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Kyle and Sarah

Costa Rican Honeymoon

I met with Kyle and Sarah, who wanted to go someplace off the beaten path. They didn’t want a typical Caribbean destination. Instead they wanted something different with amazing beaches and fun activities. I suggested traveling to Costa Rica and visiting a combination of rain forests, volcanoes, and beaches. I absolutely love Arenal Nayara Resort http://www.arenalnayara.com/, a boutique hotel in the middle of the Costa Rican rain forest with views of Arenal Volcano from every balcony. The resort has won many awards and remains affordable, but I’m finding availability is hard because they only have 50 rooms. I then suggested traveling to the coast and staying at the RIU Guanacaste, a beachfront all-inclusive resort. It sounds like they had a great time!

Thoughts of Kyle and Sarah about their honeymoon:

We absolutely LOVED Nayara.  It was quiet and beautiful and the staff so very accommodating.  The little things made all the difference… the cool, mint towels in the lobby and the gym, free calls to the US, free internet access from the lobby, staff that goes above and beyond to make your stay comfortable.   Here are some more specifics…

Food: We love the included breakfast – there was plenty of authentic food to choose from along with American dishes.  There were always different foods on the buffet so we didn’t get bored. Dinner at the main restaurant was delicious.  We had the buffet ($25) and ordered off the menu($15-$25).  Sushi restaurant was very similar to what you would get in the US and prices compare.

Rooms: We loved the room.  The outdoor shower and hot tub on the deck made the room extra special.  Room was very clean and there was nightly turn down service. The rooms are very eco-friendly so the AC and lights only work when you are in the room.  The bed was AMAZING, so soft and comfortable.

Staff:   We thought the staff was great!  They were helpful and polite but allowed us to maintain our privacy.  Very professional at all times.

Travel:  We had very good drivers both from the airport and to the RIU, they were friendly and stopped for us to take pictures.  They gave us lots of great info about Costa Rica as we drove.

Riu Guanacaste

This was a culture shock…it was the exact opposite from Nayara, lots of people and a lot going on.

Food:  We thought the food was very good.  We tried all of the restaurants and the buffet and enjoyed each experience.  There was a long line to get a reservation, we had to get in line by 9:00 and restaurants were often full for that day and the next within 30 min.  You could really find food at any hour of the day, so we didn’t go hungry.

Room:  Our room was very clean and well maintained.   Lots of liquor in the room and drinks in the fridge.  We did have to call several times to get an iron brought to the room.

Staff:  The entertainment staff was great!  They were engaging and we enjoyed watching them when we were at the pool and in the evenings. We heard some complaints about the evening shows being “cheesy,” but we thought they were fun!

All in all we had an amazing trip and would go back to Costa Rica in a heartbeat.  The Nayara went above and beyond our expectations and definitely want to go back there.  And if we did it again we would go to the Nayara last or stay there the whole time.