Here’s a sampling of Valentine’s Day specials being offered by hotels and restaurants around the country:
Restaurante El Mirador: Buffet menu from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., ¢7,000; Valentine’s Day dinner, including appetizer, entrée, side dish, dessert, juice, glass of wine and coffee, $70 per couple, 17th floor, Aurola Holiday Inn, San José, Av. 5, Ca. 5, 2523-1000, ext. 9452 or 9456, www.aurolahotels.com.
Cup Cake Café: Offering boxes of cupcakes from ¢4,000 to ¢6,000 as an alternative to Valentine’s Day chocolates, with special holiday-inspired flavors such as passion fruit, spicy chocolate, red velvet and chocolate roses, San Pedro, 100 m south of Jazz Café, next to Merecumbé dance studio, 2224-5563.
Beacon Escazú Hotel: Special Valentine’s dinner at The Muse restaurant, with choice of appetizer, entrée and dessert, $45 per person plus tax; all-inclusive packages (meal and accommodations), $229 or $319 plus tax, Escazú Centro, 150 m west of Central Park, 2228-3110, www.mybeaconescazu.com.
Real InterContinental Hotel: Variety of spa packages for couples, including aromatherapy massage and champagne, $320 to $590 per couple, Escazú, across from Multiplaza, 2208-2170, www.intercontinentalcostarica.com.
Esteban Moya prepares a bouquet with a Tico twist – a mini carreta (oxcart) base – at Floristería Marvi on Paseo Colón (2221-5315).
Ronald Reyes | Tico Times
Restaurante Italiano Mirador Valle Azul: Special Valentine’s Day menu, appetizers of smoked salmon (¢9,260) or porcini mushroom soup (¢8,900); entrées of Dijon tenderloin (¢12,995), corvina with fine herbs (¢12,995), porcini mushroom ravioli (¢9,500), jumbo shrimp (¢14,995); desserts of carrot cake (¢6,000), chocolate and caramel crepe (¢6,600), hazelnut parfait (¢6,000); wines ranging from ¢24,900 to ¢29,900, San Antonio de Escazú, 200 m east, 900 m south, 700 m west of church, 2254-6281, 2214-5739.
Costa Rica Marriott Hotel: Buffet in Antigua restaurant from 6 to 11 p.m., includes a glass of champagne, a rose, valet parking and live music, $42 per person plus tax and service, San Antonio de Belén, 700 m west of Bridgestone/Firestone, 2298-0206.
Hacienda Pinilla Beach Resort & Residential Community: Valentine’s dinner Feb. 12 in the Beach Club, fireworks during dinner, live music, bottle of wine per person (187 ml), rose for the ladies, $150 per couple, near Tamarindo, Guanacaste, 2681-4318, www.laposadapinilla.com.
Hotel Punta Islita: Package including three nights in deluxe room, breakfast, welcome cocktail, couple’s tandem massage and choice of eco-adventure (hiking, horseback riding or canopy zip-lining), $989 per couple including taxes, Punta Islita, Guanacaste, 2656-3036, www.hotelpuntaislita.com.
Ylang Ylang Beach Resort: Valentine’s Day dinner, Feb. 14, starting at 6 p.m., with live music, beach bonfire, full buffet dinner, included for resort guests, $40 per person for nonguests, half off for children, Montezuma, Nicoya Peninsula, 2642-0636, www.ylangylangbeachresort.com.
Villas Río Mar: Valentine’s dinner, Feb. 14, 6-10 p.m., starter of mussels gratin with portobello mushrooms or heart of palm and avocado salad; main course of lobster in garlic or beef in béarnaise sauce; dessert of strawberry cheesecake or coffee mousse, $20 per person plus tax, 800 meters from Dominical entrance along the Río Barú, southern Pacific coast, 2787-0052, www.villasriomar.com.
