The 25 minute twin engine plane ride to San José was pretty smooth, as was takeoff and landing. I expected a lot worse. This was my first plane ride in such a small plane. (There's no direct flight from Quepos to Tamarindo, our next destination, so we had to go to San José first.)
Costa Rica has two domestic airlines, Nature Air (twin engine fleet) and Sansa Regional (single engine fleet). Our flights were all with Nature Air, for no particular reason though - both are supposed to be good; both are carbon neutral airlines.
Turns out for Nature Air flights, you can have one piece of luggage that weighs 30 lbs and another small carry-on that can weigh 10 lbs. We had been told it was 25 lbs total for each person. However, this was only for Sansa flights. [You might want to double-check that this hasn't changed.]
Gorgeous views!
We're now waiting for the flight to Tamarindo. This one is 50 minutes long. Tamarindo was our second beach destination, still along the Pacific coast but further north of Manual Antonio. Playa Tamarindo was supposed to be one of the most popular beaches on the "Gold Coast."
The flight was fairly smoother than the first, just longer. The second half I just closed my eyes most of the way. I was slightly nauseous - I think because it was so hot.
In these plane rides, depending on where you're going, I'd dress the part. For instance, taking off from San José is cool, so you'll want a sweater or jacket. However, as you fly to a hotter destination, like Tamarindo, you'll want to be able to remove your sweater or jacket and have cool clothing on underneath. Also, to decrease the weight on your luggage - if it's an issue - wear your heaviest pair of shoes on the plane. (They'll let you take overweight luggage, you'll just have to pay extra, and they may put it on a different flight.)
In the Nature Air in-flight magazine, I read that guaba - a fruit that looks like a giant green bean - tastes like cottoncandy and watermelon! YUM!!!
When we landed, it was like stepping out of a plane in Houston on a hot, humid day. Very noticeably hotter and more humid than Manuel Antonio. We took a taxi to the Hotel Capitán Suizo.
This was supposed to be a "Best of the Best," and it was the most expensive hotel we stayed in so far, so expectations were high...and not really met. It was definitely nice, but not worth the extra money, I'd say. Of course, we don't have another Tamarindo hotel to compare it to.
The room (#51 - a standard room) upon first glance looked fairly simple but nice. It was located close to the lobby and the road, so not as private as we'd have liked. The rooms to the right of us seem to have more privacy and shade. Out on the terrace it's nice but HOT! The balcony overlooks the tropical gardens, and you can kinda see the swimming pool, but not the beach.
We finally had our tuna & cracker lunches that we had packed from home - our "just in case" food - and took naps. The naps were good, though intermittently interrupted by choruses of birdsong.
As I said, the terrace is super hot and super humid, but when you step back inside the room, it's extremely cool and refreshing with the ceiling fans and Spanish tiles. After spending some time in the room, it feels even nicer. You start to notice all sorts of architectural and design touches that are very well done. It's pretty spacious and open. There's no kitchen, just a mini-fridge with a large bottle of water, which we already drank half of.
I must say that this is the first hotel where the bedding and upholstery don't have that dank, damp smell that all the previous bedding and upholstery had. This place had nice soap also.
Granted it's midday, but this is not a place for peace and quiet, not this room at least. The traffic and staff are a bit noisy.
This is a view of the outside of some of the other rooms. There's supposed to be wildlife that you can see all around the grounds.
A large, inviting table in the open reception area.
The reception area.
The tremendous swimming pool, that gently slopes from shallow to deep. I've never seen a pool quite like this before.
Surprisingly it hasn't rained today or yesterday - our two beach days. We walked to the beach, which is a 2-3 minute walk from the room - unlike Villas Nicolas, this is a beachfront hotel. This beach has a different feel.
The sand is smooth underfoot, gray-brown, and makes interesting patterns. The waves come upon the shore long and shallow. The water in the daytime is blueish in the distance. Not as many crabs as Manuel Antonio.
After walking along the beach we got our refreshing, complimentary fruit drinks. Then we walked to a supermarket near Playa Langosta to get a few beverages and snacks - cured meats and cheeses. We walked back to the hotel in time for the sunset, which is supposed to be very picturesque. Beautiful!
Afterwards, we came back to the room, washed up, and went to the hotel's restaurant for dinner. I had tilapia al ajillo. Nick had el capitán. Both were served with rice and vegetables. It was good.
On the way back to our room, we survived a potential raccoon attack outside our room - two were in the trees, two were on the sidewalk. I wish I had pictures.
We sat on the patio for like two minutes. I was completely falling asleep. I took a nap on the sofa and then proceeded to bed. Yeah, I like to live on the edge.
El Capitán Suizo - would recommend, but would try something different next time
$419.56 for 2 nights, including breakfasts, taxes, dinners, and drinks (room, including breakfast and tax = $168.77 per night)
Other notes: in-room safe, phone in room, laundry service (charged by article), restaurant, beachfront, beach towels provided, free 24/7 internet in lobby, umbrellas provided.
next post > day 8 - Tamarindo
previous post > day 7 - Leaving Manuel Antonio
first post > day 1 - Adventure, Exploration and Relaxation
Costa Rica has two domestic airlines, Nature Air (twin engine fleet) and Sansa Regional (single engine fleet). Our flights were all with Nature Air, for no particular reason though - both are supposed to be good; both are carbon neutral airlines.
