Espadilla Gardens Hotel

The place is beautiful, but the trails are very dirty and poorly maintained. They charge $10 per person. My clients had a great experience with the guide, but I think the staff don’t realize what they have with the terciopelos.

This was a peaceful break from the busy Manuel Antonio area. We could walk back from the park after our guided hike and stay there as long as we wanted. It’s very close to the park, and we saw monkeys visiting the covered outdoor sitting area at our room. Most rooms in the single-story building have one of those spaces. The rooms were spacious and comfortable, the staff pleasant, and the pool lovely. Breakfast was good too, though it meant taking a short walk to the sister hotel.

You can use the facilities at Hotel Playa Espadilla, which is a lot nicer and more comfortable, and the cocktails by its pool were good. Our room itself was okay, but very small and dark. Its position was bad, right beside the property gate, with a fairly busy road and a bar across from it. The pool is also beside the entrance road to the car park, so people pass by as they come and go while you’re swimming.

The rooms are only okay, but the location is excellent, within walking distance of Manual Antonio park and the beach. There are monkeys in the property’s trees and on the power lines, along with lots of birds and iguanas. The region is hot, humid, and tropical, so a wet swimsuit left out overnight may still be damp in the morning. The pool felt just a little too warm to cool off on a hot day. Breakfast is included, but served at their other hotel, about a five-minute walk away.