Interval trade to Costa Rica

[TravlGrl]

I've searched the threads and have seen some folks comment about how they prefer renting a hotel rather than staying in a timeshare when in Costa Rica because of the location of the timeshares. As a result, there appear to be waaaaaaaaay more comments on the hotels in Costa Rica as opposed to timeshares there. Because of $, we will need to exchange into a timeshare using II (I'd rather exchange than not go at all ). I've read the reviews on TripAdvisor and on TUG, but the reviews for II locations in Costa Rica on TUG are quite dated.

Has anyone exchanged into Costa Rica using II (not RCI), and if so where? What would you recommend? We would ideally like to stay in the north Pacific part of the country. The threads on Costa Rica have been FABULOUS for trip planning, but not great for timeshare exchanging info.

Thanks in advance if you can help!

 

[DebBrown]

We traded into the Sanctuary Resort & Spa (STY) a few years ago. It is on the Pacific coast and has a beautiful black sand beach. It is, however, very isolated. To get there, we had a long drive over gravel roads. These are not gravel roads like the US - they are more like small boulders! It was quite an experience.

The resort had an onsight restaurant, poolside bar, spa and a few activities. The nearest city was a surfing area south of the resort. I can't remember how long it took to get there but it was again on gravel roads and we had to ford a river. The grocery store was a couple hours back to the main road and I was glad I had packed breakfast food and snacks. Electricity and TV was intermittent.

On the plus side, we really enjoyed the adventure. A huge iguana watched us play in the pool and we saw lots of neat wildlife. My kids went on a horseback trip along the beach. Where else would we get to ford a river??

We spent half our trip at the resort and then drove to Arenal to see the rain forest and volcano.

Deb

 

[TravlGrl]

Thanks for the feedback, Deb! It DOES sound very adventurous! Did you find the place clean and the staff friendly?

 

[Cathyb]

We just returned from a Panama Canal cruise and one of our stops was in Costa Rica but they would not let our Princess ship into their harbors (Pacific side). You might want to read up on if there are any country disturbances there at this time.

 

[DebBrown]

Thanks for the feedback, Deb! It DOES sound very adventurous! Did you find the place clean and the staff friendly?

Yes, everyone was most helpful. The resort was newly opened at the time so I think the staff was learning. The units were two story stand alone houses and quite nice.

Deb

 

[agentyumi]

If you want a breathtaking black sand beach, great pool and friendly staff Sanctuary Resort and Spa is the place. We booked through Interval; the condo was clean and spacious with daily maid service. I’ll definitely recommend it to adventurous people and like to see other cultures; I’m sure you’re going to love the place.

 

[TravlGrl]

Thanks for some great feedback, everyone! The Sanctuary looks like a really good option!

CathyB -- I looked online but just couldn't find anything about disturbances in Costa Rica. My husband is a travel agent, so I'm going to ask him to investigate. We were on a Princess cruise recently (Sapphire Princess) and have a Panama Canal cruise planned on Island Princess in March 2010. Is that the ship you were on as well?

 

[Cathyb]

We were on Coral Princess and the incident happened about 3 weeks ago. Our ship was apprehended by fishing boats everywhere blocking our entrance to the docking area and when the captain decided to go 15 miles to their next port, the cab drivers there blocked the streets. The Captain decided to bypass Costa Rica all together for safety precautions and we stopped at Panama City. We were so disappointed!

 

[TravlGrl]

Ok, so I've had an II exchange request in for Costa Rica for about 4 months now, and nothing yet. I've got both Flamingo on the list and Sanctuary. The request is for mid-January to early April 2011.

Anyone have suggestions for other good resorts to add to the list? II has several more properties there, but these are the two II resorts that tend to get the best reviews. Just wondering if we'll get a last-minute exchange or what. My past exchanges have always been secured 1 year out.

 

[glypnirsgirl]

Hi Tara - You might look at the II getaways. They seem to have some terrific deals.

elaine

 

[Weimaraner]

U.S. Department of State has travel safety and crime information on each country. In Costa Rica it says to be on alert of people acting "good Samaritans." It's here. I haven't been there myself.

 

[sjuhawk_jd]

I've searched the threads and have seen some folks comment about how they prefer renting a hotel rather than staying in a timeshare when in Costa Rica because of the location of the timeshares. As a result, there appear to be waaaaaaaaay more comments on the hotels in Costa Rica as opposed to timeshares there. Because of $, we will need to exchange into a timeshare using II (I'd rather exchange than not go at all ). I've read the reviews on TripAdvisor and on TUG, but the reviews for II locations in Costa Rica on TUG are quite dated.

Has anyone exchanged into Costa Rica using II (not RCI), and if so where? What would you recommend? We would ideally like to stay in the north Pacific part of the country. The threads on Costa Rica have been FABULOUS for trip planning, but not great for timeshare exchanging info.

Thanks in advance if you can help!

Book a nice holiday week with your timeshare ownership and rent it out. Use the proceeds and the exchange fees to stay at hotels in prime locations. There is no location in Costa Rica worth staying 7 nights and the country is prime for 2-4 night stays in 2-3 different locations during your visit. Hotels include breakfast and can be quite resonable outside of Dec 15 to Easter Break dates. Here is the link to one such hotel called Kokoro Arenal (all cabins/suites):

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...lcano_National_Park_Province_of_Alajuela.html

 

[TravlGrl]

Thanks for the suggestions. I had been looking at the Getaways, but Costa Rica just hasn't been coming up. We're still waiting, but now have 3 resorts on our list. The last time I called II about it, they said we'll likely not get an exchange until after November when the owner dues are due. We'll see.

I hadn't even thought of renting out a week and using the $ to stay in a couple of hotels. Good idea. I'll look into that as well, and thanks for the link to that hotel.