Kristina L
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I've gone to CR for both medical and dental work. I understand the working with a budget thing, but you may want to consider staying in one of the recovery resorts for the first day or two after the hard part of the work. I'm a serious cheap skate, but I'm so grateful for having the recovery place look after me while I was in the worst of it. Course I had a lot of work done too. And more than dental. But it was worth every penny. If you can work it into the budget, you really should consider the first day or two in a recovery resort.
I had all my dental work done in one day (one very long day) so I paid in full up front. My doc took both card and cash. There was a 5% discount for paying cash. If you are using any of the major dentist in San Jose, they should accept both also. Beware of the 100 dollar bills though - apparently CR got nailed with a bunch of conterfeit last year so now many places are very nervous about accepting them (yes many places accept USD).
As for food, our recovery resort kept us well fed and catered to my "post-dental" condition. We also went out a couple of times. If you want traditional American food, there is an entire section of San Jose that is nicknamed Gringoland - as they have Hooters, McDonalds, Outback and a bunch of American restaurants. If you want Typical CR food, well, their is tons. There are are grocery stores where you can stock up on food. If your budget is that tight, this may be the best option for you. Plus with extensive dental work you'll probably be pretty limited on what you can or want to eat. I dont' know about the hotels you are looking at, but hopefully one will have a mini fridge and microwave so that you can load up on some groceries.
If you have other questions for me, feel free to email me and I'll help as best i can.
Edit: This is where I stayed and they picked me up from the airport. Provided food, etc. Might be worth looking into. http://www.surgery-retreat.com/retreat_rates.html - singles start out at $75.00. |
MW79
|
I'm from Costa Rica living in the states.
The other answer is really good, so, I only will add about the two locations: El Sesteo and El Quijote.
We ALWAYS check first www.tripadvisor.com, before go anywhere. Even been a Costa Rican, sometimes are places that I just don"t know anything about it. Meanwhile, here is the link for el Sesteo.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g309293-d306582-Reviews-Apartotel_El_Sesteo-San_Jose_Province_of_San_Jose.html
***The important thing about this hotel is the location, "La Sabana" is good because is 5 minutes from the city, but don"t go more into the south, especially a place call "Pavas", is very danger, I don't go there, never. The US Embassy is just inside in this neighborhood.
So, to take a taxi, if you aren't renting a car, is fairly cheap and easy. If you want to take a taxi, make sure is a red taxi with a yellow triangle in the door with the license number. NEVER TAKE A REGULAR CAR, especially if they speak English.
About El Quijote, here is the link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g309293-d308789-Reviews-Posada_El_Quijote-San_Jose_Province_of_San_Jose.html
Is in Escazu. Ok, In this place lived almost all the retired people from the states. Best restaurants, best Mall: "Multi-plaza Mall". Most expensive houses/restaurants in the country, a very nice area, but is more faraway from the city of San Jose. You'll definitely need a car on your own. And the traffic in the "freeway" between Escazu and San Jose is really bad, especially from 7am-until 9am, and then from 4pm-7pm.
I don"t know where is your dental office, but, it may work if is around Escazu.
About cash or debit cards.
1. When we go to C.R., if the place looks a little cheap, my husband use cash, first to try to get a deal and second, he don't want his credit card info get stole, ...again. That happen to us, in his first trip to Arenal Volcano in La Fortuna, in a "middle of the road hotel, $200 p/night". We got the money back, just because VISA took care of it. So, just be aware.
2. Almost all the places take both, $20"s and cards. Just don't show money in front of nobody and you'll be ok. Never leave valuable things in your room such as cameras, money, jewelery, sometimes is ok, but sometimes not, even in the fancy hotels. Remember the Costa ricans pays almost double for everything, especially electronics, because our "socialist government import taxes"; so, sometimes they take the risk and try to get a digital camera, or a laptop. Talking about laptop, NEVER show it on the road, and don't leave it in the car or carry on the regular laptop bag. I know a few Costa ricans that had died last year because of this. Once again, thanks to our socialist government import taxes.
Also, don't take a lot of money in ATM at once, take a few hundreds, and then you'll see the other days how much you need. After 10pm the ATM don"t work, because the criminals were killing a lot of people at night in order to get their money.
So, If I was wearing your shoes, and I have a rental car, and the dental office is close enough to the hotel, I'll choose El Quijote. Just for avoid the San Jose downtown experience ( especially at night) because is very danger at night.
About food look for "SODAS" (are the typical taqueria in Mexico), is fresh, typical, cheap and most of the time yummy food. My favorite is "casado" means "married" is: rice, beans, salad, meat ( could be chicken, beef, pork or fish to choose one) and a natural juice drink for under $5, in most places. If not, the " Pali grocery store" is cheaper than the other ones. You can find it almost everywhere. If not, almost every grocery store is a lot cheaper than here, in the US.
If you need something more specific just add more details and and I'll answer back.
Good Luck! |
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