Exterior

Reviews of El Sano Banano Beachside Hotel

3 out of 5
El Sano Banano Beachside Hotel
In Front of the Park, Cóbano

Reviews

8.0

Very Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 48 out of 147 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 60 out of 147 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 28 out of 147 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 8 out of 147 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 3 out of 147 reviews" "

8.6/10

Cleanliness

8.6/10

Staff & service

8.2/10

Amenities

8.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Shawn

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very good location for walking to whatever you might need but at the same time quiet. Extremely friendly staff!
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

6/10 Okay

William

Liked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good location, steps to beach and where the tour operators meet. After 3 weeks touring the pacific coast from La Cruz to Montezuma, the beach was a bit disappointing. The town itself is small, but pretty cool. Lots of dining options within a few minutes walk. More if you want to drive. My room was clean, but very dark. Windows faced the hallway. Decent bed with comfortable bedding. Good water pressure and plenty of hot water. Can’t say much about the restaurant because I didn’t eat there. A frig in the room would have been nice.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Erik, Berkeley

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Best sleep of trip to CR. Interior room w interior windows, slept through the night. Ready to continue the adventure.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from Manager on Feb 25, 2024
Thank you for staying with us. We are happy you had a good nights sleep :) Welcome back anytime

6/10 Okay

Linda

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Amenities
only 2 plugs in the room. . 1 tiny soap, air conditioning is not great beds were rock hard, but the price per night is good
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Myron

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
We loved our stay at the Sano Banano. Our room was clean and very adequate. The food at the restaurant was beyond excellent. We loved the location and accessibility to the beach, town and roads. This would be our first choice if we every are in the area again.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2024
Response from Manager on Jan 30, 2024
Thank you so much for staying with us. We are very happy you had an enjoyable time in our hotel and restaurant. We hope you will visit us again in the future :)

4/10 Poor

Michael

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023
Response from Syska on Dec 29, 2023
Hi Michael, Could you please give us more feedback about your rating? Thank you

6/10 Okay

JUDITH

Traveled with family
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Room have no windows. Front desk are helpful.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023
Response from Manager on Dec 29, 2023
Hi,Thank you for staying with us. Indeed we have a couple rooms without windows however we don't rent them on this platform. We do have several rooms with windows overlooking the inner hallways and inside of the building. As well as some overlooking the Montezuma downtown. We are glad you enjoyed the helpful staff and hope you enjoyed your time in Montezuma.

10/10 Excellent

Cristian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023
Response from Manager on Nov 10, 2023
Thank you for staying with us :)

10/10 Excellent

Edwin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Really nice budget option. rooms were comfortable (though our room did not have a window to the outside, just to a hall way). the hotel is in the center of the small town, so you can walk anywhere. Plus they are owned by resort nearby which gives you access privilege to their pool and beach views. I would recommend this place.
Response from Manager on Jul 4, 2023
Thank you so much for choosing to stay with us. We are happy you enjoyed your stay.

10/10 Excellent

Malcolm

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Centrally located, interesting decor
Centrally located, interesting decor excellent breakfast except for the picayuneishness of charging for a second cup of coffee. Most hotels of this nature have free refills, and often have 24-hour free coffee.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2023
Response from Sano Banano Team on Apr 12, 2023
Thank you for staying with us.

10/10 Excellent

Debbie

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Right in the center of Montezuma ... close to the beach., all the restaurants and attractions.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2023
Response from Sano Banano Team on Apr 12, 2023
Thank you for staying with us. We are happy you enjoyed your stay

10/10 Excellent

Mary

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Loved all the murals & wall paintings. Very clean. Muy rico patacones. Helpful staff. A little noisy but we like the younger crowds.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023
Response from Sano Banano Team on Apr 12, 2023
Thank you so much for staying with us. We are happy you enjoyed your stay

8/10 Good

richard

Traveled with group, Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Super Bowl
Great that Super Bowl was made such a big thing. Got me and buddies there for a stay. Well done!
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023
Response from Sano Banano Team on Apr 12, 2023
Thank you for choosing to stay with us. We are happy you enjoyed the super bowl :)

