My story

I was raised by a single, hard working mother and now it is my turn to do the same for my children - Iskander and Kalena. Before I had Iskander I assumed I would continue working out of the home. After his birth, I thought I would keep my international job and fly home on weekends, hiring a nanny to take care of my son. Little did I know that as soon as Iskander was born (the first baby to be born at Kaps Place) I wouldn't even "fly" to the bathroom without him. Following the midwife's advice, La Leche League guidelines, attachment parenting theory, the pediatrician's recommendations and my own heart, the first nine months of Iskander's life were completely dedicated to making his transition into this world as easy as possible. At the same time I began to worry about our financial situation and future. I took a job out of the home thinking it would help (the nine months dedicated to Iskander's well being did not contribute to clear thinking in other areas).

Ever since I was in college I've had two or three jobs at a time, so work did not scare me. (I have a bachelor's degree in French and International Relations from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master's in International Business Management from the Universidad Internacional de las Américas). On the contrary, I liked work and it seemed "normal" to go back to it. Well, there was nothing normal or likeable about work that time (except meeting new people): Iskander got sick; I got sick, our life was a mess-in-the-making. I quit three months after I started and knew that now I had to turn my talent for servicing others into a viable enterprise that would support our family.

Kaps Place - a family tradition

Kaps Place is the continuation of a family tradition of "accommodating foreigner's needs." Our family has been in the hotel and tourism business for over 40 years. In addition, my stepfather, Art Staley, was from the United States and his family and friends visited often. We loved showing visitors our country and making their vacations pleasant and easy. The words "assistance, service and guests" run in our veins. I remember one early morning when I was about 16 and I was asleep in bed. My mother knocked on the door so she could "show" some "muchachos" my room. I was not very happy at the time, but in less than two hours we had adjusted our living situation to accommodate three college students my mom had met at the outdoor farmer's market!

A team effort

We have owned the house that is Kaps Place since 1983. The time and money I have invested in renovating and turning it into what it is now was well spent. I attribute our success to God and my guests most of all. From the beginning guests have helped in so many ways that I cannot begin to thank them. Over the years they have painted, carried construction materials in from the very far entryway, babysat Iskander and now Kalena, looked after the guesthouse so I could take a break, opened the door for new guests, answered phones if I had to rush out, cooked for us and even lent me money for renovations. My greatest assets have been, and still are, my guests. But also we could not succeed without the help we get from:

"Las chicas" and "los chicos"

Each of my workers have special family situations and I provide them with a pleasant working environment where their strengths and weaknesses are recognized and where they can realize their potential. Feel free to help me with this task.

New guests at Kaps are pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere. I tell them that I am really lucky to always have the best people visit. They answer that people are attracted by our positive energy and that is what makes the house so special. Soon after arriving, guests are usually sharing experiences over meals they have cooked together, planning trips to visit other parts of the country, playing games and reading to my children, going out together or just sitting and talking in our comfortable living room. In fact "sitting" constitutes a large part of most guests' visits. Those who return time and time again are happy to see the couch, rocking chairs and hammocks. It can be hard to relax in your own home but at Kaps that is all you have to do. We do the rest!

Iskander

Iskander is now 6 yrs. old (he was born June 29, 1998). He shows people to their rooms, explains how many beds there are and answers phones (we have lost a couple of calls that way -- but that is just one of the trademarks of the guesthouse. His phone skills are a bit more developed now and he can help you himself or find an adult if necessary. One day Iskander will be in charge of Kaps Place and I will be able to join the guests on the vacation I help them plan.

Iskander has much fun with our guests and remembers them for a long time. Mr. Evans arrived when Iskander was just one month old and spent a full year with us. He witnessed Iskander's self discovery movements - from kicking to crawling to stumbling right into his room reeled in by popcorn and chip offers. Other guests met Iskander when he was just able to stand up and walk and they returned to play soccer and basketball with him. In so many ways Iskander is lucky to have the largest, nicest family a child could ever wish for. The Vreeken's helped spoil him by giving in to his broccoli demands at dinner when he was one and a half years old. Tim and Georgina helped discipline him by setting limits and not letting him have everything they were eating. By playing countless hours with Iskander and giving him a goal frame, ball, and uniform of our national team, Emily introduced him into the real soccer world (Iskander claims to be the next Wanchope of Costa Rica). Amy introduced him to French and music through the most caring, loving and personalized activities. The last two important figures in Iskander's life have been Myrt and Katie - we are truly waiting for your return!

