Arenas del Mar Beach and Nature Resort: Arenas Del Mar Achieves Highest Certification for Sustainable Tourism

Arenas Del Mar Beach & Nature Resort has reached its dream of achieving the highest rating for sustainable tourism within two years of operation, and was awarded five “leaves” last week by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), the first resort to achieve this distinction so soon after opening.

Managed by Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality, Arenas Del Mar joins its portfolio now of four properties which have all received five leaves. In addition, Arenas Del Mar, which opened in 2008, was awarded three stars (highest ranking) under the "Bandera Azul Ecológica" (Ecological Blue Flag) program.

Arenas Del Mar was created with sustainability in mind beginning with the planning and construction phase. The total construction of the hotel covers less than 25% of the property itself; the rest has become a private nature reserve that acts as an ecological corridor to expand the area surrounding Manuel Antonio National Park. Since the hotel’s opening, the resort has been participating in an extensive reforestation program, planting over 7000 native species of trees on the property. Another goal was to have Arenas Del Mar “blend into” the natural rainforest environment.

Small Distinctive Hotels Apoyando la Cultura

Desde hace un año, Small Distinctive Hotels ha colaborado con la cultura costarricense. Nuestro grupo hotelero apoya el programa "Piensa en Arte", el cual es administrado por la Asociación Acción Arte y el MEP, dicho programa desarrolla el gusto y la crítica del arte en los niños de las escuelas de Costa Rica ¡Los invitamos a apoyar esta iniciativa!

Pueden ver el brochure digital sobre la labor en el 2009.
Piensa%20en%20arte.pdf

Capitán Suizo - Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Take a look of the comments from our guest who stayed in Capitán Suizo. It is a highly recommended beachfront Hotel!

"This place reminds us of our cabin in the lake. We loved waking to the sounds of nature and having a early morning coffee with the monkeys, squirrels, raccoons etc. we truly enjoyed our stay and would recommend it to our many friends. Dennis Mayberry, BC, Canada
One of the best Hotels of its kind we have ever stayed at" Dodd, England

"Everything and everyone was absolutely faboulos. We definitely stay here when we return and will recommend to our friends and family. It was our pleasure to have met such kind and friendly people. Our stay was very relaxing. Thank you."Room 23 Linda Steward, Texas, USA

"We have enjoyed our stay in this comfortable hotel and hope does not change or expand. A lovely place". Carne, Hampton, England

"We love our stay at Capitan Suizo. Every staff member was extremely kind, helpful and so friendly. You all looked after us so well, you are like family. Take car and God bless you" Terrence and Myrna Campbell, Alberta, Canada.

"We enjoyed our stay, really appreciated the effort. The reservation staff made to accommodate our 4 nights stay. Even though we had to change rooms 3 times, it was well worth the stay! Love the monkeys. The staff had a great attitude and good sense of humor. One of the most memorable hotels we have stay in. Can’t say enough good thing, we will be back!" Small, NY , USA

"We had a wonderful time. The service we received was consistently excellent. Extremely friendly and helpful staff. 22/12/2010 Room 22 Garry Pejski, Toronto, Canada
We will return next year! CS is a wonderful place, run by to notch staff. We specially thank Leonilda, Over, Emerson and Rosa. We must commend your restaurant staff too, because they we always friendly and provide consistently top notch service. Thank you." Ana and Richard Valsamis, Toronto, Canada

Visit the new website of Small Distinctive Hotels

Small Distinctive hotels has refreshed its image on line, take you time to visit the new website of these exclusive properties

http://www.distinctivehotels.com/

"Small Distinctive Hotels unites Costa Rica’s most luxurious boutique hotels, which are located throughout the most beautiful, diverse, and interesting regions of the country."

Cena de Navidad, Hotel Casa Turire - Turrialba

Cena de Fin de Año en Hotel Villa Caletas, Jacó.

