great planning and travel support from Kim Kim
Costa Rica | Mar 25 - Apr 4, 2023

T
Traci S.
Denver, CO | Reviewed on Apr 08, 2023

We had a very positive experience with our planning through Kim Kim. Our trip planner, Yuliana, was extremely responsive, and recommended interesting excursions, and good lodging. We visited San Jose, and really enjoyed the Museo Del Oro. We went to the waterfall Gardens at La Paz, and really enjoyed that. We visited the Arenal volcano and La Fortuna. We’d recommend a hotel in the town of La Fortuna to have access to more shopping and dinner options. We really enjoyed the sky adventures experience in Arenal. We went to the Monteverde cloud forest. Cute town nearby and we had great lodging. We enjoyed a sunset, horseback riding tour that we arranged on our own, and that was a really memorable experience. Then we went to Manuel Antonio and enjoyed the beach and the national park. That was where we saw the most animals. Overall, we had a tremendous trip, appreciated the ongoing support from the Kim Kim, and Amazilia ongoing Travel Support while we were in Costa Rica, and would definitely recommend their services and a visit to Costa Rica. The private transfers that they arranged were great and the drivers were always on time and very nice! Pura Vida!

Hotel Reviews
Parque del Lago Boutique Hotel
San José

More of a hotel for business travelers. Didn’t have a swimming pool. But close to a nice park. If you’re going to spend time in San Jose, you may want to be closer to the town center where the museums are located. But the hotel was well maintained, comfortable beds, nice staff, and good breakfast buffet.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Close to park but 30 minute walk to museums.
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Montaña de Fuego Resort & Spa
La Fortuna

Far ($15 can ride) from La Fortuna. Very dated. Some amenities were closed. Hot springs pool needed to be skimmed cleaner. Nice breakfast buffet with omelette station.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Hotel & Spa Poco a Poco
Monteverde Costa Rica

Gorgeous grounds. Wonderful spacious room. Terrific restaurant. Made to order breakfast. Beautiful, well-maintained, short trail on the property. Lots of outdoor seating and picnic tables to enjoy the views. Extremely friendly and helpful staff. Very nice pool area. Our best hotel by far!

Authenticity & Character
Location
Walkable to town.
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Extremely comfortable beds. Very clean. Immaculate property. Spacious room.
Shana By the Beach Resort
Manuel Antonio

Good hotel. Very steep climbs on premises. Access to the beach on a private trail. The beach is where all of the snorkel excursions take you, so you can just rent a kayak and snorkel on the beach and save yourself a lot of money. Nice breakfast. Rather expensive Dinner menu. Good pool including adult only pool. Lots of monkeys on the property (balconies). Lots of birds. We saw toucans on the property! The rooms were a little dated and in need of some maintenance.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Difficult to get to restaurant options on foot, but the golf cart driver was able to shuttle us to the Korean BBQ restaurant, Carambola, up the hill. It was delicious.
Staff
When the air-conditioning didn’t work in our first room, it took quite a bit of negotiating to get a new room.
Cleanliness & Comfort
We had two king beds for a family of four, which was nice.
Hampton Inn & Suites San Jose Airport
Alajuela

Good location, close to airport, easy shuttle to airport. Pool on site. Clean and comfortable rooms. Very serviceable. Recommend a top floor room because the hotel guests wake up early and make a lot of noise above you.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Activity Reviews
San José - Arenal - Visit to La Paz Waterfall & Gardens
San José - Arenal - Visit to La Paz Waterfall & Gardens
Costa Rica

Nice hike. We were self guided. Nice lunch buffet included. Enjoyed the waterfalls and animals.

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Zip Lining - Hanging Bridges & Aerial Tram
Zip Lining - Hanging Bridges & Aerial Tram
Arenal/La Fortuna

Great nature guide, beautiful scenery, amazing zip lining. Nice lunch included.

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike
Monteverde

The cloud forest was beautiful. However, we were underwhelmed by our guide. Expect to see more flora than fauna in the cloud forest. Spent too much time milling around the gift shop and café areas and then in the cloud forest.

Quality of Experience
More time in the park. Wish the guy had used his scope to point out more interesting flora and fauna.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Spent too much time milling around the gift shop and café areas and then in the cloud forest.
Transport
Local specialist: Yuliana Valverde
Yuliana
Yuliana Valverde
Local specialist in San José, Costa Rica | Replied on Apr 11, 2023

Hi Traci,
I hope you are well.
Thanks for your time and live us this amazing review. It is very important to us to know how you feel during your stay with us. Thanks for your comments, your feedback is very important to continue creating the best experiences for our travelers.
I hope you had a great time here, and maybe you could visit us again in the future. :)
Warm regards from Cost Rca!
Yuliana