LIR questions: airport & transport
 

I am flying in to/out of LIR in a couple weeks and have a couple of questions for anyone who has been there:

1) We have a large group of people arriving on various flights, and those of us arriving close to the same time would like to share transport to our hotel. I see that there are a number of shuttle/transport services to choose from, and am interested in any recommendations people may have. We are traveling from LIR to the Occidental Hotel at the Papagayo Gulf.

2) I have read in guides that one should be at the airport 2 hours prior to the departing flight in order to have sufficient time to pay the departure tax, check in etc. Is 2 hours truly necessary?

Thanks for any assistance!