UPDATE: HOTEL CLOSED PERMANENTLY
Whether you are in the Central Valley of Costa Rica for vacation or business or are visiting from the beach areas on errands, your days are full of activity and bustle. As dusk comes on, you want a quiet, comfy place to rest, breathe fresh air among tropical plants and get a good night’s sleep, followed by a choice breakfast to get you going for the next day’s action.
Rainforest Dreams Bed & Breakfast, in a quiet residential neighborhood in the western San José suburb of Escazú, will keep you comfortable from the moment you walk in the door. Owner Carol Marujo, who hails from the U.S. state of Illinois, has added a lot of touches to ensure a restful stay.
Just inside the front door is a lounge with easy chairs and sofas for kicking off shoes, or for group chats or waiting for taxis. The attractive corner dining area with windows opening onto the patio adds to a pleasant breakfast experience with choices to your liking.
“Breakfast is when you get up,” Marujo says. “We’re small. We can accommodate different hours. If someone has an early plane, we’ll have breakfast ready for them. We try to accommodate tastes and preferences and diet requirements.”
The morning meal may include eggs from free-range chickens, cereal, toast and fruit, topped off with organic, sustainably grown coffee.
“We are environmentally conscious here,” Marujo says. “Food and cleaning products are environment-friendly.”
After breakfast, the dining area is yours for reading, writing or snacking. Stocked bookshelves, a computer corner and Wi-Fi add to a convenient stay. For evening meals, the kitchen is free for cooking or heating up food. There are supermarkets and restaurants nearby, and Marujo keeps a list of places that deliver.
As for accommodations, the upstairs bedrooms have breezy natural vetilation, plus fans, ample storage space and cable TV. For those traveling with a pet or who have walking difficulties, two special rooms are situated on the ground floor beyond the patio, and include mosquito netting over the beds and hammocks for rocking to sleep.
The patio features an abundance of plants to bring the rain forest to you, and a table, benches and outdoor kitchen make it a pleasant spot for eating or meeting. Fully equipped bathrooms just off the patio are convenient for last-minute dashes to get ready before leaving for the day. The small gift shop can supply those necessities you forgot to bring, or souvenirs by local artists.
The artwork and decor here encourage rain-forest dreams. Regular guest Paul Schmidt’s superb paintings of different areas of Costa Rica, with plants and animals superimposed on maps of the regions, showcase the country’s beauty throughout the house, as do Marujo’s photos of national parks. Each inviting room has its own theme based on Costa Rica’s national parks.
Rainforest Dreams is a dream come true for Marujo, an occasional Tico Times contributor who came to Costa Rica because of her interest in the environment and peace.
“I became aware of Costa Rica in the 1970s,” she says. “When I came here, I fell in love with the people and the natural beauty. To me it seems like a place where you can live in peace.”
And that is precisely what she offers at Rainforest Dreams.
Going There
Rainforest Dreams Bed & Breakfast is in Urbanización Los Anonos in San Rafael de Escazú. From Saretto supermarket, head east (toward Los Anonos Bridge) and take your first left. Go through the guarded gate and take your first right, then go 300 meters until the street ends in a rotonda. Rainforest Dreams is house No. 96.
Rates are $60 single, $70 double and $80 triple. Weekly and monthly discounts are offered.
For information and reservations, visit www.rainforestdreamscostarica.com, or call 2289-6087 in Costa Rica or 1-888-215-8710 from the U.S.