Turns out for Nature Air flights, you can have one piece of luggage that weighs 30 lbs and another small carry-on that can weigh 10 lbs. We had been told it was 25 lbs total for each person. However, this was only for Sansa flights. [You might want to double-check that this hasn't changed.]
Gorgeous views!
* * *
We're now waiting for the flight to Tamarindo. This one is 50 minutes long. Tamarindo was our second beach destination, still along the Pacific coast but further north of Manual Antonio. Playa Tamarindo was supposed to be one of the most popular beaches on the "Gold Coast."
* * *
The flight was fairly smoother than the first, just longer. The second half I just closed my eyes most of the way. I was slightly nauseous - I think because it was so hot.
In these plane rides, depending on where you're going, I'd dress the part. For instance, taking off from San José is cool, so you'll want a sweater or jacket. However, as you fly to a hotter destination, like Tamarindo, you'll want to be able to remove your sweater or jacket and have cool clothing on underneath. Also, to decrease the weight on your luggage - if it's an issue - wear your heaviest pair of shoes on the plane. (They'll let you take overweight luggage, you'll just have to pay extra, and they may put it on a different flight.)
In the Nature Air in-flight magazine, I read that guaba - a fruit that looks like a giant green bean - tastes like cottoncandy and watermelon! YUM!!!
When we landed, it was like stepping out of a plane in Houston on a hot, humid day. Very noticeably hotter and more humid than Manuel Antonio. We took a taxi to the Hotel Capitán Suizo.
* * *
This was supposed to be a "Best of the Best," and it was the most expensive hotel we stayed in so far, so expectations were high...and not really met. It was definitely nice, but not worth the extra money, I'd say. Of course, we don't have another Tamarindo hotel to compare it to.
The room (#51 - a standard room) upon first glance looked fairly simple but nice. It was located close to the lobby and the road, so not as private as we'd have liked. The rooms to the right of us seem to have more privacy and shade. Out on the terrace it's nice but HOT! The balcony overlooks the tropical gardens, and you can kinda see the swimming pool, but not the beach.
We finally had our tuna & cracker lunches that we had packed from home - our "just in case" food - and took naps. The naps were good, though intermittently interrupted by choruses of birdsong.
As I said, the terrace is super hot and super humid, but when you step back inside the room, it's extremely cool and refreshing with the ceiling fans and Spanish tiles. After spending some time in the room, it feels even nicer. You start to notice all sorts of architectural and design touches that are very well done. It's pretty spacious and open. There's no kitchen, just a mini-fridge with a large bottle of water, which we already drank half of.
I must say that this is the first hotel where the bedding and upholstery don't have that dank, damp smell that all the previous bedding and upholstery had. This place had nice soap also.
Granted it's midday, but this is not a place for peace and quiet, not this room at least. The traffic and staff are a bit noisy.
This is a view of the outside of some of the other rooms. There's supposed to be wildlife that you can see all around the grounds.
A large, inviting table in the open reception area.
The reception area.
The tremendous swimming pool, that gently slopes from shallow to deep. I've never seen a pool quite like this before.
Surprisingly it hasn't rained today or yesterday - our two beach days. We walked to the beach, which is a 2-3 minute walk from the room - unlike Villas Nicolas, this is a beachfront hotel. This beach has a different feel.
The sand is smooth underfoot, gray-brown, and makes interesting patterns. The waves come upon the shore long and shallow. The water in the daytime is blueish in the distance. Not as many crabs as Manuel Antonio.
After walking along the beach we got our refreshing, complimentary fruit drinks. Then we walked to a supermarket near Playa Langosta to get a few beverages and snacks - cured meats and cheeses. We walked back to the hotel in time for the sunset, which is supposed to be very picturesque. Beautiful!
Afterwards, we came back to the room, washed up, and went to the hotel's restaurant for dinner. I had tilapia al ajillo. Nick had el capitán. Both were served with rice and vegetables. It was good.
On the way back to our room, we survived a potential raccoon attack outside our room - two were in the trees, two were on the sidewalk. I wish I had pictures.
We sat on the patio for like two minutes. I was completely falling asleep. I took a nap on the sofa and then proceeded to bed. Yeah, I like to live on the edge.
El Capitán Suizo - would recommend, but would try something different next time
$419.56 for 2 nights, including breakfasts, taxes, dinners, and drinks (room, including breakfast and tax = $168.77 per night)
Other notes: in-room safe, phone in room, laundry service (charged by article), restaurant, beachfront, beach towels provided, free 24/7 internet in lobby, umbrellas provided.
next post > day 8 - Tamarindo
previous post > day 7 - Leaving Manuel Antonio
first post > day 1 - Adventure, Exploration and Relaxation
Comments
Post a Comment