Hotel El Bambú

I really enjoyed this hotel apart from the sleep. At night, the wooden boardwalks made the walk back to my room feel like an adventure, and the grounds are lovely and tucked away from the main road. The layout was a fun change from what I’m used to in the United States. There’s a nice pool, a foosball table nearby, a large gift store for last minute gifts, a restaurant, and the boardwalk to the rooms. Everything was well maintained and the staff were extremely friendly. Cleanliness was great as well. Costa Rica’s climate does bring bugs, but over my two day stay I only saw one tiny spider in the bathroom. After encountering a scorpion at another hotel, that wasn’t a big deal. The towels and bedding were spotless. The beds, though, were extremely hard, like sitting on a concrete floor, and the two sheets were so thin they barely felt like sheets. The air conditioning was unreliable. When it worked, it was loud enough to keep me awake, and when it didn’t, the room got uncomfortably hot. At least I knew the bedding was clean. For a quality night’s sleep, the hotel fell short. Still, if you want a clean hotel with a good swimming pool in the Sarapiqui area, I can recommend Hotel El Bambu for the most part.

The forest view from our spacious balcony was lovely, and the walk to the rooms was beautiful. We stayed four nights with our toddler. The AC worked well and even had an air drying option, which came in handy. The property was well kept, and the staff were friendly and helpful. The food was alright. During our stay, the beautiful main pool was being renovated after floods two weeks earlier, but they had set up two temporary pools. I loved seeing wildlife all around the property and would happily come back.

My usual choice for a hotel room in Sarapiquí. There’s a pool, breakfast, and the staff are always friendly.

It’s easy to get to shops and banks since El Bambu is on the town’s main road, and there’s plenty of parking beside the building. But the rooms sit behind the main building, away from the road, and raised wooden walkways connect them, so you really do feel surrounded by jungle. It’s clean and comfortable, though not luxurious, and makes a great base for exploring local wildlife areas.