The second resort we visited in Costa Rica was Copacabana Desire Hotel in Jaco Beach (pronounced Haw-ko). This resort is the sister resort of Desire Hotel Costa Rica, and is located on Jaco Beach, on the Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica, about an hour and a half drive from San Jose. However we took the “old road” when we drove from San Jose to Jaco Beach, which made the trip a little longer, but took us through a beautiful mountain pass, tropical rain forests and panoramic vistas of the low lands and ocean.
Copacabana Desire Hotel is right on the beach in Jaco Beach, and about one block walk from the main road through Jaco Beach. Jaco Beach is not like the Caribbean beaches. Rather than soft white sand made primarily from ground up coral reef, Jaco Beach is more like the beaches on the Pacific side of the United States, with dark sand comprised primarily of ground up rock, and many small, wave smoothened pebbles. Unlike some resort beaches, Jaco is not the best maintained beach so you will see an assortment of flotsam and jetsam carried in by the waves and left by previous visitors.
Jaco is known for its surfing. The waves break right out front of the hotel, and when the waves are highest, early morning and late afternoon, you can watch surfers doing their thing. Mid-day and afternoon when the waves are smaller you’ll see more people in the water swimming. However these are not the crystal clear waters you see in some post cards. Local streams bring silt down from the hills, particularly in rainy season, so the water can be a little murky. It cleans up during the dry season.
Like its sister resort, Copacabana Desire Hotel is a boutique hotel with approximately 40 rooms, including standard hotel rooms, ocean front suites, some with Jacuzzis, and a new “passion” suite under construction. The resort’s inner courtyard includes two swimming pools and one Jacuzzi tub (although the Jacuzzi tub, at this time, is not heated). One swimming pool is designated as clothing optional, but during resort takeovers or lifestyle weeks, the entire property becomes clothing optional. One swimming pool has a small swim-up bar, and both pools are surrounded by tropical foliage and assortment of visiting wildlife. While there we saw a family of iguanas in the gardens, and a pair of large long-tailed parrots in the trees. Like its sister resort, there are numerous day beds around both pools.
The accommodations are not five star, but like its sister resort probably in keeping with the prices being charged by the resort (although the rooms at the sister resort were definitely a notch above the rooms here). Don’t expect Ritz-Carlton luxury. John the owner is working slowing to upgrade the resort, but it is a work in progress. We stayed in one of the ocean front suites. There is a grove of protective palm trees in front of the hotel, so ocean views are somewhat limited to what can be seen between the palms. Still, sitting on the balcony with a warm breeze blowing off the ocean, watching the swaying palms and listening to the waves crashing was great.
The resort offers both an all inclusive option and non-inclusive option. The all inclusive option includes all of the alcohol you can drink (don’t expect top shelf), and all of the food you can eat. The restaurant, located at the front of the hotel just steps from the beach, is open from early in the morning until 10:00 in the evening, but the all inclusive option is restricted to certain items during dinner. The restaurant offers theme nights for the all inclusive package. One night we were there the theme night was barbeque food, the next night is was Mexican. However, the staff will accommodate special needs diets. The food was good, and the portions more than generous. Again, not five star, but certainly acceptable quality. For those of you who like those huge buffets at the big resorts, here you will just have to order your selection off of the menu.
For those who like to get off the resort property the town of Jaco offers many bars, restaurants, shops and other services. You can walk from one end of town to the other in about fifteen to twenty minutes and all of the action is pretty much on one main street. The town is a little touristy and unfortunately suffers from the American influence—you’ll find KFC, Quiznos and Subway for your dining pleasure. But there are many local restaurants with everything from inexpensive local fare to a chic steakhouse with prices like you’d find in any big American city. We found a number of spas and had a wonderful massage for a very reasonable price. But do expect a lot of souvenir shops, surf board rental stores and excursion hawkers. Also, you won’t find the high end retail you might find in places like Cancun and you may get accosted by the coconut man. Who is the coconut man? He is a slightly wacky fellow who rides around on a bike collecting coconuts and then selling them. But he also has available weed so you’ll hear him shouting out, “Hey man, you want any coconuts or weed?”
For the adventurous, there are dozens of activities in the local area, including zip lining, canopy tours, ATVing, fishing, day trips to local islands, renting surf boards and boogie boards, crocodile tours, waterfall tours and more. The hotel can arrange for just about any tour you want, or you will find dozen of tour providers on the main street in town. However, we recommend booking all of your tours through the hotel or a tour operated recommended by the hotel to ensure you get the tour you are paying for.
The resort has a bar in the front of the hotel that is open to guests as well as people who are not staying at the hotel. Some evenings this bar is alive with action, as three or four nights a week it feature live entertainment, and one night a week karaoke. One night a great band performed. These guys looked like aging hippies but they played great music and the lead guitarist was fabulous. However, be aware that the entertainment starts around eight to nine o’clock, so it can be a little noisy if you plan to eat dinner late. We recommend eating dinner before the entertainment begins. Also, if you reserve one of the ocean view suites, the entertainment will be playing right outside your window, so you will hear music until about one o’clock in the morning. If that is going to bother you, get a regular room towards the back of the resort. During group takeovers the entertainment is typically by the pool so this situation would not occur.
For those who have not been to Costa Rica, you should know that prostitution is legal (although pimping is not legal). Therefore in many bars, clubs and hotels you will find prostitutes. Typically the establishment will require that the ladies register when entering the premises, and any lady who causes problems will be barred from the establishment. As a result, the prostitutes are typically very unassuming, do not bother patrons, and sit sipping their cocktails in small groups until approached by potential customers. You will find that the bar at the Copacabana is frequented by the occasional prostitute, but we did not witness anything objectionable during our stay, and we were not in the least bothered by the two or three working girls that visited the bar from time to time.
As mentioned, one pool and the Jacuzzi are clothing optional, and the clothing optional side also has a playroom, so it is lifestyle friendly. There aren’t too many rules here, and as long as you’re not offending other guests, you can probably do most anything you like.
Remember, this resort is not a large resort with a huge entertainment and service staff. You may have to wander up to the bar to get a drink, wait a little for your food, and you won’t find hot chicks and muscled guys holding shooter contests at the pool, and you won’t find hot DJs spinning tunes around the pool or at the disco. The only real entertainment is the front bar that features bands a four nights a week, and Karaoke one night per week.
We would rate this resort as great for nudists, if all you are interested in doing is running around naked and entertainment isn’t high on your list of requirements. If you are in the lifestyle and you need a crowd to play with, you could be disappointed. However, John is going to designate a certain number of weeks each year as lifestyle weeks, with the idea being to get the resort full or close to being full, those weeks. That way there will be people to play with when you get there.
Or the other option would be to put together a group of friends. If you’ve got a group, give us a call and we’ll help you put your group together and make all of the arrangement for you. If you don’t have a group, keep your eyes on our news updates because we intend to schedule two or three Costa Rica trips each year.
Remember, this resort is a basic resort with standard hotel rooms, pools, a couple of bars and a restaurant. Don’t expect the amenities, services or maintenance standards of a large resort. If you do, you’ll be disappointed.
For more information on this resort, and pictures, go to Copacabana Desire Hotel Jaco Beach.
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