Hotel Mahayana

A little hard to find within Tamarindo since it's off the main drag, but that makes it nice (a lot quieter). Nice little rooms. Once we checked in, we realized the room we were assigned seemed to have non-working AC. Luckily, they had another room available with working AC. Bonus! Rooms and beds were clean. Matresses were a bit on the hard side. I'm a side sleeper and can sleep pretty much anywhere, anytime. I woke up many times during the night with hip discomfort, kind of like when you're backpacking and end up sleeping on your thin sleeping mat over a hard surface. This is the first place I ever stayed at that had a compound topped with eletrical cattle fencing. I realize why it's there - presumably to keep potential thieves out and is for the safety of the guests. Better than barbed or razor wire, I guess. Access to the rooms is by patio doors that open using a strange and sometimes hard to operate four-sided key system. You use the same key to lock the door once you're inside the room. A little finicky to operate but we got the hang of it after a few tries. Could have been an issue if ever we would have had to access or leave our locked room in a hurry. We were looking forward to meeting the owner since many reviews have stated that she is wonderful. Unfortunately, she was away on business, but we were greeted by a lovely young friend of hers.

Owner was very helpful and friendly. Outdoor community kitchen well stocked and useful. Was safe and secure, the location was far enough away from the holiday traffic and noise but close enough to walk to the restaurants, stores and beach. I would stay there again and recommend to anyone.