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Costarica Hotel, Resort & Villa Reviews
Villas Nicolas - Manuel Antonio 06/28/2003
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
Returned recently from our first visit to Costa Rica. Travelers were my husband and myself (both 50ish), our daughter and her husband (early 20's). We were celebrating our daughter's graduation from MIT so the vacation was geared for relaxation and reward.
Flew in to San Jose and drove down to Quepos. The drive took about 4 hours but we stopped along the way and had lunch at a beautiful spot at the top of a mountain.
Villas Nicolas was easy to find on the main road to the park. Great location out of town but close to lots of restaurants and the park itself.
The hotel was great. We had two units - one with kitchen, living room, bedroom and bath, with a large balcony overlooking the forest and ocean. The other unit was down a flight of stairs and included a kitchenette, bedroom and bath. Lots of space and plenty of privacy for our two couples. The price was very reasonable compared to many places we have traveled to. The staff was wonderful, grounds beautiful with a lovely pool area, very lush.
We relaxed a lot but did three guided day trips arranged by the Villas Nicolas staff. Manuel Antonio park - saw lots of animals including three kinds of monkeys and three toed sloths. Rainmaker -an amazing canopy tour with bridges high in the rainforest and a most beautiful walk along the river deep in the forest - saw baby hummingbirds in the nest (a first for me) and a baby sloth. Horseback ride up the river to a beautiful waterfall with a delicious poolside lunch to conclude.
The guides for these outings were amazing, very interesting and knowlegable. We saw much more and learned a lot that we would not have done had we been on our own. I think the hotel staff did a great job steering us to quality activities.
We ate much wonderful food. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the guidebook recommended restaurants but the most fun we had was at places recommended by fellow travelers. Two to mention -Mara Luna - great prices and wonderful food. La Cantina - the rail car restaurant - great staff, good live music, delicious grilled kabobs.
The trip was just great. Weather perfect, people friendly and helpful. Special thanks to the Villas Nicolas staff for a great week.
Paule
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