rabilancia

Planning a trip to the Botanika in late February into early March. Anyone stayed here yet?
Botánika Osa Peninsula - Botánika Resort (botanikaresort.com)

yakel

Yes just back from a fabulous 5 night stay in their 2 bedroom garden villa suite. Absolutely fabulous location and very attentive staff. Cannot wait to stay here again. If you fly into the Puerto Jimenez airport, the Botanika is literally across the street. The hotel has a shuttle for picking you up from the airport, taking you to local beaches (with chairs, umbrellas, towels, and water included), downtown, or any other location. We thought the food was excellent and very reasonably priced. And you cannot beat the location!

Hawkeyefan

Bumping up, wondering about this new resort, does it cater more to adults/couples or would families also be ok there?

rabilancia

We're (a retired couple) heading there in a few weeks. I'll plan to report back. In the meantime the reviews on TripAdvisor have been quite compelling. You might be able to glean something about family visits there. You can also e-mail the hotel at [email protected].

FWIW, the location is quite far south--pretty close to Panama. San Jose airport is probably the better choice to use. You will need to fly from SJO using Sansa (single engine Cessna planes) or plan to drive about 6 hours. My research about flying into Liberia did not favor that option.

yakel

We stayed in December, and both couples and families were present; I think this resort is great for both.

The drive from San Jose airport is VERY long, and perhaps you should do it once, but I prefer to fly. Take SANSA down to Puerto Jimernez airport; it is literally across the street from the Botanika, and it's a 5 min shuttle ride.

It's absolutely a fabulous resort in a fantastic location with plenty to do.

Hawkeyefan

I'd love to pull the trigger on a stay there, but the remoteness is tough. We'd have to overnight at SJO then domestic the next morning, as most international flights would arrive too late to do a same day domestic. Kind of a pain.

yakel

Of course it depends from where you are coming, but you might be able to do it in one day. Just give yourself a good connection time because the lines when arriving internationally into SJO can be extremely long sometimes, and the SANSA terminal is a short walk outside to another terminal. But if you did overnight, there's a decent Hampton Inn right by the airport (a short shuttle away).

And for me, the remoteness is the main selling point. The birds (macaws and toucans) and monkeys are frequent guests on the hotel property.

rabilancia

That's what we're planning.
AND, staying at the Hampton Inn too! Thanks for the SANSA gate location!

Hawkeyefan

I dont disagree the remote location of the resort would be wonderful for some peace and quiet and ANIMAL sightings. Taking a day and a half just to get there sure cuts time off a week's vacay though.

rabilancia

After hearing great things about this place--while also wanting to get away from the unusually cold 2022-23 Colorado winter, we planned a trip. The only ways to get to the Osa Peninsula are by small aircraft (typically holding 12 to 15 passengers) or a 6 hour drive on very rough roads. Either way requires spending a night in San Jose near the SJO airport. We chose to fly.

Our United Airlines flight from Denver to San Jose was uneventful. Arriving very late we stayed a hotel near the airport. The next morning we returned to the airport, and went to the domestic terminal to board our flight to the Puerto Jimenez airport. We arrived in Puerto Jimenez on a Saturday in late February 2023 on a midday flight with Sansa Airlines. Earlier we had let the Botanika staff know our expected arrival time and flight number. Upon arrival we were met by a hotel shuttle literally just feet away from the arriving single engine Cessna.

The shuttle took less than 5 minutes to get us to the Botanika lobby. We arrived around 2 & had no issue checking in early.

Our reservation was for a 6 night stay. We used Hilton points for 4 nights and got a fifth night free. We combined the 5 nights with a free night certificate for a total stay of 6 nights. Diamond status got us upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite with a large kitchen/living area and a large outdoor lanai on the top floor of building #1 facing the pool. We experienced daily high temps of 90 and overnight lows of 75. Since it was “dry season,” there was no rain during our stay.

First impressions: WOW what a bargain for a small, fabulous new facility and extremely warm and friendly staff. I'll mention it here to get it over with, but our only issue was a power surge/failure the first evening. It resulted in a problem with an A/C or thermostat malfunctioning. It was not resolved until the next morning and kept us from sleeping comfortably that first night.

The facility was constructed with consideration of the surrounding environment. Short walks around the property allowed us to see native monkeys, birds (including McCaws) and from a very safe distance even a crocodile.

We arranged with the concierge for a half-day “Eco” tour to see more wildlife and were not disappointed. The tour took us to Matapalo beach at the very tip of the peninsula. We saw monkeys, birds and a sloth along the way. What a wonderful part of the country!

TIPS:

• There are 2 restaurants on site: one adjacent to the lobby area and one with lighter fare at the pool. The one by the lobby area is used for the buffet breakfast that is included for all guests. In my opinion, the breakfast buffet was the best that I have experienced at any Hilton property.
• Don’t resist having a few meals offsite. There are several good restaurants nearby that are within short walking distance. However, the free hotel shuttle will take you where you want to go and will pick you up at an appointed time. We ate at two offsite restaurants on the waterfront just north of the Botanika: the Marisqueria Corcovado and Los Delfines. Both were very good, but living in Colorado we preferred the seafood at the Marisqueria Corcovado.
• Don’t miss seeing the insects at the Insectopia displays in the old Crocodile Bay building. We enjoyed listening to the passionate explanations from the resident entomologist.
• Daily room servicing is available upon request. Calls to the front desk are not needed by simply pressing a single button on a smart panel in the room.
• After sunset & dinner each evening we like to watch a bit of TV. The TV was unfortunately locked for screen casting. However, I was able to stream from my cell phone and watch on the TV using a USB-C-->HDMI cable.
• The Botanika provides free access to a partnered beach club a few miles to the south. The staff does not mention anything about it without asking. You just need to reserve the time and a spot on a small motor boat. The boat leaves from the Crocodile Bay dock. Since no dock is at the beach club, getting off/on the boat can be physically challenging for some. Once there, you’ll find plenty of shade, comfortable seating, and food & beverages for purchase with cash or a credit card.

Again great staff providing great service in a remote part of the country. It’s worth wasting the beginning and ending night stays in San Jose. If you decide to go, I can’t imagine that you’ll be the slightest bit disappointed.

Be sure to checkout the Botanika website for full amenity details.

n12hx

Thanks for the fantastic summary, rabilancia ! Headed here with my spouse and 2 kids (6 & 8) in a couple of weeks and really looking forward to it. We're trying to get day trips planned out ahead of time, but it's good to know that the concierge can also assist. Also good to know that the shuttle can be booked for more than just the airport run. On the beach club, how did you find out about it? I've combed their official site and can't find any mention of it anywhere.

Again, really appreciate the quick review, we'll add our feedback in a few weeks after our stay.

yakel

It's likely not on their website; just write to the front desk or concierge directly and they can tell you about it. They will take you downtown also for grocery/drinks, to catch a tour, etc. They are very open and friendly to the services they provide.

xooz

The ~$325 RT per person is a little tough to swallow for 4 of us, but looks like there's no competition this route.

n12hx

We opted to charter from Arenal down to PJM, then back up to SJO at the tail end to align with our flight out, and it's running us about $400/pp per flight, which, for the time savings and ease, is worth it to me.

rabilancia

At the pool our first day, another couple told us about it. We shared it with others afterwards. When we booked the beach ride at the front desk, they were not at all surprised that we asked. Not sure why it's not listed anywhere--perhaps a Hilton Curio thing since it's not onsite. Anyway, here's 2 pics of the beach that we took while there: