Tool Free

Samara, on Costa Rica's Pacific coast, has maintained its original charming village character. The town and its surrounding area offer a large variety of plants and exotic animals. A three mile long beach, with coconut palms and other tropical plants, is sheltered by an offshore coral reef. It is an excellent vacation spot, with horseback riding, surfing, cycling, boat tours, trips to nearby national parks, discos, supermarkets, international-style restaurants and more.

The Aparthotel Mirador de Samara is built high on a hill, about 40 meters above sea level, commanding a panoramic view of the village, beach and Pacific Ocean from every room and terrace. The beach is just a five-minute walk away. A restaurant serving breakfast and private bar for guests of the Mirador adjoins the hotel in a tower with a 360-degree panoramic view.

The main building consists of six large apartments, each with a big bathroom and a fully equipped kitchen with refrigerator, coffee maker and microwave.

The bedroom has one double and one single bed, the living area has a sofa that can be turned into a double bed and another single bed can be brought in, so there is a maximum occupation of 6 persons per apartment

On every terrace, with its panoramic view, you find a huge dining table with comfortable wicker chairs.

The new swimming pool of the Aparthotel Mirador de Samara has a size of 11 meters X 6 meters. It is filled with high quality sweet water from our own 60 meter deep well. The total size of the pool area is about 400 square meters. All this is surrounded and laid in a tropical garden. From the pool and the decks you also can enjoy the panoramic ocean view.

The hotel also offers a large garden area, parking and reception, and services such as: safe deposit box, phone & fax, email, laundry, ground transfer to/from international airport, etc. (Pets are allowed).

The hotel is owned by the German Max Mahlich and his wife Helena. They live in the hotel with their six year old daughter. Max guides most of the tours (except horseback riding and fishing.) He also does the transfers to and from the hotel and any destination. Any emergency, any time of day we can help. There is also a small clinic in Samara.

English, French, Spanish and German spoken.

Bird Watching "The bird watching from the surrounding veranda of the Mirador is the best that has been personally experienced by this enthusiast. Each morning in July members of my family would get up and have a quiet cup of coffee, waiting for the first arrivals. Facing west, the side porch looks off into the side yard of the Mirador where there are a number of trees and bushes with berries on them, and this environment attracts many of the small, berry-loving birds. Another attraction on this side of the hotel is the large variety of trees with canopies. Facing south from the actual front of the hotel, one can look at the Playa de Samara, and the Pacific Ocean in the distance, and in the immediate foreground are some palm trees and some other large trees with canopies. In the immediate yard is a series of ficus trees which also attract birds. The hotel is a fine place for relaxing, for enjoying the birding and for living, and the added attraction of the tower, which looks right out over the canopies, is a great bonus. Members of my family were able to positively identify 45 different species of birds between July 3 and July 26.
These birds were seen from the porch or the tower during our visit:
Black Vulture Black-headed Trogon Blue Grosbeak Blue-black Grassquit Blue-gray Tanager Boat-billed Flycatcher Brown-crested Flycatcher Cattle Egret Cinnamon Hummingbird Crested Caracara Crimson-fronted Parakeet Great Kiskadee Great-tailed Grackle Hoffman's Woodpecker House Sparrow	Inca Dove Lineated Woodpecker Long-tailed Manakin Masked Tityra Nutting's Flycatcher Olive-sided Flycatcher Pale-billed Woodpecker Rose-throated Becard Roseate Spoonbill Rufous-collared Sparrow Rufous-naped Wren Scrub Euphonia Smooth-billed Ani Snowy Egret Social Flycatcher	Squirrel Cuckoo Streaked Flycatcher Stripe-headed Sparrow Tropical Kingbird Turkey Vulture Turquoise-browed Mot-Mot Variable Seedeater Western Kingbird White Ibis White-fronted Parrot White-lored Gnatcatcher White-throated Magpie-Jay White-tipped Dove Wood Stork Yellow bellied Flycatcher
These birds were seen on the beach during our visit:
Brown Pelican Egrets	Ibis Magnificent Frigatebird	Neotropic Cormorant Tricolored Heron Willet

Weddings

The hotel Mirador de Samara is offering wedding planning services. That means you two can come here and receive a legal wedding performance.

Its no hassle. Concerning the marriage laws in Costa Rica you only need your birth certificate, passport and two witnesses, who can be your friends or family. We will take care of the notary and the translator to be here.
If you want to bring your friends and family we can accommodate 25 guests (max. 30), and so the hotel services just takes care of the wedding group (for 1 night, 4, a week).
The hotel is offering 3 excellent wedding buffets and can include different regional kitchens ( our chef is specialized in European, Chinese and Caribbean food).
We will take care of a local marimba band, a tropical flower decoration and not to forget the wedding cake done by a German pastries.
Suggested settings: The reception ceremony with the guests will be held in the mirador of the hotel, an open walled watch tower with jungle surroundings and stunt ocean view. The official ceremony conducted by the lawyer and his translator is on the big hotel terrace, also offering a panoramic view over the beach, Pacific ocean and its tropical surrounding. Also here the guests will enjoy the buffet.

How to Reach Playa Samara

Both TravelAir and Sansa operate daily flights from San Jose to Carillo. The hotel will send a car to pick you up at the Carillo air strip at no charge.
There is daily public bus service from San Jose to Samara. The service is quite rustic but very inexpensive at about $8 per person. The bus trip takes about six hours. The hotel will send a car to pick you up at the bus terminal.
A taxi from San Jose to Samara would take about four and a half hours, at a cost of about $120.
On request, with a minimum stay of one week, the hotel owner will pick you up in San Jose and bring you to the hotel for $80.
The airport in Liberia has recently opened it's international service, receiving flights from USA and Canada. This is e very good alternative to the San Jose International Airport, because it is only an hour and a half by car from Samara.
Finally, you can rent a car. Take the Panamerican Highway north, following signs toward Liberia. After about two hours, turn off (left) at Sardinal, following the sign for the Ferry Tempisque. After crossing the Tempisque river ferry, go through the town of Nicoya and continue on to Samara, about 30 km. on good paved roads.

RATES 2007

TYPE OF ROOM	High Season 15 dic 2006 - 30 april 2007	Low Season 1 may 2006, 14 dic 2006
	Rack	Rack
Sky Rooms(2 pax)	$ 90,00	$ 80,00
Apartments (2 pax)	$ 105,00	$ 95,00

THIS RATES DON'T APPLY FOR EASTERN AND HIGH (PEAK) SEASON

Ø Rates doesn’t included 16.39%

Ø Rates included Continental Breakfast in Standard.

Ø Charge an additional $10,00 + taxes per extra person in Sky Room or $15,00 + taxes per person in Apartment.

Ø Charge an additional $10,00 + taxes per extra child (3-11 years)