Pirate Cove ★★

"We went to Pirate Cove for 4 nights in January 2024 as the starting point of our 16 night stay in and around The Osa Peninsular in Costa Rica. We had a deluxe cabin with air con. The view over the little river and the sea was amazing and we spent lots of time on the balcony watching the flights of pelicans and scarlet macaws fly past. The food was good and plentiful and any reservations we'd had about the set menu, chiefly from reviews on these pages, proved totally unfounded. The staff, particularly the early morning ladies in the kitchen and the barman were lovely. Our room was comfortable and had more than sufficient for our needs. We went on both trips to The Corcovado National Park... Sirena Ranger Station and San Pedrillo Ranger Station and saw loads of wildlife (in 4 daysI took 1800 photographs). We preferred the San Pedrillo trip simply because there were far less people there. Both trips pick up from the beach by the hotel andpick up here first so you get the best choice of seat in the boat. The "wet" pick-ups and landings are easy andif a pair of overweight 60 somethings can do it in style, anyone can! If you go to neither there's still loads of wildlife to see from your balcony or the beach but watch (and listen) out for the daily flights of macaws that pass the hotel and the occaisional pair that stop in the trees by the beach. On the subject of trees, check out the trees behind the pool for the wonderful green iguanas. The beach is gritty rather than sany but is generally deserted and there's some shade if you need it. The small river by the beach is only knee deep for a few hours around low tide and is easily forded, allowing access to the virgin beach North of the hotel whereyou can walk for miles without seeing a soul. I don't know how hotels achieve "star ratings" but Pirate Cove is far better than a 2-star and we thoroughly enjoyed this part of our fantastic adventure and the staff should feel very proud for running such a lovely, friendly hotel."

Kunken Boutique Hotel & Spa ★★★★

"Our family of 10 stayed at the Kunken Hotel for 5 days. Here are my pros and cons: Pros: This is a stunning property, a small paradise in the middle of the jungle, where you are woken up by howler monkeys and birds. We saw scarlet macaws, toucans and many other birds, as well as howlers and coatis up close, which was a real treat. We all enjoyed the big pool and the short walk to the beach. The hotel staff at the property were all very nice and tried their best to accommodate our group. The rooms were spacious and clean. There were 2 bathrooms in each of the cottages. One shower contained plants to give you the feel of an outdoor shower. There were screens everywhere to keep the bugs out as well as it is possible in a tropical environment. Cons: The communication with the main office before we arrived at the hotel was unacceptable. When I would ask 4 questions, one was answered and many times the answer was very vague. Question: “How much do you charge for meals for the children”. Answer: “It depends on how much they eat.” Even when at the property, it took a while before I was told the price of meals for children. There also was no children’s menu and most of the food options were not suited for children. Also, I was not told any details of our pick-up at the P J airport despite several emails until I finally wrote a WhatsApp the day before we left and got an answer from one of the property managers, Estoban. Not stress that I needed the day before our travels. The second big con was the food. If we would have stayed for 2 days, we would have thought that it was okay but getting the exact same side dishes every single day with no change in menu for the whole 5 days was frustrating. Also, neither meat nor fish were usually well cooked. On our last day, 6 of us ordered well-done steaks (we learned that otherwise the meat would be almost raw), and only one was well done. The same meal was also not consistently done in the same fashion-chicken with passion fruit sauce came with the sauce on one day and no sauce the other day. The food is very expensive and for the price, we would have expected something different. Cocktails were also very expensive, but at least, they were good. It seems that there was a general lack of attention to detail at this hotel on several fronts. We did not mind that there was no air conditioning in the rooms and did not need a TV (which was in our room, not the other villas) but we felt that there should be at least a table and one or 2 chairs inside the room. Currently, there were chairs on the porch but inside the room you had to sit on the bed if you wanted to sit somewhere. The furniture at the pool was old and not all umbrellas were functional. Overall, this is a truly beautifully located property but improvements are needed to make this a place to which you would like to return."

Casitas Del Rio Riverfront Nature Lodge - Sloth Luxury Villa ★★★

Casa Drake Lodge ★★★

Ukinca Hostel ★★

Copa De Arbol Beach & Rainforest Resort ★★★

"Stayed here for 5 nights at the end of our trip to Costa Rica. One word sums this resort up - exceptional. Set as it is about 30 minutes by road and a further 10 minutes by boat, the resort blends in to it’s surroundings such that you get a really good feel of being in the rainforest yet it is located on the beach. After a wet landing we were warmly greeted by Brayan who along with Lissbeth are the main contact points. Our room was 2 minutes from the beach, extremely comfortable with 2 queen beds and comfy chairs on the veranda. The restaurant was upstairs with amazing views through the forest onto the beach and Pacific Ocean. This was only the start though - the service and food in the restaurant were superb. All the staff in the restaurant from Daniel, Henry, Alonso, Gabriel, Mauricio and Esteban - hopefully I have not forgotten anyone - were so helpful and thoughtful. The chefs cooked up a delightful variety of food including making sure gluten free options were available. Certainly the gluten free bread was very good but the best were the gluten free cookies. The trips out included snorkelling at the nearby Canos Island, night hikes and Corcovado National park were with an excellent in house guide Anthony as well as other local guides when needed. Everything was done to ensure our stay was relaxing and enjoyable. This is definitely a resort we would thoroughly recommend and exceeded all expectations. Don’t miss out if visiting Costa Rica."

Incredible Ocean Views, Private Pool, Fully Equipped Villa in a Gated Community ★★★

5 Bedrooms, large pool & spectacular whale tail ocean view! ★★★

Whales Tail Views Del Congos Uvita Great Privacy, WSlide Pool, Fast Internet ★★★