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The helpful school staff quickly made me to feel at ease here.

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This is a well managed school with an excellent building and a highly motivated staff.

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the teachers at this location were fabulous. also, the office staff really does make you feel like part of the family-they are so friendly! a highly recommended program!!

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I wasn't there for fun, the classes were taught by engaging staff and problems resolved quickly. A special program I requested, in idiomas de psicologa was set up with a student at the local university. This school met my expectations perfectly! sorry I'm on my laptop and don't have a keypad to do accents...

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I loved CPI Heredia! Great homestay with an excellent family, wonderful facilities, very rigorous and helpful instruction. Met and hung out with other students and took some amazing excursions. San Joaquin is small with few English speakers, so this provides an excellent immersion experience. Not a lot of nightlife right in San Joaquin, but we were usually ready to call it a night after class, an excursion, dinner and a couple Imperials.

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CPI was a nightmare. The teachers were not university trained. They were local women who were given a book that they read out of. The instruction is traditional-memorize,read and practice. Nothing innovative. CPI is not up to date with foreign language instruction. The San Jacquin de Heredia campus looks good but they have put all their money into "looking good", providing air-conditioning and snacks. Quality instruction is not part of the package. I found the school to be very unprofessional starting with the airport pick-up. In Costa Rica, people don't tip and respectable people don't accept a tip. The driver took tips and it felt like he expected them. I didn't care for the lodging that CPI had us stay in San Jose. It was a youth hostel without any supervision. Most of the the people were high school students that were into partying. You get the drift-we got no sleep. The house is a private residence with bunkbeds. Filthy bathroom and toilets. The owners-a man and a woman gave us the run around. It was a pretty awful way to start a "real" adventure(if that is what you are looking for). I highly recommend looking elsewhere at language schools. I would look for a school that has university trained teachers and a staff that has a connection with European or North American language training. Regarding Monteverde-The Monteverde campus is not in the center of town. It is a very expensive area and taxi's are not cheap. It is very hilly so getting around is something that you need to think of if you do not want to be by yourself. Meals in Monteverde are in dollars at many of the restaurants. I didn't go to their beach campus at Flamingo. I met 2 teachers who did. They thought their teachers were locals. I think it is really important to feel comfortable when learning a language and CPI did not provide that experience for me-just the opposite.

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I have studied at CPI three times now and am planning to return April 08 with my nephew. It is a terrific learning experience and the teachers are wonderful. I love the individualality of the small classes and the fact that the teachers always ask me what I need and then focus their teaching on my needs. Also, the administrative staff is excellent and willing to help with anything that the student needs with a smile and a terrific attitude. I have already recommended this school to several friends and so far, everyone has been thrilled with CPI.

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I cannot think of any way in which this school could be better. The teachers were skilled and personable, the management staff were dedicated, cheerful, and attentive to ones questions, the families I stayed with were just "maravillosas", and the various afternoon activities were well planned and interesting. I enjoyed both the Heredia and Monteverde campuses. I have stuck my head in the door of other language schools elsewhere, and studied at one other, and have yet to encounter one as all-around good as CPI.

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Okay, having just returned from Costa Rica, here goes my evaluation of CPI in San Joaquin, in the province of Heredia. On the positive side, the physical plant is very nice. San Joaquin is a nice little town with relatively few tourists, although the residents complain about escalating crime. Finally, I was blessed to stay with a wonderful host family. On a less sanguine note, the actual written materials were poor in quality. I felt that the teachers were good, but here, it is a hit or miss. The school boasts that its teachers universally have college degrees, and this may well be the case. However, the teachers personally run the gamut from very enthusiastic instructors to borderline burnouts. However, the most troubling aspect of the atmosphere in Heredia is a somewhat mercenary attitude that the school maintains. The school is clear the priority 1 is the collection of tuition from the students, and if the students happen to have difficulty learning Spanish, well, that is dreadful, but what can be done.