Air Conditioning in La Rosa Superior Rooms

     Hotel La Rosa de America now has            AIR CONDITIONING!

       
          Just in time for the 2013 High Season, all Hotel La Rosa de America SUPERIOR ROOMS now have air conditioning!  

          Some guests have indicated a desire to have air conditioning at Hotel La Rosa.  We have also found that typically it can get rather warm in the very busy months of February, March and April.  Many of our guests visiting Costa Rica during these months are traveling from much colder northern climates and so we want their stays to be as comfortable as possible. Certainly at our San Jose Airport location, Hotel La Rosa has a distinct advantage of a significantly cooler climate then along the coasts of Costa Rica.  However as everyone has different preferences, options are good! 

          We have decided to provide all guests with the ability to choose!  Our new Superior Rooms now come equipped with air conditioning - and a number of other service upgrades, whereas our Standard Rooms will remain with ceiling fans for those guests preferring the natural feel and sounds of the tropics at night.  Both options are offered in conjunction with great rates and our famous service!  Check here for our RATES.

          Superior Room upgrades include air conditioning, bar fridges, remodeled bathrooms, upgraded bedding and mattresses, new handmade hardwood beds, imported Egyptian cotton sheets, flat screen TV's and new room furniture.
 For more information on our Superior Rooms and what they offer please check our our ROOM DESCRIPTIONS. 

           Hotel La Rosa de America is a great option for guests looking for a boutique hotel close to the San Jose Costa Rica Airport. 

7.6 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Guanacaste Costa Rica

Costa Rica has experienced a Richter 7.6 Earthquake. For all current and future guests and family please be assured that locally, in the San Jose, Costa Rica International Airport area initial indications are that damage is very minimal. Hotel La Rosa along with all guests and staff are safe and sound and our business continues as usual!   If you would like to contact us please use our CONTACT US page and we will be happy to respond.It seems that there was significant superficial and some structural damage to buildings and infrastructure in the Guanacaste area.  However for a quake of this magnitude, the overall impact on Costa Ricans was thankfully light - all things considered.  Due to the depth of the quake at approximately 41 km below the surface powerful shocks were felt over a very widespread area but on the positive side, the depth muted the violent shocks to a more heavy rolling feeling lasting about 30 seconds.  This is in stark contrast to the much smaller and shallower (5 km deep) but far more deadly and damaging Richter 6.1 quake of 2009 that caused widespread havoc along the slopes of Poas Volcano and parts of the Central Valley of Costa Rica.  Also, the 2009 quake occurred in very mountainous terrain and triggered huge landslides whereas the 7.6 quake struck in the Province of Guanacaste - an area dominated

by gently rolling hills and flat plains.  

Damages to buildings have been somewhat random and widespread.  The CCSS Hospital in Puntaranas was significantly damaged causing evacuations of the patients.  Landslides are covering roads leading to Nosara and Samara.  There is damage to the Engineering School in the University of Costa Rica in downtown San Jose.  Some structures in the hilly areas of Sarchi suffered collapse and in Grecia, heavy shocks ruptured many of the above ground burial crypts in the local cemetery.  It is reported that one very old secondary road bridge collapsed in the Sarapiqui area however the newer primary bridge remains unaffected.  

It is a relief to see that the major effort of the Costa Rican Government to improve the National road network (including bridges) and general infrastructure (enforcing building codes for example) is bearing fruit.  Many bridges have been seismically upgraded in the past three years and this is quite obviously important for a country that is so much a part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.  Without these upgrades, and without a solid medical and emergency response able to reach damaged areas, the situation for the most severely affected residents could have been much worse.  

Hopefully this quake was the much anticipated "BIG ONE" that has been predicted for years and that the built up pressure caused by the sub-ducting Cocos Plate under the Caribbean Plate has been substantially reduced.

NEW ONLINE LOOK FOR LA ROSA!

Main Page of Hotel La Rosa's New Home!

     This Sunday, Feb 5th, barring any technological complications, Hotel La Rosa is expecting to release an ALL NEW WEBSITE.  This site will represent months of hard work and a quantum leap forward in both online security and in guest "surfing" experience and ease of use. 
     The launch of this site is only the beginning.  Future improvements to the site will include language capability in Spanish and French and optimization for mobility users.  Encrypted online booking is included as a main feature of the new site.  Looking farther into the future, this site will link to our Reservation book directly, thus allowing for an even more streamlined booking process.   We will also be adding video clips designed to enhance the viewing of our San Jose SJO Airport Hotel.  
     We have focused on developing a site to better show the constantly improving services at our Costa Rica Airport Hotel.  We also want potential guests to experience the "La Rosa Difference", our attention to detail and our desire to provide guests with as much (or as little) travel assistance as they may need in order to enjoy their stay.   
      The new website will focus on three key points we have found most important to guests.  Comfort, Location and Value.  We also recognize that the time potential guests have is valuable and therefore, our site is designed for people who may wish to quickly surf the site and then immediately book on line.  This will now be possible.  Alternately, guests wanting detailed information about La Rosa or Costa Rica in general can browse our 25+ pages of information at their leisure and, if they wish, contact us directly before making a booking. 

