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!

CANADIAN DOLLARS NOW ACCEPTED!!!

HOLA CANADIANS!!! Hotel La Rosa de America now accepts Canadian Dollars! As of 01 January 2011, our Costa Rica airport hotel will accept Canadian dollars as well as US dollars, CR colones, US and Canadian dollar Traveller Cheques, and the credit cards Visa and Mastercard.

Please check HERE for current accomodation rates.

For the past two years here at Hotel La Rosa, we have been seeking a way to process and accept Canadian Dollars. This effort has been undertaken in recognition of the needs and preferences of our many Canadian travellers. We understand the costs and hassles of having to exchange money more times than necessary. This way, Canadian travellers can at least arrive in Costa Rica with familiar currency and not be at the mercy of the non-advantageous Canadian Dollar to Colones Exchange rates or have to change all their funds into USD prior to departure from Canada.

We very much value our Canadian guests, many escaping the cold of the True North, looking for the best climate in the World!!! The owner of Hotel La Rosa, having lived for three years in Yellowknife NT very much has first hand experience of the true meaning of COLD!!!

POLICY:

At this time, the policy of the hotel is to treat Canadian dollars on an equal basis with USD as long as there is no more than a TWO percent difference in the value of each currency. If there is a greater than TWO percent difference, then the posted hotel accomodation and package rates will be converted from US dollars to Canadian dollars and be charged accordingly. Please note the value of the currency is measured at the time of payment, not the time of booking.

Our Alajuela Airport Hotel now has Two New Familiy Suites!

Here at Hotel La Rosa de America, we have received numerous requests for cost effective accommodations suitable for larger families. Recognizing the fact that not all families consist of two adults and two children (and maybe a pet...) we have recently completed two large family suites designed for larger families. Each suite can take a maximum of six and seven guests respectively.

This way, larger families can now relax in their very own suite - all at a price significantly less than the cost of two or even three separate rooms!

Beds in each room consist of a mixture of double bed, single bed and bunk bed and can be changed as required, depending on guest needs.

Each suite also has the same services as the other rooms at the hotel with the exception (currently) of safety boxes. Each suite has a private entrance, private porch, private bathrooms, beautiful garden views, hot water, cable TV, a sitting area and Suite One has a walk in closet whereas Suite Two has access to a large private deck.

These rooms are also designed with our groups in mind. Over the past three years, our Costa Rica Airport Hotel has seen significant increases in specialized group bookings. We are now hosting a large number of groups from Canada and the USA, as well as England, France, Cayman Islands, Panama and Costa Rica.

We very much enjoy and encourage these groups to stay with us at our La Garita Airport Hotel. Most of these groups are designed around principles of learning, donation, environmental awareness, or language study. In many cases these groups give back more to Costa Rica then they take. This is in keeping with the over-arching ideals of Hotel La Rosa de America and our personal hotel business ethic.

There have been a number of other changes that have been recently implemented at La Rosa. In part, due to the increased volume of guests, we have restructured our breakfast to be more like a buffet. This has allowed us to provide even more food options to our guests. Groups especially find our breakfast buffet to be faster and simpler now now that is no longer served. No worries though! Even if our breakfast is no longer served, we always have staff available to talk to our guests and answer any questions they may have about their trip planning or whatever they wish to talk about!

Another big change at the hotel is that it is now staffed 24 hours a day 7 days a week. We have permanent English and Spanish-speaking night Concierge staff at the hotel so there are no problems with late arriving or very early departing guests. Though Reception closes still at 10 pm, we understand that most of our travellers will at some point be arriving or departing via the San Jose International Airport (Juan Santamaria Airport) and that this means they may need taxi's or other assistance during the night. Our night staff are trained to handle all normal guest needs and if a situation arises where they need more assistance, they are trained in what to do!

So, along with a variety of other ongoing changes, including the installation of a new, more environmentally friendly laundry facility and hot water production system, we at Hotel La Rosa de America are gearing up for a new, and hopefully exciting high season. We are very thankful for the loyalty and support of our past guests, many of whom have returned year after year to our hotel. You, our guests, are the reason we have been able to succeed during the last 18 months of difficult times. We are now hoping for an even better future and a great year of prosperity here in Costa Rica! Pura Vida!!

Book Donation Program for Increased Literacy

Approximately six months ago, we decided to find a worthy cause for La Rosa de America to support. Eventually, after receiving a suggestion from the owner of another local hotel, we decided to begin a book donation program. Achieving high levels of literacy in Costa Rica is very important to the government and by extension, the people. However, in reality, the schools have next to no books nor funding with which to accomplish this task. This results in a very difficult situation for the teachers tasked to educate their pupils.
We ask guests to fill up their reserve "souvenir space" in their baggage with books. Children's books, school books, English, French or Spanish books, and/or classroom supplies.
To date, we have had a very good response, collecting over 375 books in three languages. We have now donated to two local Alajuela schools and we are hoping to be able to donate a further 350 books by the end of the 2009 high season in April.
If you are interested in supporting this program, please visit our webpage devoted to this project at: http://www.larosadeamerica.com/page9/page9.html
We appreciate the thoughtfulness of all who participate in this program.

New Services in our Day Spa

After almost three months of searching and too many interviews to remember, we now have a new Massage Therapist and Esthetician.

Karol has newly graduated from a three year program of Massage Therapy and Sports Massage. She has also obtained skills in a variety of other Spa disciplines such as alternative massage, facials (complete with skin analysis and targeted treatments) body wraps, and waxing. Karol is currently completing her training for the delivery of manicures and pedicures and we hope that she will be ready to offer this service some time next March or April.

As an added benefit, she is learning English so as to better interact with the majority of our guests who may not speak Spanish.
We have high hopes for our Day Spa this dry season. We have an new and expanded list of services that we offer and we have maintained the competitive pricing that seemed so popular last year with our guests.

New options include:

- Lymphatic Massage
- Aromatherapy Massage
- Reductive Massage
- Full Facials (Treatment Facials, Facial Analysis and Facial Masks including Caviar!!)
- Body Wraps (Chocolate, Volcanic Mud or Seaweed)

To complete the SPA overhaul, we will be refurbishing the attached bathroom area and the music sound system so that guests can more enjoy their experience.

If you are interested in seeing more details about this, a complete list of Hotel La Rosa de America Spa services or our Spa prices, do visit the Spa Website at:
http://www.larosadeamerica.com/page8/page8.html
We are also offering Karol's services as part of a package deal as indicated a:
http://www.larosadeamerica.com/page4/page4.html

All who come to our hotel are welcome to use our spa, provided that, of course the owner is not in there already!!!! :-)