Agua Dulce On The Beach

We haven't stayed overnight, so I can only speak to the restaurant. We ate there twice and had great service both times. The menu has a good range of meals and drinks, including vegetarian choices, and the food was fresh, tasty, and generously portioned. It felt like good value. The beach is fun if you're comfortable with waves. We didn't try the pool, but it looked nice and other guests were using it.

For the price, our stay felt like a waste of money. The rooms were dim, worn, and nowhere near as inviting as the online photos suggested. Dead insects and old bathroom fixtures made the poor cleanliness hard to miss. Breakfast was low quality and seemed rushed, and the pool had cloudy water with debris floating in it. Staff came across as unfriendly and ineffective, and when we raised concerns, the response was defensive. The property felt dated and neglected, with no visible effort to fix the problems. It fell short of what you'd expect from a first-class resort, and I wouldn't recommend booking here if comfort and quality matter to you.

The room was spacious and comfortable, with a handy fridge, and the shower was clean with plenty of hot water. The air conditioning only covered the sleeping area. We found the staff friendly and helpful, and the food was good. They also packed breakfast to go on mornings when we had an early start. The property feels a little old and could use some TLC, but it's still worth the 15-minute drive from town on gravel roads. The beach is probably the nicest we've seen in Costa Rica.

Wildlife was the highlight for me: iguanas and macaws were everywhere, and we could hear howler monkeys. The property is beautiful and the pool is nice, but things feel outdated and poorly maintained. The rooms were very basic, and the sheets kept slipping off the beds. Around the pool there was little shade, just one umbrella that one person kept to themselves all day, and the seating was limited and run-down. There seemed to be only a skeleton crew, though a few staff members were very friendly. The restaurant is separately owned; the food was mediocre, and some staff needed a lot more training or didn't seem interested in serving us. The beachfront got crowded on busy days, with local visitors and their trucks and ATVs taking up the shady spots, so we didn't spend much time there. We usually ate at the nearby restaurant at the Iguana Lodge, which mostly serves yoga retreat guests. Breakfast was included daily but very limited and repetitive on weekdays.