HotelChatter - Tag: Costa Rica Hotels

San Jose: Aloft Costa Rica Won't Cost-a You Too Much

ASchechter — 2012-01-30T10:07:14-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/61268/AloftDoubleBeds.jpg" class="top"><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Aloft%20Hotels">Aloft</a> launches its second Latin American hotel this month with the opening of <a href="http://www.starwoodhotels.com/alofthotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3637">Aloft San Jose</a> in Escazú, close to the Juan Santamaria airport. Though Aloft Bogota opened last year, this is the company's first location in Costa Rica. The budget, easy-in-easy-out appeal of Aloft must have outweighed its flashier big sister, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/W%20Hotels">W</a> when it came time for Starwood to decide which brand to introduce. A quick <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/TripAdvisor">TripAdvisor</a> search reveals that until now, Escazú has boasted little in the way of hotels. While Real InterContinental Costa Rica and Marriott San Jose are both viable options (and also both boast killer spa servies) $149/night rates will make Aloft very attractive to cost-conscious travelers. And all

Guanacaste: Inside and All Around the Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica

JetSetCD — 2011-11-22T17:50:43-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6193/FSCRovr1.jpg" class="top"> Less than an hour's drive from the little <a href="http://www.jaunted.com/tag/lir">Liberia Airport</a> near Costa Rica's west coast sits the exotic oasis of the Peninsula Papagayo. It is an exclusive area, mostly dedicated to upscale resorts, vacation condos and the pristine beaches they face. Alas, there's also an Arnold Palmer golf course in the middle of the action, owned and operated by the <a href="">Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica</a>. What this means is the area is extraordinarily lush; just a drive down the hill to the entrance of the resort yielded us surprise spottings of white-faced monkeys, howler monkeys, a family of Coatis (omg baby Coatis!), and an iguana here and there. Once you've entered the lobby and checked

Guanacaste: No Retouching Required: The Beach at the Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo

JetSetCD — 2011-11-21T17:19:21-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6193/FSCRb3.jpg" class="top"> You know how it is with vacation photos. Sometimes you forget to turn off the flash and that expensive five-star hotel room of yours ends up looking cheap in the harsh lighting. Or the pool water isn't the blue of your dreams or a topless sunbather ruins the background of your beachy family photo. Regardless, everybody retouches vacation photos a little here and thereit's got to look great for Flickr, right? Well, we found one hotel where retouching is not needed, where the waters of the pool, the beach and the bay are that blue that sews jealousy into the hearts of your Facebook friends. We're speaking of the <a href="http://www.fourseasons.com/costarica/">Four Seasons Resort Peninsula Papagayo</a> on the

Golfo de Papagayo: Costa Rica's Eco-Friendliness Means Recycling in Your Room

JetSetCD — 2011-11-18T12:30:02-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6193/RecycPapag60_1.jpg" class="top"> We learned something yesterday while in the sky somewhere above Nicaragua. It's something shocking, but in a very positive way and it absolutely effects hotels. You see, Costa Rica is known for being green and expertly riding the wave of eco-tourism, but they're so serious about their commitment to the environment, that they're on track to become a completely carbon-neutral country by 2012. That's next year...like less than two months away. Due to their extreme dedication to preserving Pura Vida, Costa Rican hotels are held to high standards of eco-friendliness. We're talking programs that go above and beyond those "do you or don't you want your sheets changed to save water" things, though there's that too. For

EL ROBLE: The Times, They Are A-Changing, But The DoubleTree Cookie Isn't

ASchechter — 2011-11-16T09:00:02-05:00

DoubleTree has made their baked-fresh-daily walnut chocolate chip cookies an important part of the operation. So important, that the brand decided to embark on a Cookie CARE-a-van tour this summer, spreading joy (and sugar highs) all over the country.

But, as it turns out, people want more. What else is new? According to a rep for the hotel, Doubletree regularly fields requests from guests all over the world to experiment with different variations of the recipe. Add coconut in Costa Rica (DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Puntarenas shown above). Add more nuts in Siberia. But what the kitchen wants those people to know is: it ain't happening!