6/10 Okay

James

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
This hotel is overpriced. It is not awful, but $75 per night for what is offered is absurd. The good points are the comfortable beds and the efficient air conditioning. The restaurant also does pretty good food and some of the servers are excellent. In fact the place is rather better as a restaurant than it is a hotel. Our double-double room was much too small for the two beds that occupied it. The room felt like a cave: cornflake-coloured, textured walls with a window that only looked out on to the corridor. The curtains have to be permanently closed for privacy, meaning that the only option is harsh lighting. There is no wardrobe, only some very high hooks; and the shelves double as bedside tables. This furniture is also between the beds, making everything feel even more enclosed. The safe keypad was broken, so we were given the master key with our room key, which meant we had to anxiously take care of both. There is nowhere for luggage except the floor. There is no shelf in the shower. The toilet was tiny and the cheap, flimsy seat did not stay up properly. We were only given one hand soap for a four day stay. Towels were blue, which is always less appealing than fresh, clean white ones. On some days the facecloths were not replaced. There is no television or fridge. There is no free tea or coffee. To top it off the rooms meant phone reception is non-existent and the WiFi was unreliable. All in all it felt more like a good quality hostel at a ridiculous price.

8/10 Good

Christine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Room comfort
Funky and Fun
Sano Banano serves the best food in town in their beautiful garden restaurant-- breakfast, lunch and dinner were all amazing. The staff is over-the-top friendly, aims to please, welcoming and efficient. The hotel rooms upstairs, however, leave much to be desired, unless all you want is a bed and a shower and ac. Our room had no closet or cabinet (except a bookshelf) nor any place to put our bags except the second bed. Since we are traveling in CR for two months, we have significant baggage and it was difficult to keep things organized. There are 5 pegs on the wall for hanging wet swimsuits and towels. No nightstands and very poor lighting and sparse outlets, oddly-placed. A delightful scene and the 'headboard', are painted on the wall, and the only window opened into the hall. We had to keep the curtain closed for security and privacy, so had no daylight at all in the room. We were happy to get fresh towels somedays and the floors swept of the inevitable sand tracked in from the beach. We appreciated the safe in the room. My suggestion would be to remove the second double bed and use the space to add a chair and a dresser or closet.The best ammenity, in addition to the food, was access to Ylang Ylang, a gorgeous sister resort 15 minutes' walk up the beach. We took full advantage of the beautiful pool with food and bar service. The landscaping, breathtaking scenery and entertaining wildlife there were a delight-- all combined, we had a really fun five days in Montezuma.
The view from our room
The Garden
Healthy breakfast of yogurt, fruit smoothies and traditional fare are included in the price.
Stayed 6 nights in Jan 2022

10/10 Excellent

Jennifer

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Pura Vida Vibes
We wish we could have stayed here longer!! We booked one night here as a stopover point to take the ferry and head to Jaco the next day. We had no idea Playa Montezuma was such a fun special place! We ate wonderful food at the restaurant, had delicious drinks, shopped at the street vendors, explored the gorgeous beaches, and made some beautiful friends all in one night!! The room was small and had no view, but the town and service were so warm and welcoming, we would definitely stay here again.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2021
Response from syska on Jan 2, 2022
Thank you for staying with us. We are so happy you enjoyed your stay.

10/10 Excellent

Edwin

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location, great service.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2021
Response from Syska on Dec 27, 2021
Thank you for your visit

10/10 Excellent

Amy M.

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good location and great staff.
Very friendly and helpful front staff. Great location walking within town and to the beach. Beautiful back garden to sit and have meals. Good place to stay if you want to be centrally located. Great surprise you could even go to their sister hotel and use the pool!! :). (Iguana walked through garden)
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2021
Response from Sano Banano Family on Oct 19, 2021
Thank you for staying with us and leaving us a wonderful review. We are very happy you enjoyed your stay, location and service. Welcome back anytime.

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nice place and people.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2021
Response from Manager on Sep 14, 2021
Thank you for staying with us Michael. We hope you enjoyed your visit to Montezuma.