Part of the Amenities Page

Room Descriptions!

       The colours used in the website reflect the actual hotel interior and exterior colours and virtually all the photos used have been taken within the last three months.  All photos including background photos (except in certain cases where a photo is taken specifically to describe a tourist attraction) are actual pictures of some part of the hotel.  It is extremely important to us that the website accurately reflects the Hotel and as a result your expected experience. 
     Hotel La Rosa has beautiful gardens, and enjoys one of the best climates in the World.  After much searching and designing, we now believe we have a website that provides large beautiful pictures capable of showing our extensive gardens and cabinas the way they should be. 
     We hope that guests who use the website will find it an enjoyable experience - one where you feel like you are "almost there on holidays already!"  In that way, once you arrive in Costa Rica, you will instantly feel at home at La Rosa as you recognize familiar things and begin to enjoy our services and attention to detail firsthand!
     Take a look at the screen shots of our yet to be released main page of the new website...  comments are most welcome!!

Hotel La Rosa's Climb for Charity

Yay, we did it!  For two days in December,  three climbers and a local guide hiked over 40 km to achieve the summit of Cerro Chirripo, the tallest point in Costa Rica and return.  This climb was done to support the Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary in the Nicoya Peninsula, an organization working to draw attention to illegal poaching in the many National Parks of Costa Rica. 
Alongside the Owner of Hotel La Rosa de America, two Canadians and a Costa Rican Guide climbed for charity.  Raising a total of $225.00 USD for Rainsong the climb was a success.  We are hoping to repeat this success again in February as our donation goal is $500.00.  Our secondary goal is to educate interested people in the importance of wildlife preservation in the Old Growth Rainforest such as that found in the Chirripo area. 

We arrived about three hours late in to San Gerardo de Rivas, after a rather torturous climb over the Cerro de Muerte where there was a large landslide that caused significant detour into the steep hills to the south (where our Toyota fell into an enormous hole...).  We met our guide on the night of the 4th Dec and went over trip plans.  After a supper at the Hotel Uran in San Gerardo, we retired for the night.  Morning came at 0430 hours and we rose for an early breakfast.  We entered the trail head at about 0530 hrs and began our climb through ankle deep mud!  Fortunately this lasted only until the Kilometre One Signpost.  After that the trail became drier and easier to hike. 
After about two hours of steady climbing, we reached the actual National Park Gates at Kilometre Four.  Though this area was pretty, it was about to get much more spectacular as we entered the area of original growth forest.  Huge ceiba tees, dense moss, "Old Man's Beard" and hanging vines were everywhere.  To add to the mystery, a mist clung to the canopy giving a very surreal feeling to the landscape.  We continued until reaching Llano Bonito (Beautiful Plain) just past Kilometre Seven where we stopped for a quick lunch at the shelter located there.  In four hours we had already climbed three thousand feet above our starting point. 

The middle third of the climb saw the rainforest give way to cloud forest, which in turn gave way to a bamboo forest before dying out altogether as forest gave way to alpine meadows, flowers and bushes.  During this middle third, the tired remark from one hiker became the quote of the trip... "agg..  it hurts to chew" !!!  This comment was expressed during a particularly challenging area of switchbacks and steady climbing.  Around the Kilometre Eleven area we entered the portion of the climb called "The Burns", an area devastated by forest fire some twenty years ago.  Due to the high elevation (around 9,500 feet) the flora is much slower to recover then it would be if located in the lowland rainforest.  We continued for some time through the Burns, followed by the rather not motivating sign entitled "Monte Sin Fe"  or Mountain Without Faith.  Past this point, the original inhabitants of the area would not go due to religious beliefs.  Prior to reaching the Base Crestones area where we planned to rest for the night, we had to first hike over the final hill before the camp.  Aptly named "Repentant" we made it to the top and saw our Base Camp located just past Kilometre Fifteen nestled in a valley under the striking peaks of Los Crestones.  To this point Cerro Chirripo was nowhere to be found.  We had hiked for approximately 8 hours.  Clouds began to roll in and though we had excellent weather for the climb, sunset was not be in the cards for us.

