In early March, a couple of buddies and I , spent a few days in Jaco. Our stay at Docelunas Hotel and Spa was a relaxing break from our rustic Caribbean accommodations. Located about a five minute walk to Jaco, the hotel is a tropical paradise. Jaco is a medium sized town in Costa Rica, with a hopping nightlife and an abundance of day activities including, jungle tours, snorkeling, and some of the best surfing in the country. The sunset on the beach was a beautiful mix of orange, red, and blue reflecting off the water. I highly recommend checking it out.
The walkways connecting rooms, pool, restaurant, and spa are lined with a variety of plants and colorful flowers. One evening, while walking to happy hour with another guest, I noticed a powerful, sweet smell that I had not smelled before. When I asked the bartender "What’s that smell?" "Ylang-ylang trees," he responded. "They make perfume out of it, and at dusk, you can smell them for about two hours." There are three or four on the property and they smell great! After a couple of drinks., I had a dinner fit for a king. I felt like a king in this beautiful paradise.
The pool was a great place to unwind, get on my laptop and take care of some a work. High speed Wi-Fi is available at the pool, in my room, and even in the restaurant. When I mentioned how pleased I was, the staff told me that they have a computer at the front desk for guest, a conference center with room for 100 and a top of the line audio/visual system. It made me hope that someday my job will have a work retreat here.
On our last night, a group of guests charted a fishing boat and came back with an abundance of fish. We all enjoyed fresh fish grilled poolside by the chef. It was a great last night in Jaco and I will, most definitely return to Docelunas.
If you are planning on going to Jaco, check out Docelunas. You won't be disappointed.

Recently, I escaped the politicized world of Washington, DC for a week of rest and relaxation in delightful Costa Rica. Factors for deciding my R&R location were: 1) Shortest time from San Jose Airport; 2) Sustainable Development facilities; 3) Reasonably priced Alcohol; and 4) Fishing. The Dolce Luna accomplished everyone one of my needs and then some.
Most happily I was amazed at how impeccably clean everything was yet toads hopped around the pool and Coatis (animal according to Audubon guide) happily paraded along the walls. This is a stark contrast from the chain hotels in the area which are devoid of wild life because they pour mass purchased cleaning acids everywhere removing all living things in the process. Even better was the price of beer – a couple dollars a bottle versus the 8 dollars a beer spent at a prior spot in Costa Rica. Those extra charges matter because, you might think you are going to the discount beer store but, you know you are going to wake up and get as far as the pool the first couple hours of each day in that bone warming, stress disappearing Costa Rican Sun. So lounge back at the Dolce Luna and drink a few at the start of the day and wash away the residue of work while keeping your earnings.

Finally the staff of Dolce Luna was a delight of humor and smiles. One smile multiplies into multiple smiles which are what I want when I escape the intrigue in DC. I highly recommend Dolce Luna because it will exceed your expectations. Now if I could just get some of my agencies contractors to exceed ………..

Beautiful, inviting grounds full of exotic flowers, trees and birds; spacious, tastefully-decorated, spotless rooms; fresh, delicious, healthy food and an outstanding team that consistently go the extra mile.

We were a group of six travellers, ranging in age from 3 to 75, looking for a vacation spot that would suit our diverse needs. We found it at Doce Lunas in the Jaco area of Costa Rica. We chose Doce Lunas in large part because of the positive reviews on TripAdvisor and headed there with a healthy dose of scepticism, hoping not to be too disappointed. Well, we weren’t disappointed at all! On the contrary, Doce Lunas is everything everyone has said and more: a gorgeous, comfortable and relaxed setting that is clean, well-maintained and perfectly suited for young children, older folks and everyone in between. What really makes the place shine, though, is the people involved: the congenial owner, Chris, who provided not one but two backup plans to ensure a planned teleconference was successful; the conscientious manager, Brian, who got out of bed at 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning to facilitate said teleconference; the resourceful (and handsome) Juan Carlos, who staffed the front desk with an infectious smile; the attentive staff who meticulously served the meals, cleaned the rooms, maintained the grounds and made sure the kids got a glimpse of the elusive kinkajou; and, finally, the talented chef, Shaibu, who whet our palates daily with the most delicious, fresh, locally-sourced meals.

My friends and I traved down to Jaco and spent some great time at Dolce Lunas!! The grounds of this place is beautiful! We ate a wonderful dinner there, all the food was prepared by the best cook ever Mr. Shaibu!! The owner of Dolce Lunas, Chris, he is such a awesome most welcoming man. If you are ever in Jaco you must stay at Dolce Lunas!!! Thank you for such a magnificiant stay in Jaco!!!