How El Mangroove Hotel Saved Our Vacation
After a few days exploring the Arenal Volcano region of Costa Rica in La Fortuna, my sister and I drove to the embankment. We had a very uncomplicated programme. Bulldoze 3 hours, cheque into the Riu Guanacaste (located on the Northern Pacific region) which nosotros had booked on Priceline using their Express Deals option. What should have been a quick drive to the beach and a iv star hotel proved to be a disaster, but luckily nosotros were able to accept ahold of the situation and plow things around.
It all started when we took a wrong turn. Republic of costa rica doesn't have well marked roads, and tourists inevitably go lost. This time, nosotros realized our error after 5 minutes, and turned around. Only when we slowed downwardly to make a U-turn, we realized something was wrong, and we had a apartment tire. We called our blood brother who seemed somewhat confident that we could alter the tire, and the rental car had all the supplies we needed, we only lacked the strength necessary to remove the lug nuts. Every bit we tried and failed to remove them, a very kind Costa Rican human being pulled over and said in Castilian, I don't speak English but I can help you. And then he pulled out more than professional equipment from his automobile and v minutes later nosotros were all gear up.
10 minutes subsequently were drove by our rental car company (Economy Hire a Motorcar) on the way to our new hotel and in 20 minutes they put a fresh tire on the car and gave usa a new spare. There are a lot of rocky dirt roads in Republic of costa rica, so driving around without a spare wouldn't have been a good idea. The charge for the new tire was $165 – not ideal, but we felt lucky because we idea it might exist much more.
And so it was fourth dimension to drive to the Riu and check in. Priceline described the hotel as existence a four star hotel comparable to The Westin. But it wasn't. It was loud, over crowded, and dingy. It wasn't where we wanted to be for the adjacent few days, so we left (we were able to become a refund from Priceline). The sun was virtually to fix – which makes it nearly incommunicable to navigate the Costa Rican roads, then we needed to act fast. We saw that El Mangroove (part of Marriott'due south Autograph Drove) had rooms available and positive TripAdvisor reviews then nosotros drove 30 minutes to get in that location.
El Mangroove was the calm, repose, luxurious hotel we wanted. It was a rough day, but we turned things around – the hotel is and so delightful that other hotel guests begged me not to tell yous about information technology and to keep it a secret, but that wouldn't exist fair to you.
During this function of the trip my sister got really into Snapchat and started to "direct" videos which she would star in, and I would motion-picture show. Some of them are pretty silly – I am adding them to this post for your entertainment.
We paid about $300 a dark (all in, including taxes, etc) for what I would telephone call a 4 ½ star hotel. We LOVED it. The rooms are spacious, and they seem new. Each room has a screened in sitting area, in addition to the air conditioned room. The WiFi is gratis and works well, and the rooms accept HBO and other English linguistic communication stations (we watched movies at nighttime).
The hotel is right on the embankment, but the beach itself is through the trees (providing absurd shaded areas) so but a couple of the rooms have sea views – but we really didn't heed – nosotros spent all mean solar day looking at the sea.
The grounds of the hotel are stunning. There are ii restaurants that are incredibly reasonably priced with very good nutrient. The centerpiece of the hotel is the large pool, and information technology is glorious. The puddle is the perfect temperature, just absurd enough to be refreshing, but non so cold you don't want to stay in the water. There is a ledge in the h2o that is just the right meridian for sitting.
In that location are lounge chairs all around the pool, plus more than facing the sea, which is merely through the trees. Plus there are five cabanas available for rent. The bounding main water is clear, warm, and calm. Nosotros alternated between taking dips in the pool and the ocean.
The staff at El Mangroove is kind and welcoming. Y'all experience looked later on, and their friendliness is infectious. This is the type of hotel where the guests all become friends (some other contributing factor is that nosotros visited during slow flavor so the hotel wasn't very full then we saw the aforementioned people again and over again).
While nosotros lounged in the dominicus the staff was there to take orders for food and drinks. We looked forrard to trying new menu items at every meal. Fifty-fifty people who had been at that place for a week were notwithstanding excited about the food. Nosotros specially loved the Patapones at dejeuner, the Flank Steak Pinchxos at dinner, and the French Toast at breakfast. While the menu is somewhat small-scale, the chef was more than than happy to improvise to create a meal that you would love. Fellow hotel guests started exchanging recommendations for off card items that the chef had invented. There is a separate room service menu with even more card options, and once more, it was very affordable – breakfasts were about $8.
While Kelly and I wanted to relax and sip rose beside the pool, other guests were renting jet skis, kayaking, line-fishing, cipher lining, or partaking in other activities.
If you are heading to Costa Rica I tin can't say enough good things about El Mangroove. Although it is affiliated with Marriott, it doesn't experience like a Marriott since it is owned and operated past a Costa Rican family unit. It felt similar a luxurious but authentically Costa Rican feel. My sis and I are already plotting our return to El Mangroove.
There is one more than big thing I demand to mention. El Mangroove is only 20 minutes from Liberia Aerodrome – and the hotel offers shuttles. We booked direct flights on Jet Blue from JFK to Liberia for $192 (well Kelly did, I used points) – and that price included the $29 Costa Rican departure tax. If you want a relaxing beach holiday – fly into Liberia, and go straight to El Mangroove. If you want a mix of relaxation and adventure – separate your fourth dimension between El Mangroove and La Fortuna (we loved the hotel Lomas del Volcan in La Fortuna). It's a 3 hour drive from Liberia to La Fortuna and the roads are all paved and relativity piece of cake to drive (only look lots of twists and turns). You drive past the drome on your style from La Fortuna to El Mangroove, and so you tin even drop off your rental car every bit y'all laissez passer the aerodrome – you won't need it at El Mangroove since you lot won't want to go out.
Merely to be actress articulate – this post isn't sponsored, I just think this hotel is exceptional and I desire yous to know well-nigh it.
Source: https://thekittchen.com/el-mangroove-hotel-saved-vacation/
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