I have read today that the place has re-opened so i thought i would inform you guys who are worrying. It may still not be the ideal place, i cannot confirm the situation of the hotel, but apparently its doors are back open to their customers.
The article as it AM Costa Rica, i'm not sure i am allowed to post links yet, so just google search it
Quote:
By Helen Thompson
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Hotel Allegro Papagayo has re-opened just in time for Semana Santa, despite being guilty of contaminating the sea and causing Manzanillo Beach to lose its blue flag environmental certification.
The Ministerio de Salud shut down the four-star hotel, located on the Golfo de Papagayo, in the first week of February, forcing management to send its 600 guests elsewhere.
An investigation showed that the hotel's sewage treatment facilities were shockingly inadequate to deal with the demand. It disposed of its untreated waste waters in dubious manners, including running a pipe into a nearby river.
María Luisa Ávila Agüero, the minister of Salud, said that she would take a firm hand against any hotel that was caught contaminating Costa Rica's environment and that any would face closure.
She added that she was placed under strong pressure not to go ahead with the original closure from the Spanish owners of the hotel, which is part of the Occidental Hotels and Resorts chain.
Two days after this statement, the hotel was re-opened, running at a limited capacity.
Until a new sewage treatment plant is installed, the hotel will have 120 out of its 300 rooms available for use by tourists.
“The hotel has made some repairs to their sewage system,” said Ivan Chavarría, an environmental worker for the Liberia office of the health ministry. “It is not big enough to deal with the entire capacity of the hotel, so they will have to wait until the new plant is installed to re-open the other rooms.”
Alonzo Ruiz, a hotel Allegro Papagayo staff member, said that the company expects the treatment plant to be ready within three months, and managers expect to re-open with full capacity at that time.
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