10/10 Excellent

Alan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Staff was especially attentive and servicial. One had the sense they understood their job was to make our stay great. Management also of course.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2020
Response from Manager on Mar 18, 2020
Thank you for your stay. We are very happy you enjoyed your time with us. Welcome back anytime :)

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2020
Response from Sano Banano Team on Mar 6, 2020
Thank you for your stay.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020
Response from Manager on Feb 26, 2020
Thank you for your stay!

10/10 Excellent

Crystal

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect location.
Had such a wonderful time! They screened the Super Bowl!!!!! Would definitely stay there again!
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2020
Response from Manager on Feb 4, 2020
Thank you for staying with us. We are very happy you had a pleasant stay. We hope to see you again in the near future.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great location, super friendly staff, nice room and shower, great restaurant (although service can be a bit deficient and slow, but...pura vida haha). We had a great time during our stay at el sano banano. Recommended
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019
Response from Syska on Jan 8, 2020
Thank you for staying with us. We are very happy you had a good time :)

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019
Response from admin on Apr 19, 2019
Thank you for your review!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This was, I think, my fourth stay here. Discovered it by accident when I ran out of time to get to my next destination and have stayed here every time I'm in Costa Rica. Love the town and love this facility
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019
Response from Manager on Mar 11, 2019
Thank you so much for staying with us. Welcome back anytime :)

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nice quiet room but no windows. Locks only work with a key from the inside could be dangerous.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018
Response from manager on Jan 8, 2019
Hi! Thank you for your feedback. Some of our rooms offer windows and some do not (ideal for sleeping in). We hope you had a good stay and enjoyed our little town.

8/10 Good

Caroline

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Great location in cute beach town.
Hotel location good, but rooms were dark and windows did not open. Service in the restaurant was very friendly but slow. Food was good. Overall Montezuma is nice beach town.
Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2018
Response from Gerente General on Jan 4, 2019
Hi Caroline, Thank you for your feedback. Our rooms are designed to be air conditioned so indeed windows don't open. We did inform you of this before your check in. We apologize about the slower service in the restaurant. Our busy season is just starting and we have lots of new staff. We are working to remedy this. We appreciate your feedback and we are very happy to hear you liked our little town of Montezuma.

10/10 Excellent

Stephanie L Shasteen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Comfortable room, delicious food, friendly service
I loved El Sano Banano. I was in Montezuma for a night before heading to a yoga retreat just outside of town. The room was comfortable and the service was amazing. I checked out and they watched my bag until it was time for me to go to the retreat. The food was very health conscious and delicious. The smoothies are to die for. Definitely get the green passion. And there is some kind of a cocoa coffee bliss... Get it. Trust me. I ate in the restaurant several times during my stay and heartily recommend the Patacon sandwich and the Tipico breakfast. Oh... and don't forget the artisan chocolates. Seriously, everything at El Sano Banano is heavenly.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2017

8/10 Good

edgar

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The hotel is a partner with Ylang Ylang which is an upscale resort. You have access to the pool there and the restaurant.

8/10 Good

Dustin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good beds Good AC No Scorpions in our bedsheets Cool animals Beautiful pool 15min walk up the beach Central location Nice breakfasts Close to Montezuma falls Nice staff Do walk the trails at Ylang Ylang pool, there are Capuchins like the one I snapped this pic of. Overall had a great visit here. Stayed 5 days and scuba dived in St. Lucia. If you're from Canada, think of St. Lucia and Montezuma as a Tofino of the south. Very laid back surf town, hippie vibe and lots of hippie types floating around. So many Europeans too.

8/10 Good

Gina

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Friendly staff, garden to eat in. Some rooms do not have Windows. We enjoyed staying there. Use of pool at the sister hotel about 15 minutes walk along the beach.

6/10 Okay

traveller, canada

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Ok hotel, small room
Check in was awkward. We were shuffled to 3 different staff members. None seemed too concerned. The room was small with no exterior window or tv. Food was good as was the included breakfast that is ordered from the menu.

