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We are heading to Costa Rica in April – staying at the Fiesta Resort and Casino – are there any other hotels or resorts within 10 miles of there that anyone knows of. Have heard good and bad about the beach – any comments?
Carla,
The rooms and pools at Hotel Fiesta are good, the food OK, the beach not so good, and the water dirty. It’s very near the Port of Caldera and the effluence of rivers originating near San Jose, which account for the dirty water.
The attraction of Fiesta is low price all-inclusive, and proximity to San Jose.
A bit more money, and more travel time, will get you to Tambor (also all-inclusive) where the quality of amenities is much higher. The only negatives to Tambor is lack of waves (it’s on a large bay), the beach is brown sand, and the music by the pools is an all day thing. Other than that it’s excellent, especially for families with kids. Also, it’s close to a few other beaches, like Montezuma, which offer some of the natural beauty CR is famous for.
These all-inclusive resorts are terrific if you just want to chill, but they won’t show you the best that Costa Rica has to offer. For that you have to travel around and go a la carte.
If you’re fixed on the all-inclusive option, I’d switch your reservations to Tambor if I could. It’s well worth the bump in price.
I took a tour of the Fiesta Resort about 3 weeks ago, it has beautiful grounds, nice rooms, and everything is centered on the pools, which are many, huge, and sprawling. The hotel separates adult areas from kiddie areas, making the resort attractive to both families and romantics. The beach is clean, the sunsets spectacular, and the air tickles.
Yes, the ocean water is silted, but it is like this everywhere in Costa Rica, where rivers run into the sea, from Dominical (particularly dark water)to Manuel Antonio, to Jaco, and beyond. I understand the only beaches which approach white sand (a clear indication of water purity) are in Guanacaste, where it is arid and dry (and lacking river mouths). I can’t say I’ve ever seen a white sand beach in Costa Rica, at least not like in Hawaii.
If you like to surf, the Caldera Point Break is world famous, within walking distance of the Fiesta. The beaches are also largely deserted, except at sunset, when it seems the whole country comes to the beach to take in the splendor.
The only drawback to the Fiesta is there aren’t enough staff who speak English well. You’re going to have to always report to the front desk, where they do. And there is the constant presence of armed security, which may give some comfort, but made me feel I wasn’t welcome.
Be forwarned, you will not be allowed to eat at any of the upscale (air-conditioned) italian, american grill, etc) restaurants if you have less than a 3 night stay, but the open air main restaurant and separate showroom are grand, inviting spaces. The discoteque is the only real dissapointment, it looks like a dark, frat-boy beer hall stuck in a low, underground garage.
If you have a choice, take a top floor oceanside room, the view must be spectacular, and you will be away from the crowds on the ground floor. The hotel is a longtime Tico favorite, and it is always booked solid.
If you’ve decided not to stay there (as I did), and you’d like a more diverse resort experience, head towards Manuel Antonio, Jaco, or Playa Hermosa. The latter is my favorite, the bodysurfing is the best this side of Makapuu (Oahu), the water is clearer than most, and the rooms are rarely more than $50/night. A $3 cab ride will get you to all the Cali-style restaurants in Jaco (even Subway and KFC), Tsunami sushi, Texmex steak houses, plates of pasta, and pretty good ice cream too. At night, check out the putas and pigs at the Beatle Bar (where only the ugliest Americans hang out, better than watching TV), The Monkey Bar for train-wrecked hip-hop, or the Taco Place (I can never remember it’s actual name) at the back of the only mall on the strip, where stateside House music DJz battle local meringue spinners from opposite bars. The latter goes on all night long, $2-5 cover, wells to top shelf are $2-4.
Have a blast!
Johnzane,
I’ve never heard that a white sand beach is a sign of “water purity”. This is hard to swallow. There are black sand beaches right next to white sand beaches on the CR Caribbean coast.
I’ve never been to Hawaii, but I’ve seen some nice white sand beaches all over CR, such as Flamingo in Guanacaste, and Punta Uva down towards Panama on the Caribbean. Perhaps they’re whiter in Hawaii.
While rivers running into the sea always bring silt and agricultural run-off, I think it’s particularly bad by Puntarenas & Caldera, because the rivers there flow through San Jose, not to mention any sewage and ballast off-loading by ships going to port.
You’ll find much cleaner water almost anywhere in CR.
I think I heard that Fiesta was recently taken over by a large and prestigious hotel company, but I can’t remember which one. Like I said, it’s not a bad place, it’s just that there are much better elsewhere.
GringoTico,
If you have doubts about the relationship between white sand beaches and clear water, please do visit Hawaii. There are a number of famous black sand beaches there too, on the (still volcanic) Big Island of Hawaii, right next to white sand beaches.The black sand there is the result of hot lava pouring into the ocean, where it boils, and break ups into particles of “black sand”. Hawaii’s famous white sand is the product of the slow erosion of reefs, and the remains of marine life found there.
Black or white, the waters washing over these beaches are crystal clear. Jacques Cousteau’s son recently documented Hawaii’s new underwater state park, and it gives an accurate view of the water’s purity.
Still, there are places where rivers empty into Hawaiian beaches, and to great detriment, especially in areas where developers strip the jungle growth down to bare dirt, which rainfall washes into the river system, and dumps onto the beaches. This is what you see in Costa Rica, and there is no denying it in aerial photos of recent developments in Guanacaste and Jaco. The same could be seen in pictures of Oahu during the development boom of 1975-1990.
It is interesting to note here that soil runoff was so bad during this 15 year period, that the reef off Waikiki died off almost completely, and the waters turned muddy, which prompted environmental lawsuits against developers to stem the runoff. Without a living, vibrant reef, and after years of runoff, Waikiki’s famous white sands turned brown, and the state resorted to barging in fresh white sand from nearby islands, at least (they thought) until the reef came back to life, and runoff was diverted.
I love bodysurfing at Playa Hermosa (Jaco), but even on a sunny day, I can’t see more than a few feet ahead of me when I dive under the waves. I actually ran into a ray the last time I dove in at Manuel Antonio. At Makapuu beach on Oahu, you can see practically to forever. Honestly, there is no question in my mind that the whiter the beach, the less pollution in the water.
But seeing is believing, yes?
Excerpt from The Journal (Vol 3, edition 71, Jan 17-23, 2007), page 8:
– “The Hilton hotel corporation has announced that it will assume control of two major hotels in Costa rica, the Premier Fiesta Celebration Resort and Spa, located in Papagayo, and a second facility in Puntarenas…”
I agree there are better places elsewhere.
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