Pueblo Real

My husband and I stayed here in October, 2008 and found it very comfortable and in a good location for the activities we wanted to do in the area. We had a 2 bedroom unit with a full kitchen. The resort is located on an estuary and we could walk a few steps to the water at sunset and watch the sun go down and listen to the birds and monkeys in the area. There is a pool which was great to wash off the humidity from the day and relax before dinner. Staff were all helpful and friendly.

The resort is a 15 min car ride from the town of Quepos, a traditional city with both tourist facilities as well as shops and amenities for the locals. There are some good restaurants in town, as well as a convenient place to go to a grocery store, post office and bank. However, we enjoyed the restaurants up the hill in the town of Manual Antonio. Although a further drive up a windy mountain road, there are fabulous restaurants along here and great views. Some of our favorites were El Gato Negro, a wonderful Italian restaurant with fantastic service and Claro Que Si, one of the most romantic restaurants we have ever eaten in. The food was fabulous, the service attentive and a beautiful outdoor setting. During the day, Manual Antonio Park is not to be missed. We saw monkeys, sloths, birds and a variety of lizards. Another great place to go is the Rainmaker Conversation Project, a privately held rainforest conversation park with bridges that take you above the canopy and allows you to see the rainforest without zipping by on a zip line. When we went, we were the only ones in the park and had a great experience with a local guide who showed us the secrets of the park and the frogs and plants that are indigenous to the area. It is only 15 min north of the resort and a great place to explore.

Driving in Costa Rica is OK, although you must be careful about the people who walk along the roadsides, seemingly oblivious to the cars. Some roads have potholes and you can't go quickly, but we had a great vacation and can't wait to return to Costa Rica.

We stayed here December 2006 and our complaints are the beds (hard as a rock, and when we investigated we found out we were sleeping on just the box springs!) and the location. It is about 4-5 miles from Quepos in between a palm oil plantation and a small inland waterway, with nothing to do but sit by the pool. We were glad we had a car so could explore the area. Manual Antonio Park was beautiful and I would recommend renting a room there as opposed to using your timeshare at Pueblo Real. The pool was the only good point of this resort. Yes, they passed out coconuts by the pool, but that was because the bar was closed all week and the only drinks available were from a machine! They even charged us $60 for electricity for the week, and we should have gotten a refund because it kept going off. They have water coolers there, but you need to rent them. I'd say this place is hurting and has really gone down hill fast.