Neighbor had a place in Guatamala.  Said living like a king was about $450/month.  3 squares a day and entertainment.  Don't go out at night and lock your doors when the sun goes down or you'll be a statistic.

The wife and I took a trip to Costa Rica in '13.  Of all the things we did, I thought that the Arenal volcano area was superb.  We got hooked up with local "tour guide" for $125/day and that included transportation.  He basically brought us wherever we wanted to go and of course he knew all the little Ma and Pa places (backyard BBQ type places).  It was definitely a different and fulfilling experience.  But, we were leaving Minnesota so seeing anything green in mid January is basically therapy for us.   The thermal springs were pretty neat.  Basically outdoor hot tubs from the thermal springs around the volcano.  Highly recommend.

I didn't care for the beach.  We stayed at a Riu Guanacanaste and it was all inclusive.   Other guests were rude (lots of eastern Europeans/Russians), beach was hot and they were constantly ushering beggars away from the resort.  Food was iffy and drinks were watered down.  I would rather pay $3 for a quality drink than get a free crappy one.  At the time beer was $2/beer and mixers were around $3. I am sure that has gone up since then but overall food and beverage was "reasonable" for a tourist area.