The Parque del Lago Hotel has an ideal location for exploring the outskirts of San Jose as well as the inner city. Just across the street you can find what Costa Ricans call “the lung of San Jose ,” or the La Sabana Metropolitan Park, a 72-hectare green, forested over the years with a large variety of eucalyptus and pine trees. Optimal sport installations offer snaking trails, great for taking long walks along its man made lake, or numerous running or jogging paths partially hidden under shady eucalyptus trees. The park has good volleyball and basketball courts as well as nicely grassed soccer and baseball fields. There is also an Olympic-size pool, which Tuesday through Friday, from 10 to 2 p.m. is open to the business segment who wishes to take a swim and simply unwind. The monthly swimming fare costs 7.000. For more information contact the Costa Rican Institute of Sport and Leisure at 284-8700. Tennis courts are also available for the public at large and are located on the southeastern corner of the park.

On weekends, enjoy observing Costa Rican families and friends trade hectic and crowded urban life for a couple of hours of leisure and relaxation. Next to the lake, a myriad of paper kites color the sky pink, yellow, blue and green, while the largest aerobic free-of-cost class you probably have ever seen takes over the eastern side of the park. In-line skating is also a favorite, while mejengas, an informal art of playing soccer, pop up on every single little patch of grass. At noon time, large families sit on wooden tables and retreat for hour-long pick nicks, talking and hearing happy music.

The La Sabana Park also houses the National Football Stadium (sometimes used for international concerts), the National Gym and the Costa Rican Art Museum, once San Jose ’s main airport. The Spanish colonial, white-washed former terminal building exhibits a collection of mostly national art. A stylish cafe is located on the ground floor boasting large windows that look out onto a forest of eucalyptus and pine trees, standing in place of the previous landing strip.

Downtown San Jose is only a 10 minute drive away, but don’t hesitate to walk if you really like to smell, look and hear this bustling city at its best. For recommended city tours and attractions, look under our leisure and activities.

Two popular neighborhoods within the hotel’s proximity are Rohrmoser and Escazú. The former is an upscale middle to high class neighborhood, housing the United States Embassy, the residence of the former President of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Oscar Arias as well as nice shopping centers such as Plaza Mayor and the soon to be inaugurated Plaza Rohrmoser. Parallel to the famous “ Rohrmoser Boulevard ” is the Pavas road, a congested street offering a somewhat chaotic commercial strip, ranging from pharmacies, clinics, small restaurants and boutiques to Cemaco, one of the largest home goods store in the country.

Escazú, a former rural town said to have been inhabited by witches and other tall-tale characters has quickly transformed into San Jose ’s chic and “in” suburb, offering some of the best dining and entertainment in the city. Bordered by imposing greenish-blue mountains, Escazu has become one of the preferred suburbs for wealthier Costa Ricans and ex patriots, offering an idyllic country-style lifestyle with cooler temperatures at night, all this only 15 minutes away from downtown San Jose . Less developed areas offer exotic vegetation, attracting certain birds like the rufus-tailed hummingbird or the Montezuma oropendola.

Escazú is a somewhat comical mix of American imported chains, such as Friday’s or Tony Roma’s, blended with street vendors offering you flower bouquets or bagged fruit and occasional horseback riders “driving” to neighborhood bars. A large selection of pricey boutiques, international restaurants and trendy bars offer good entertainment, while the obvious display of the latest fashions will not go unnoticed. Escazú houses one of Costa Rica’s largest malls, Multiplaza, offering a multitude of stores, state-of-the-art cinemas and the upscale Auto Mercado Supermarket, right at the tip of your fingers.

But Escazú is not only about fashion boutiques and hip restaurants and bars. The mountain chain surrounding the town, which is actually the end of Costa Rica’s Central Mountain Range, offers great possibilities for pleasant hikes. For more information on recommended hikes, contact either the Escazú Town Hall at 228-5757 or the El Encanto de La Piedra Blanca Organization at 228-0183.

The center of Escazú still conserves a more traditional town atmosphere. The church, school and town square area is a lively place, full of people walking into church, conversing at the park or waltzing in and out of the town’s stores. Throughout the year, the center of Escazú celebrates a variety of festivities among them the fiestas in honor of their patron saint, “San Miguel”, or the Independence Day parade. Watch out for lovely washed-out adobe homes scattered throughout the area, some actually more than 100 years old.