After spending the night at Base Crestones, and enjoying a hot supper, "bird bath" and a sleep in a bunk bed, we set off at 0400 hours for the peak five kilometres distant.  After a two hour climb in the darkness with only the millions of stars for light, we achieved the summit of Cerro Chirripo.  Almost until the last moment did Chirripo remain out of sight.  Just before sunrise, we crested a saddle between two peaks thinking we were almost there.  Only then, in the distance looking like a black cloud did Chirripo reveal itself - complete with frigid forty knot winds and frost on the rocks.  We achieved the summit about ten minutes before sunrise and as a result, had time to enjoy both the view and our accomplishment!  Returning to Base Crestones, we first passed through the moraines of ancient glaciers enroute to the Valley of Rabbits (Valle de los Conejos).  After a short breakfast, we then continued down the mountain arriving at our Hotel before supper.

All in all, it was a successful trip.  Though we had planned for five climbers plus a guide, two were unable to make it at the last minute.  Still, the climb was a great experience, and made better though the satisfaction of raising money for a worthy cause.  For anyone interested in taking part in our second planned climb in the third week of February, please contact Hotel La Rosa de America at info@larosadeamerica.com  or visit us on Facebook!

Happy Trails and Merry Christmas!

La Rosa Benefit Climb - Cerro Chirripo 2011

 

"Place of Enchanted Waters"

 

Welcome to the blog home of Hotel La Rosa de America's charity climb! On Dec 5th and 6th we will be climbing Cerro Chirripo in Costa Rica to raise money and awareness to support the efforts of the Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary in the Southern Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. This organization is striving to protect animals within the National Parks of Costa Rica from poaching and degredation of habitat. To find out more about this worthy cause, please check out their website and associated news releases, blogs etc...

Also for future climbs, you can help by spreading the word and letting people know about this opportunity to blend a great holiday experience with some hard work, and a great payoff through supporting our environment.

Basic Facts about the Mountain:

 

• Cerro Chirripo is 3,820 metres or 12,533 feet in hight.
• The second tallest mountain in Central America and the tallest in Costa Rica.
• Trailhead elevation is 1,520 metres
• Overall hiking distance is 40 km over two days
• Non technical climb - great for fit adventurers!
   

Our Guide:

Integral to our climb is a strong desire to learn about the various environments that we will pass through. That, coupled with the extra safety of a guide, led us to search out one of the best! Ameila Garita, daughter of Jose - the man with the World Record for Chirripo ascents, has agreed to be our guide. Amelia holds a degree in tourism from the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, is bi-lingual and has extensive experience in the Chirripo region. We are very happy to have her join us!

The Itineray:

 

Day 1: Enroute from the Central Valley, we will cross over the famous Cerro de Muerte and see our first glimpse of the Cerro Chirripo rising over the omnipresent Talamanca Mists. Arriving in San Gerardo de Rivas on the afternoon of 04 December, we will enjoy a dip in the Thermal Springs prior to supper.

Day 2: Rising early, we will enter the Chirripo National Park and begin our hike, passing through many distinct climatic regions as we climb. After about 7 hours, we will enter the "La Cuesta del Agua" which will prove a challenge to our endurance! We will then enter the Paramo Valley and then stop at Base Crestones for the night.

Day 3: Rising early, we will have a quick breakfast, and then begin our climb to the Summit in time for a "continent spanning" sunrise. After an hour at the top, we will commence our descent down into the Valle de los Conejos (Rabbit Valley) and through the Paramo high altitude equitorial vegetation. If time and energy allows, we will take a look at the Cerro Terbi and Los Crestones features as well. Coontinuing our descent past Base Crestones, we will arrive back at the Hotel Uran before nightfall.

Day 4: After breakfast, and the inevitable swapping of stories and maybe a few aches and pains we will say goodbye and continue on with our holidays - until meeting up again at Hotel La Rosa prior to departing Costa Rica.

We are very excited about this chance to climb the highest point in Costa Rica and hopefully have the chance to see the Pacific AND Atlantic Ocean at the same time! Thank you for your participation and for your willingness to support our wildlife charity cause! See you at the top in a month!

Hotel La Rosa Book Donations Update

BOOK DONATIONS UPDATE:

Reading at the Coligio del Carmen

         Through the generosity of hundreds of our guests from all over the World, our Costa Rica Airport Hotel is nearing our initial goal of 5,000 books donated to local schools.  Thank you for your support of our program.  To have this kind of success in only three years has been a humbling experience for us and has left many local school Principals amazed at the generosity of people from countries they have only seen on a map!  

