IDENTITY CARD
Formalities Valid passport. A visa is not required.
Area code : +506.
Currency The Colon (CRC), a tribute to Christopher Columbus. 1 E = 672 CRC (Sept. 2017). Please note that US dollars are accepted everywhere.
Best season The climate is tropical throughout the country. There are two seasons. A dry season from December to April, and a wet season from May to November, with heavy rainfall, usually in the late afternoon. There are, however, countless microclimates depending on altitude or the coastline chosen, whether the Pacific Ocean or the Caribbean Sea.
Time difference : -8h. in summer and -7h. in winter.
Group size : Small, exclusive groups, even if Costa Rica is perfectly equipped in terms of hotels.
GETTING THERE
Iberia offers a daily flight between Madrid Barajas and San José de Costa Rica, lasting 10.45 hours. Departure from the Spanish capital is at 11.50am, leaving connecting passengers from Paris time to catch the 7.30am flight from Orly airport. Arrival in San José is at 2.35pm local time. On the return leg, the flight takes off at 4.05pm and lands at 10.35am the following morning. These flights are operated on the new A330-200s recently added to the Iberia fleet.
With 19 seats in Business and 269 in Economy, with more ergonomic seats in both classes, the aircraft is also equipped with a new in-flight entertainment system featuring a touch screen, integrated WiFi and a portal allowing passengers to connect to the Internet using their own terminals.
Tel: 0 825 800 965 - Internet: www.iberia.com
TO FIND OUT MORE
No official representation in Paris. For further information, visit the Costa Rica Tourist Office website: visitcostarica.com
San José
HOTELS
Studio Hotel
Paintings, sculptures, more paintings and more sculptures... everywhere, in the reception hall, in the bar, in the corridors leading to the rooms, outside...
There's no doubt about it: the owner is a collector of Costa Rican contemporary art, some excellent, some not so good... In any case, the tone is set for this boutique hotel, which doesn't push itself too hard and distils a young, relaxed atmosphere, particularly by the pool, sheltered under a giant parasol, and in its restaurant, which opens onto the street, inviting the locals to take a seat at a table. Which they do, brightening up the place with their cheerfulness. The menu is very simple, very affordable, and the service is smiling. It's a shame, though, as the establishment is located on the outskirts of town. 82 rooms, seven meeting rooms for 10 to 120 people, two restaurants, bar and swimming pool.
Santa Ana, 750 m. sur de Forum I. - Tel: +506 2282 0505 - Email: reservationes@costaricastudiohotel.com - Internet : www.costaricastudiohotel.com
Balmoral
This hotel's major asset is its location right in the city centre, on a pedestrian street, opening onto a public shopping arcade and just a stone's throw from the opera and the Musée de l'Or. The rooms, all recently refurbished, are tastefully decorated and above all unpretentious. Note that its huge restaurant-pizzeria opens directly onto the pedestrian thoroughfare, and therefore onto the life of the city.
113 rooms, a restaurant, café and bar, bodeguita and seven meeting rooms for 7 to 115 participants.
Avenida Central, between 7 § 9. - Tel: +506 2222 5022 - Email: reservas@balmoral.co.cr - Internet : www.balmoral.co.cr
Intercontinental
It's big, it's beautiful and it's very contemporary, both in design and decoration. The landscaped outdoor pool is fabulous and the spa is the largest in Central America. The convention centre, with its 21 meeting rooms for up to 1,500 people, is the largest in San José. The InterContinental is located in the Multiplaza Escazu, San José's most exclusive shopping complex. 372 rooms and suites, four restaurants, swimming pool, spa, 13 meeting rooms.
Prospero Fernandez Highway. In front of Multiplaza shopping centre, Escazu. Tel: +506 2 220821 00 - Internet: www.realhotelsandresorts.com or www.ihg.com
Courtyard by Mariott Escazu
Charming, in the very chic Escazu district, with a false air of a South American hacienda. The tones are red ochre, the furniture is inspired by rustic colonial style and the whole place is extremely warm and welcoming. In short, a corporate hotel with a holiday feel. An amusing detail: pizotes, adorable and very cheeky little animals the size of small dogs, which are to Costa Rica what racoons are to the United States, sometimes invite themselves into the reception area. Guests are delighted. 120 rooms, a
restaurant, an outdoor swimming pool, a fitness room and three meeting rooms for 12 to 120 people.
Autopista Prospero Fernandez, Plaza Itskatsu. - Tel: +506 2208 3000 - Internet:
www.courtyardsanjosehotel.com
Monteverde
HOTELS
Fonda Vela
The forest, the immensity of the forest and... a very large open clearing on the hillside. From here, you can dominate everything and, when the weather is clear, you can even see the Pacific Ocean in the distance and the Arenal volcano on the other side. So it was here, in this great natural setting, that the Smith brothers chose to set up their Fonda Vela lodge hotel. Wood panelling for a mountain touch, almost black furniture for Latin America and, in the bedrooms, completely glazed walls so you can watch the animals from your bed, and sometimes parrots or toucans. The atmosphere is unpretentious - a trekking experience - and the service extremely friendly. 42 rooms, two restaurants, indoor pool and giant whirlpool to recover from the fatigue of excursions to Monteverde Park, 2 km away.
Santa Elena/Monteverde, Puntarenas. P.O. Box 12-56-55 - Tel: +506 2645 5125 - Email: info@fondavels.com - Internet : www.fondavela.com
Guanacaste (Pacific coast)
HOTELS
Bosque del Mar
It doesn't get much closer to the sea than this boutique hotel, which sits right on the beach, in the centre of a garden of hundred-year-old trees that create a sensual tropical forest glow even in some of the rooms. Architecturally very successful, with balconies, small terraces, wood and raw steel for the staircases, the Bosque del Mar blends perfectly into the landscape. In the evening, after sunset, red lanterns hang from the trees, inviting you to celebrate. And that's something Costa Ricans know a thing or two about. 34 rooms and suites, restaurant and swimming pool.
Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste. - Tel: +506 2672 0046 - Email: info@bosquedelmar.com - Internet : www.bosquedelmar.com
Andaz
Dry stone walls, polished concrete, bleached wood and polished bamboo screens. The arrival in the reception hall overlooking the sea is truly breathtaking. The rooms are no different. They are huge, uncluttered without being cold, in neutral tones, greys and icy browns; a few contemporary paintings, one or two driftwood sculptures, and everywhere elements skilfully borrowed from the surrounding nature. Magnificent! Pura Vida, as they say in Costa Rica. 153 rooms, three themed restaurants, 8,200 m2 and no fewer than four swimming pools.
Peninsula Papagayo, Guanacaste. - Tel: +506 2990 1234 - Internet: papagayo.andaz.hyatt.com