1st International Guitar Meeting at Villa Caletas

Hotel Villa Caletas will host 4 concerts of international guitarists.
Music close to heaven....

www.villacaletas.com

Mother´s Day - Celebration at Hotel Casa Turire

Hotel Casa Turire will celebrate "Mother´s Day". On August 15th Casa Turire restaurant will serve a special dinner and on the 16th a special lunch. Both dates there will be life music.

Casa Turire is a charming hotel located in Turrialba Valley, just 2 hours from San José. Escape from San José to celebrate this occassion.

Cost of the dinner: $40 pero person (includes entree, main dish, dessert, glass of vine and a rose for mothers)

For more information: http://www.hotelcasaturire.com/ - tel. 2531-1111

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Hotel Casa Turire celebrará el Día de las Madres. El 15 de Agosto, el restaurante de CAsa Turire servirá una cena especial y el 16 un almuerzo. Ambos días habrá música en vivo.

Casa Turire es un encatador hotel localizado en el valle de Turrialba, a tan solo 2 horas de San José. Escápese de la ciudad y celebre esta ocasión .

Costo de la cena: $40 por persona (incluye, entrada, plato fuerte, postre, copa de vino y una rosa para las madres)

Para más Información: http://www.hotelcasaturire.com/ - tel. 2531-1111

Menú

Entradas
Ensalada Turire (mejillones media concha con ensalada mixta con frutas de la estación napado con una vinagreta de fresas.
Crema de zanahoria con una guarnición de terrina de camote, crema batida y crotones dulces.

Platos Fuertes
Costillas de cordero al costrón de hierbas con una salsa fresca de remolacha y menta y acompañado de palmito, tomate y albahaca con cebollas caramelizadas con vinagre de fresa.
Rollo de pollo relleno de chile morrón y queso italiano napado con una salsa de kiwi acompañado de puré de camote y vegetales de nuestra eco huerta.

Postres
Pastelillo mousse de vainilla con salsa de guanábana y nueces caramelizadas.
Mil hojas de mousse de chocolate con crujientes de macadamia y salsa de chocolate.

MUSICA EN VIVO.
15 DE AGOSTO: GRUPO GENERACIONES DE 7:30 PM A 9:30 PM.
16 DE AGOSTO: RICARDO JIMENEZ DE 1:00 PM A 3:00 PM.

Credomatic Music Fest at Villa Caletas

Música Frente al Mar

XIX Credomatic Music Fest

I Concert:
Saturday, August 1st, 5:30 p.m.
Ganssi Group, Early Music, Costa Rica.
Italian Baroque and colonial American
Soprano invited Nell Sanidas, USA

Kattia Calderón, flute

Montenegro Samaria, flute

Eduardo Madrigal, viola da gamba

Maria Clara Vargas, clavichord

Tania Vincent, tiorba Andres Chavez, percussion

II Conciert:
Saturday, August 8th, 5:30 p.m.
Duo-Hunfeld Hengst, Netherlands

Music by Beethoven, Schumann and Ravel

Auspices of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Sanne Hulfeld, violin

Maarten den Hengst, piano

III Concert:
Saturday, August 15th, 5:30 p.m.
Merlin Ensamble Vienna, Austria

Works by Haydn, Schubert, Schumann, Lanner, Strauss

Sponsorship of Kulturinstitut and of the Embassy of Austria

Inge Hager, viola

Martin Walch, violin

Marie-Thérèse Nawara, violin

Christoph Marks, violoncello

General Public: $18.00
Credomatic Cardholder: 2x 1
Villa Caletas Guest: $15.00
V.I.P. or Priviledge cardholder: $15.00

Honeymoon in Costa Rica

Imagine your memborable honeymoon in Paradise!!!

Hot deal... Small Distinctive Hotels

Enjoy memorable vacations in the best luxury boutique hotels of Costa Rica. Discover nature and choose your destination among Manuel Antonio, Jaco, Santa Teresa, Tamarindo, Dominical, Turrialba, Vara Blanca and San José.

Visit http://distinctivehotels.com/index.html and check the banner to get a 20% descount.

