Hotel Samsara

The owners were very friendly and accommodating, and the rooms were spacious and clean with A/C that worked like a charm. It’s a lovely place tucked into nature. There were lots of bugs when we went out at night, though that’s to be expected if you’re visiting Costa Rica. A trail behind the hotel leads to the beach. It took me about 15-20 minutes, and the walk was beautiful. I’d definitely recommend staying here.

We had a great vacation here. The host was warm and welcoming, and our room was comfortable and had air conditioning. The property was lovely, with jungle behind it. The restaurant was very good, with breakfasts and specialty Cuban dinners.

The bathrooms were dirty, it was overpriced, and an over-friendly dog made reception feel like a big dog house. Big trucks also rumbled noisily past on the main street. Normally I wouldn’t care much about those things because the staff were so kind and warm, and served a wonderful breakfast. But at 3am, a couple of cars came into the parking lot honking and yelling. That wasn’t the hotel’s fault, but the people wanted to stay there and even knocked on random doors and windows, including ours. The hotel’s part in it was accepting those “guests.” After that, a good night’s sleep, privacy and safety didn’t feel guaranteed.

Horrible experience. The nature walk was nice, but I can’t say the same about the rooms. We were there from February 15 until the 18, and on our last night, the 17th, we came back from the beach to shower and couldn’t. As soon as I turned on the shower, smoke started coming from the cables connected to the shower head. I turned it off right away and contacted the hotel. The woman in charge said she couldn’t do anything and that we had to wait until the next day. Are you kidding me? I had my 10 month old baby and a 3 year old covered in sand, and none of us could shower, even though we had paid for that service. They still refused to refund my money. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this hotel unless you want a fire in your room, and I definitely won’t stay here again.