Buena Onda

I only stayed a short time at Buena onda, but I really liked it. Lucia made check-in easy and gave me lots of useful tips about the area. There’s a coffee shop right next door, which was perfect. The bungalow had everything I needed: my own kitchen, a bathroom with hot water, which is rare around there, and a comfortable bed with AC. The jungle setting makes it easy to appreciate the local nature, and I think the concept is fantastic. I’ll stay here again on my next visit to Santa Teresa. Highly recommend if you want the real deal.

The place is beautiful, wild but comfortable, and the open-to-the-sky bathroom makes the stay feel like a whole experience. It’s close to restaurants, cafés, and the beach. I stayed at Buena Onda for a week, and the staff were very kind and helpful. Highly recommended!

We had a great stay. The garden is lush and lovely, and the bungalows are pretty with lots of space inside, even for two very large bags. The outdoor kitchen is fun, well equipped, and a nice feature. Alberto and Marguerite were friendly and helpful, and their messages were quick and useful. It’s a bit of a walk to the main strip, but there are several really good restaurants nearby, so that wasn’t a problem for us. The beach is easy to get to, and there’s off-road parking. The one downside is noise from the location, unrelated to Alberto and Marguerite or their lovely bungalows. Traffic starts on the road around 6am, and the neighboring property has crowing cockerels. Bring earplugs and you’ll be fine.

The extra $24 USD for beach towels was frustrating. The signs say not to take the regular towels to the beach, but when we asked for beach towels, we were told to buy them at the local supermarket. We couldn’t bring them home, and no other hotel we stayed at in Costa Rica had this issue. We also found the noise, fumes, and dust from the main road hard to deal with. It runs just a few meters from the bungalows, and quads and motorcycles go by constantly. The bungalow walls are thin and do little to block the sound. The outdoor shower might sound nice, but the wooden walls have wide gaps that look out toward the parking lot. We were surprised that the toilet, sink, and shower were all outside. Using an outdoor toilet in 37c (99F) heat was unpleasant, and Expedia didn’t mention that the toilet was outdoors. We raised our concerns with the local representative. She was friendly and contacted the owner, but there was no resolution. The owner wouldn’t offer even a partial refund, despite us not staying any of the 3 nights we had booked. To me, this felt more like glamping than a hotel, and there are much better options in Santa Teresa for the price. I rarely leave less than a 5-star review, but this was such an unpleasant experience that I want other travelers to know. I expect someone from Buena Onda will try to discredit this review, but this is what happened.