Kalena

The newest addition to our family and guesthouse, as of July 3rd, 2002, is Kalena. She has brought us joy and liveliness for the past 2 years and is now the recipient of the guests' attention, love and care. My beautiful baby is a handful and keeps us all on our toes starting from around 5 a.m. so I supply and ask you to bring your own earplugs if your room is near our sleeping quarters. I happily accept large quantities of earplugs as donations since they are very hard to get here… but I always have some for the guests who don't bring any. Other welcome donations are teas of all sorts for the guests to enjoy.

I could go on forever. The events are numerous, the experiences wonderful and the guests all special. On behalf of my children I thank you them for the time, dedication and love they have given them during their short, medium and long stays with us. Our guests have made Iskander and Kalena outgoing, able to trust strangers, friendly, and most of all happy. I hold each guest in a special place in my heart and in my life.

Mi Madre Isabel

Last but not least I want to thank my mother, Isabel, for all her support. She has been great in providing emotional and financial assistance in times of dire straits. My mother takes care of her Cabinas Playa Cacao, her own mother, and us, all by herself. Everyone in my family turns to her for help when they need it. I call her with any problem I have and, just by her listening; I know it will all be better. Other times I have turned to guests like Cornelia, Georgina, Emily, Amy, Rachel and Jennifer, Myrt & Katie which lightens my mom's load. Everyday I thank God for my one and only mother and my supportive guests who have been a family and blessing not only to Iskander and Kalena, but to me.

For those of you who have followed the creation and evolution of Kaps Place and its owners -- we are submitting an update on our lives so you are fully informed of the current family and hotel situation.

Kaps Place now stands for Knowledge, Accommodation, and Personalized Service.  Because we have added new people to our hotel to better serve you, we have substituted the original  "Karla Arias" part of the acronym with "Knowledge & Accommodation".

Since I married my best friend on Dec. 27th, 2008,  our family includes a great man, Jorge, a new baby, Calek, and our older children, Iskander and Kalena, who respectively turned 11 and 7 on June 29th and July 3rd of 2009.    I have included some photos of the wedding which was a great 3 in 1 combo (our wedding, Jorge's Birthday, and Calek's Baptism!).

Jorge is an electrical engineer and works for ICE - our phone and internet company.  Calek goes to day care from 7 a.m. to 12 noon and is not yet "speaking in any language!"   Iskander is in fifth grade and Kalena is in first grade - both go to a Catholic elementary school.  As hobbies,  Iskander enjoys reading, juggling, and tennis. Kalena practices Samkya dance, cheerleading, and gymnastics.  Both children are bilingual, wonderful students who contribute to the hotel and its demands on a day to day basis.  Iskander has been able to work the hotel's reception all by himself for about two years now.

The hotel which now has 23 rooms and is made up of 4 housing units. Three of them next to each other: the main house, the chalet and the hostel, and an annex, just around the block.  Our family lives in a house in the neighborhood, so we are available around the clock to assist guests with their needs.

We have a large multi-purpose area which has been used for conferences, meetings, parties, dance, yoga, and day care activities.  Guests can also use a trampoline in the yard and a foosball machine in the smoking area outside for entertainment.

Most of our rooms are away from the street-- the only rooms which are affected by street noise are annex 1and  hostels 1,3 & 4.  The rest, because of our layout, are completely sheltered from street noise.  On our site we describe the pros & cons of each rooms -- and rooms such as mh2, which has no window to the exterior, does have a skylight with two windows (one on each side) with panels for ventilation.  We are only detailing this because some guests who don't see traditional windows think the rooms have no ventilation. 

In addition to free luggage storage, breakfast, coffee, tea, internet access & wi-fi, we now offer free calls to more than 70 countries.

With 11+ years in the business of serving tourists, we can only say "it just keeps getting better."  We are committed to helping and satisfying guests and only need to know your requests so we can fulfill them.  Come visit us and reacquaint yourself with our -- and soon, your -- new family in Costa Rica!

Continue to Part II >>