we finally got it straightened out and got in our car and drove up a rutted road to the hotel, we had diminished expectations of what we might find. But when the gates opened, I have t tell you, it was like Alice in Wonderland.
The gardens are unbelievable and natural, and the staff was very welcoming to a weary family who had spent many hours at the San Jose airport looking for suitcases and an absent rental car. The rooms are very creative and I take exception to a reviewer who said they are run-down-unless he means sterile sheet rocked boxes-by no standards were they run down and they were fastidiously clean. Add their environmentally conscious recycling and using their organic gardens to supply the restaurant and you have an incredible hotel experience-hard to quibble with. Are there any downsides-yes, the rooms are pricey-but in this case worth the beauty. Is the restaurant expensive-yes-but the food was perhaps the best we had on our trip. Someone said the 4 course meals had small servings on a previous review-well, I have a healthy appetite but I was stuffed at the finish- do we need to pig out at dinner? I was completely satisfied and I can't imagine wanting more portions and it was delightful, and we felt no need to leave the grounds.
Now, we were only there for two days at the beginning of our trip and it rained almost non-stop for the entire time, so we were kind of stuck at the hotel as well as waiting for our bags which did show up the next day, assisted by the great front desk clerk. There are no TVs or amenities like that and we couldn't use the pool in the rain,, so we got a little stir crazy-but we were tired from our long previous day flight nightmare and needed to decompress. My daughter got a little restless and the internet service was spotty-the computers were old and hard to use-don't come here if you re looking for that. We walked around, even in the rain and marveled at the lush gardens. We received a tour of the organic coffee plantation by a friendly, marvelous guide.We saw the dancing horse! The stables were immaculate.
The staff was eager to please and helpful, and the grounds were a marvel. While expensive by CR standards, we went on to discover other hotels that we paid for in advance that we could not spend one night in-so spend the extra $$ and enjoy one of the nicest places that we, as a family, plan to return to!
Was it pricey? Yes-but that is a relative term. Priceyness by CR standards-yes. If this were anywhere else, it would cost quadruple. And remember, in CR you get what you pay for and when we tried cheap hotels elsewhere, it was a disaster. So plan a trip to start off here and enjoy.
