Villa Romantica is situated at the edge of the dreary, unattractive village of Quepos. It's very near the road that winds 7 km to Manual Antonio Park. But there is virtually no reason to stay in the village - there are few shops, no decent eateries, two banks, a few rental car places, and the inevitable storefronts offering tour packages. And there are dozens of much nicer places to stay along the road to the Park - many with spectacular views of the ocean - and near the entrance to the Park.
The hotel itself is OK. A small step up from a Motel 6 was our first impression. Randy, at the reception desk, was very pleasant and welcoming. There's a small commons area where breakfast is served in the morning, an internet cubby with one desktop (small charge for internet use), and a decent little pool surrounded by tropical vegetation. Drinks (soda, beer, water) are available on an honor system.
Our room was small and a bit skanky feeling. The lighting was dim, and our only window faced a walkway (thus, no privacy with the curtain open) and a stone wall. The bathroom had a vague odor of sewerage, so we kept the door closed and the A/C on in the main room to diffuse it. There was very little water pressure in the shower. The sink had cold water only. Dogs barked nearby through the night. Definitely not what we expected for $100 / night.... as least judging from our stays in LaFortuna, Nosara, etc.
The food available for breakfast (included with the cost of the room) was OK but certainly nothing to write home about... and nowhere near as good as we had in other parts of CR.
Other issues:
When we arrived, we were asked if we were interested in having the hotel arrange for a personal tour in the park the next day. Normally, we are loathe to sign up for any tour, but we had only a couple days in the area, and understood that it would be a personal guided tour. Price tag: $40 each. Our personal tour started just after 7, when a mini-bus picked us up, BUT THEN for the next hour, proceeded to pick up 20 other people at their hotels along the road to the park. Come to find out, Iguana Tours had booked a total of 40 people that day, and even with 4 guides, it felt like anything but a personal tour. This left us fuming...
The secure parking area at VR accomodates 5 or 6 cars, but the cars are jammed into the driveway at night, making an exit impossible if you're on the interior. Our second morning we decided to get up early and drive to the park on our own. We were blocked in. We spoke to the receptionist, and asked her to alert the owner of the car blocking us. She said that she couldn't do that because they were still sleeping! We were furious, but chose to take a taxi to the park entrance (a modest $5 or so) rather than to waste our time insisting that the other car be moved.
When we tried to check out of the hotel, it took a good half hour - and there was only one party in front of us! The receptionist took an eternity trying to calculate what this group of four owed the hotel, breaking several time to answer the phone and converse with callers. When we finally got to the desk, we indicated that we were in a hurry. She started the same slow process, and announced there would be a charge for using the room safe! (The initial receptionist had simply given us a key to the safe and said nothing about a charge.) By this point, we had had it. We refused to pay the extra charge, put the $200 we owed on the desk and walked out.
There's more, but you get the idea: With so many really excellent and charming places to stay much closer to the park (something we didn't know before booking with VR), it makes no sense to stay here.
- Romantica Hotel Quepos