Kiana Resorts, new member of “Green Hotels”.

Costa Rica is classified as one of the most important destination of the world regarding the environment. Eco tourism and sustainable tourism destinations are really trendy nowadays and Costa Rica is proud to welcome so many tourists interesting in enjoying the lovely tropical beaches, the wonders of nature and the grandest adventures, the country has to offer.

Kiana Resorts, uniquely situated amidst nature’s richest treasures, where mountainous rainforest descends to meet the dramatic Pacific surfs, conforms to this sustainable policy set by the country.
The Certification in Sustainable Tourism Program (CST), designed by the Costa Rica Tourism Institute, serves as guideline to plan the different procedures of operations. Kiana Resorts, which purpose is to operate in full harmony with environment, involving local community and pass this value to the guests, hope to be certificate by the soon coming opening.
In order to set the environment as a main preoccupation, this beachfront resort is now also part as “Green Hotels”, becoming one of the 3 Costa Rican hotels members. This association encourages, promotes and supports the “greening” of the lodging industry. They publish for the members a “green” catalog, comprehensive compilation of suggestions and ideas proposed by hoteliers on how to save water and energy and reduce solid waste. More information http://www.greenhotels.com/

Arena Blanca, Hotel Florblanca….

The sun is again shinning at Florblanca after weeks of renourishment from our raining season.

Many items are improved for this season including a fabulous new menu of local and international dishes, new furnishings in the villas, poolside, and beach front and a newly constructed concierge area and interim spa. We have added a specialty gift shop and additional outdoor dining. Our fitness area is to be ready pretty soon.

As part of our enhancements to Florblanca's we are amid construction of our world class Canopy Spa, nestled into the forest. We are also completing a reception entrance and parking area.

The sunshine now is here to stay and the major heavy equipment has left our property.

We also want you to know that our construction area is screened off and is not in the core grounds of Florblanca. This area is farthest from the pool, restaurant and beach areas. We will be additionally limiting working hours during your stay and much of the work being done now will be hand work rather than heavy equipment. We hope any interruption will be slight.

Be assured, we are closely monitoring the construction process and we and our contractor are committed to doing everything possible to limit the impact on your stay here. Florblanca is a uniquely wonderful place and we will insure your stay with us is wonderful as well. We simply wanted you to know, before you arrive, that this project to improve Florblanca is still in process. We indeed look forward to your arrival soon and to offering you the wonder that is Florblanca, Costa Rica.

Our New Spa Bambú

Our exquisite “Spa Bambú” looks out through the palms to the sea and is the perfect pampering spot. Set on white sand with the sound of the waves and smell of the ocean Spa Bambú is indeed a treat to your senses. We offer a full menu of massages, aesthetics, Tao Shiatsu and more. You must come to the Spa Bamboo!

The hidden treasure of San José.... Hotel Grano de Oro

THANK YOU!

We are very happy to announce that the Hotel Grano de Oro has been selected for the second year in the row by Condenast and Travel & Leisure, as one of the preferred hotels in Mexico and Central America. We want to thank all the people that gave positive reviews about us to these publications, and that made this distinctive recognition possible. But specially we want to thank all the members of our staff, we are very proud of them; their friendly and professional service deserve all the credit. At the same time that we celebrate the honor of being included in these lists, we understand we need to continue to work harder everyday to meet (and exceed) client’s expectations…we love the challenge!

OUR RESTAURANT

Next February 1st we will celebrate the 1st Anniversary of our new restaurant. Although some of our old clients have said they miss the garden in the old restaurant, they also have mentioned the new restaurant is quite spectacular, with its open terrace and great bar. Anyone who comes to Restaurante Grano de Oro will enjoy dining in a replica of the tropical victorian homes of old San José…fine food, exguisite china and crystal complete the experience. Our Chef Francis Canal continues to performance and excellent job along with his great team, providing the consistency in food quality that our clients expect to receive. The new restaurant also features a couple of private rooms for meetings or private group dining.