Ambiente Liste El Roble Readers

         Though clearly difficult to put a monetary value on these donations, we estimate that the resale value alone in Costa Rica would be in the area of $50,000.00 USD.  Of course, the new book purchase value would be much greater.  The great cost of books for Costa Rican Schools means that only the most important books for learning can be purchased.  Novels, picture books etc are very much a secondary concern to having sufficient pens and paper, rulers etc.  Sadly this is resulting in a culture-wide loss of the love for reading. 

        With the kind assistance of an expat Canadian with close ties to the Women's Club of Costa Rica, and a local teacher, as well as the employees of Hotel La Rosa de America, we have been able to organize, sort into appropriate age groups, source deserving schools, and deliver over 3,500 books so far in English, French and Spanish as well as large numbers of school supplies.  Some of the benefit schools, statistics and pictures can be found on our website page devoted to the project: BOOK DONATIONS
         Many of the schools we have donated to now have large numbers of books in English.  To ensure that these donations are best used and distributed, we have volunteered to host the Women's Club at Hotel La Rosa and to potentially team up with this organization in order to expand the current scope of the program. 

The WOMEN'S CLUB of COSTA RICA:

         The Women's Club of Costa Rica has deep roots throughout Costa Rica, especially in the local schools and we believe that their experience with Costa Rican schools combined with books from Hotel La Rosa's Donation Program will lead to targeted donations that will provide the greatest benefit for Costa Rican children. The Mission Statement of the WCCR is "a philanthropic organization supporting education, primarily through scholarships and development of school libraries for children in Costa Rica."  
         To this end, our San Jose Airport Hotel will be hosting the next planning meeting of the Woman's Club of Costa Rica on the 26th of October 2011.  For Hotel La Rosa, this will be a charity event with all Hotel services donated for the event.  During this meeting, Hotel Staff will introduce the "La Rosa" book donation project.  We hope to continue our donation project and develop our new link with the Women's Club.

         Again, thank you all for your great support of our book donation program, and lets keep the books coming!!

Hotel Owner, Teacher and Principal

Focusing on our Customer Feedback!

Once again, as the summer period draws rapidly to a close, we are faced with yet another transition into the wettest of the wet season.  This is typically a time for consolidation among the various tourism businesses within Costa Rica and can sadly often lead to significant layoffs of employees.  At our Costa Rica airport hotel, we prefer to cross train our existing employees to do "other" functions in the times we have few guests.  This way, our employees can retain their jobs, and the hotel benefits by ensuring all our intensive training of staff is not wasted every year through layoffs. 

Some of La Rosa's Staff showing off our New Artwork!

During the Sept-Dec timeframe, we have traditionally focused on significant capaital improvements to enhance the hotel, and to renew it's 15 year old services and presentation.  However, this year, we are going to focus on customer feedback generated over the past year.  This feedback is invaluable to us as it allows us to maintain what works and conversely to eliminate any problems that may come up over the course of hosting thousands of guests per year.  This year we have received some guest concerns over hot water reliability.  We are currently addressing these concerns and we expect to complete the change over from gas to an electric system by the end of August.  It is disappointing to us that the carefully picked gas water on demand system failed to deliver what it promised to do.  We had hopes of eventually removing ourselves from the power grid, by first converting all major energy users to gas and then utilizing solar for the remainder.  However, this plan has proven ineffective therefore we are adapting to a new electrical energy saving on demand system.   When it is complete, guests will not be able to tell the difference between the systems they use at home and the much more powersmart on demand system being put in place.  Complete installation throughout the cabins is taking some time due to the need to rewire many areas of the hotel to 220 Volts, complete with heavier guage wiring and breakers. 

New High Output Electric System on the Left

Other upgrades will include improvements to our existing WIFI system, finishing up of the exterior painting of the entire hotel, resurfacing and repainting of the walkways, and replacement and painting of the roof over the restaurant area.  Significant upgrades to Cabin 12 and our handicapped certified cabin will also be done.  Inside, we will be upgrading all our computer systems, installing wireless music and speakers in the common areas, and introducing a brand new reservation system for better guest management.    Gone will be the hand-draulic paper based system complete with it's mountain of colour coded sticky notes!!!!  :-)    Of course continued maintenance and minor improvements will continue apace! 

As always, there is lots to be done.  We want to ensure that Hotel La Rosa is 100% ready for the 2012 High Season so as to ensure maximum guest satisfaction!   Shortly we will be making a blog comparing and contrasting some of the "then" and "now" differences at La Rosa as we will shortly be celebrating our fourth anniversary of hotel ownership in Costa Rica!