My Travel Optimizer

This is a good website for finding hotels in Costa Rica. It passes the acid test with me because it includes most of the budget accommodations that I frequent in Manuel Antonio. You can find Cuptico here. I’ve linked to the Manuel Antonio page but you can click on “Home” and choose other areas.

I’ve been around a lot. When I was younger I lived in South America and Africa. We lived well due to the exchange rate and company perks. I had a chance to stay in some fancy-schmancy digs like the Norfolk in Kenya and a Sheraton cruise ship on the Nile.

Despite all that I’m still a big fan of budget hotels. When I travel I’m very active and there is no reason for me to spend big dollars on a high end resort that I will only use to sleep and bathe. With your eyes closed, the Waldorf Astoria and Motel 6 look the same. My concerns are safety, cleanliness, comfort and safety. That’s not a typo. I typed safety twice on purpose. Safety is always a priority with me no matter where I am at. When you are in Costa Rica and driving a rental car make sure there is a guard or at least a locked gate to protect your car at night. Its better to have a room facing an inner courtyard or the Hotel office. Naturally if you are deep in the rain forest at an eco-lodge you can relax a bit more. Even so, a little bit of caution never hurts.

I’ve yet to have a bad experience at one of the budget lodgings I’ve used. Ironically the one theft I suffered was at pricey lodge in Tortuguero. It was a large family-outing type thing. The older folks like amenities and included meals. They spend more time around the pool than most of the young people. Our room was all the way on the end and some thieves broke in and stole some clothes and CD walkmen and stuff (this a while ago). The passports were in the safe and we our money and credit card on us so it wasn’t a huge deal. Actually I felt bad for the thieves. It must suck to be so poor that you find a used pair of jeans worth stealing.

Like I said, it was no big deal. It didn’t ruin the vacation. The Lodge moved us to a room near the office. The guard for the hotel was an amusing fellow. After the robbery was discovered (this was in the evening) he showed up and fired several shots into the jungle with his revolver. It was his tactful way of saying “Don’t come around here no more.” Lest you think gunfire is the norm you should know that Costa Rica is not as full of handguns as the United States but security personnel are allowed to carry them.

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