2/10 Terrible

robbed , costa Rica

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Noone in charge. Ignorance.dishonesty
They would not provide a receipt because they denied keeping $88.91 that was accidentally overbooked by hotel one. Staff was ignorant or dishonest. Some acted distracted.troubled. credit card is making inquiry/investigation

8/10 Good

paul, los angeles

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Good location hotel
I stayed for 3 nights and it is a good price along with breakfast. The waitresses seem indifferent to getting your food and they were not serving dinner as it was the low season. The first morning there was only cold showers and after talking with the staff the shower became either extremely hot or very cold - nothing inbetween. The room was clean and had a view of the street.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Close to everything. In town, clean. Nice breakfast.

10/10 Excellent

Jenn, San Jose, CA

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great budget option
The room was a great value and offered everything we needed. Given the low price point, we had budget questions that the staff were unable to help with (such as local bus schedules), but overall, they were pleasant and accommodating.

10/10 Excellent

Debra, Spokane, WA USA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Always a hit
Our 3rd trip and this hotel is always our favorite .... Sad to see no dinner service or movie

8/10 Good

Tati, San Jose

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect location nice people
The room was actually ready before check in and they let us go in right away, the rooms are nice and clean, the hotel has a great patio and a nice front deck it is very close to the beach and the restaurant instalations are nice also, overall great stay and experience staff were great also.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveler

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
very oppresive
restaurant area was nice, staff ok but rooms had no ventilation, hence mould everywhere

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

6/10 Okay

David, Ontario Canada

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Only complaint was no windows. Price on the high side but quiet and air conditioned comfort. Staff were terrific.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely hotel with beautiful courtyard
I really enjoyed this hotel, however, the bedroom we had was on the interior of the hotel and no daylight. Because of that its not a room you'd want to relax in. The room was extremely clean and it had lovely painting, the whole hotel felt very cared for.

8/10 Good

Blake

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice but dated hotel
The rooms are good if you only plan to sleep in them and spend most of your days outdoors. The hotels is very dated, the rooms have no windows that look outside, and there is no hair dryer. Apart from that, there are no real downsides -- the location is great (almost on the beach) and the staff is friendly and helpful, which is always a plus in my book.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Montezuma stay
Nice Clean Place - good food in Restaurant. Loved the movies. Nice people that work there. I was lucky to have a window in my room, however - the room was very noisy due to outside noise & other establishment restaurant next door - downstairs.

6/10 Okay

jennifer, Portland Oregon

Liked: Staff & service
Perfect spot to check out Montezuma
Great place in the heart of the city;good place for a night or two but probably too much action if you want peace and quiet. Great food and excellent service. Perfect way to check out Montezuma if you are just passing through. Just a short walk down the beach and you can have peace and quiet and a pool with nice restaurant at sister resort Ylang Ylang just by showing your room key.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Good location, but noisy. Surprise key deposit
The hotel is right in the centre of Montezuma, so you can't beat the location. It's a quick five minute walk to the main beach. Guests also have access to the sister Ylang Ylang resort's pool, but be warned -- it's another 15 minute walk or so, which sounds fine in theory but can be harder under mid-day sun on scorching sand. It's also worth noting that the hotel has a $100 key deposit -- you obviously get your money back, but this surprisingly large deposit is not listed anywhere on Expedia or on the hotel website

8/10 Good

Ryan, Broomfield, CO

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
awesome location, decent hotel
Wifi isn't great in the rooms, and not having a window was a bit of a downer, but you can't beat the location and the people are great. BIt pricey compared to other options, but the seemed to always have availability so it worked for us.

10/10 Excellent

Lee, St. Petersburg FL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Convenient location
We had a great room with a window (overlooking the roof, however) but the couple we were with had a smaller room with a window painted on the wall. We were happy, they were not. We found the hotel a great place to stay for the money. Montezuma doesn't have many options, but even if there were we would consider this hotel. We found it quiet at night and the movies they show a nice alternative for the evening. We ate at other restaurants but liked theirs the best.