“Wonderful Resort in Guanacaste Costa Rica! Would love to go back!”

This property was perfect for my Costa Rica vacation! It was near Samara, offering peace and tranquility within walking distance of restaurants & shops. We loved the large pool, separate (but connected) kiddie pool and spa, and lush landscaped lounge seating. The outdoor showers were great after a dip in the ocean. The grounds were under construction when we visited, but beautiful. Their landscaping seemed to use native local plants in a sustainable, eco-friendly way to create a relaxed, tropical feel. Each building housed two separate villas with separate, private entrances. They featured tile floors; a living/dining room with couch, chairs, and dining set; a galley kitchen with fridge, stove, microwave, dishes and cooking utensils; huge bedroom(s) with wall-to-wall built-in storage; a spacious bathroom with tiled shower and tons of storage; 2 private patios with a hammock; a semi-private "lawn" area; and privacy hedges. The furniture was dated and well-worn (my only complaint!) but met our needs. There was a faucet at the front door, but kept tracking sand into the villa and ants quickly accumulated on any unwrapped food left out, but you should expect that in the tropics!

“Wow!!!”

What a beautiful place to stay. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The accomodations were perfect, if you really want to get away. (No phones in villas.) Went during rainy season but still had a great time. Restaurant was good, not great. But there are plenty of restaurants in the adjacent town to choose from. The beach is great, fairly private, scenic and clean.

“The perfect Costa Rican vacation!”

Hotel Villas Playa Samara is a wonderful place to stay if you are looking for an out of the way true Costa Rican experience. The facilities are excellent. Rooms are clean, open, and bright. Kitchen facilities are great, especially if traveling with a family. The food in the restaurant is excellent. Many local dishes that Chef Jesus has tweaked even better. We caught tuna one day and he cleaned, fileted, and prepared an awesome meal for us. (Incredibly the cost was the same as what they normally charge for an al carte entree.) What I really enjoyed most is that this is where Costa Ricans come for vacation. It really gives you a feel for the country and its people to be able to visit with them at the beach or by the pool. If you want an "americanized" tourist hotel with little or no contact with the local culture and people this may not be for you. There is easy access to Playa de Samara and Playa de Carrillo, the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica. (Playa de Carrillo is around the corner and is an easy walk or short drive/taxi ride.) Water sports are plentiful and rentals available for all types. Especially helpful was Catherine who is in charge of the "concierge" desk. She helped us plan some tours at the local national parks etc. I have to say she went out of her way to make our stay better. Thank you Catherine!

“I will recommend this hotel to anybody.”

Personnals are very charmy. The place is very clean and secure.The food excellent.... Very good experience. Excellent

“Excellent Value in the off-season”

We booked a last min. Expedia Special Rate and was very happy with the accommodations and facilities for what we paid. If it had been the high season prices we might have been somewhat disappointed. Villas were wonderful, pool area great, (although the swim up bar was never open during the day), the only real complaint was the mini mart on property was never opened during the posted times on the door, you always had to go find someone and wait to get the market opened, and they never put any prices on anything on the shelves. The main disappointment was the hotel was 3km from town, not a walkable road and when high tide was in you were also cut off from walking the beach to town. Since we had no rental car we had to hire a taxi every night to go into town for dinner or to walk around.

“Very nice place to stay”

We really enjoyed this place, I went with my wife and we love the place, the hotel is equipped with kitchen, refrigerator very spacious rooms. Within the property is a small supermarket, but can find some things and a nice restaurant, with good food, if you like can go to Samara Beach and find multiples option for diner and entertainment. For sure if you enjoy your vacation at Villas Playas Samara try to take a massage at the beach in the sunset... it is amazing!!.

“A Good Samara stay”

We got a bungalow that was right on the beach, which was fantastic. Food was ok but not great. Lovely beach and great for swimming. Horseback riding on the the beach a must do. On checking out was billed for items that we did not purchase at the convenient store and for breakfast which was supposed to be included int he rate we booked. The receptionist immediately reversed after we pointed out, but it is tiring having to be on your guard always during vacation. Otherwise, security was very good and we felt safe and comfortable.

“I hate having to wear those stupid wristbands!”

I thought the staff were more interested in selling their day excursions than focusing on me as a guest. We were promised one rate by Expedia when we booked, and the prices just seemed to go higher the longer we stayed. The rooms need upgrading and the office is being renovated (02/2012), so I suppose there'll be improvement in the future. As with other reviews, the store is rarely open when advertised. Do yourself a favor and travel a little south to Playa Carrillo, an almost deserted beach just down the road, and experience a superior setting. BTW, an evening climb up the rock outcropping between Samara and Carrillo will reveal stunning monkeys playfully eating in the tops of the trees.

“Peace and quiet”

This hotel was a last minute booking due to a screw up in my reservations at the Hilton. Over all the hotel is nice if you are looking for peace and quiet. It is not an all inclusive so you pay for everything. They were doing maintenance and adding a new section to the dining area while we were there. Unfortunately they worked on it while the dining service was going on. It has a pool where you can sit and drink. The menu at the restuarant does not change. For those who like to watch t.v. and clock watch, this isn't for you. There are no t.v or clocks in the room. Only the bedroom has AC. It is perfect for those who want to get away from the modern world. It has an excellent view with lots of wildlife. You are close enough to town to drive in and eat at the local establishments which are great by the way. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful. I loved laying in the hammock reading my book. The villas are slightly worn down but are still in good shape. It was the little things like the curtains not repaired or the french doors not properly latching that bothered me. It has a kitchen so those who want to cook are able to. It has a little convience store on the property. It does have some equipment that you can rent on the property such as kayaks. They do have tours you can take that work with the hotel. Over all it is a nice place to stay at if you are not looking for all the creature comforts of home. The prices seem competitive to the other hotels-these are villas.

“A little bit more....”

The hotel is perfectly fine. It features little individual bungalows for each guest. The main or living room has a full kitchen and then there are back bedrooms. The only part that was air-conditioned was the bedroom which made the front room close to unusable most of the time. Some people we met claimed to have "droppings" of some sort in the front room but we didn't have this. Everything worked and was reasonably clean, it really just needed to be updated. Small details like stained towels and holes in cabinet doors made it feel not so great at times. The wooden doors were beautiful. Honestly if the owners would just put a little money into the property it would be fantastic and they could probably charge 4x as much but they seem to be happy with mediocrity. The pool looked nice but we didn't go in. The breakfast bar was adequate but the flies and temperature of some of the food items made me kind of squeamish. Again, an extra 10 percent effort would make this place seem so much more comfy. We didn't eat at the restaurant, there were too many fantastic options in town. The beach was a bit of a disappointment for someone from Florida (this has nothing to do with the hotel), however there is a beautiful beach, Playa Carillo, a ten minute walk away. Based on the location and the price we would stay here again but it makes me sad that the owners don't do just a little, teeny bit more to make their quests more comfortable. This hotel is not for those afraid of iguanas.