Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort Member of the Cayuga Collection

Beautiful location and for the most part the service was great. First the pluses ....beach is super and the staff down by the beach was friendly and welcoming and they do a great job of creating safety (lots of lifeguard drills it appeared!) and overall the sense of a lovely vacation feel. There are golf carts to take you everywhere on the property, which is pretty necessary as the property is steep and quite spread out. You just give a call and someone shows up in minutes. Many of the drivers have a great personality, just made it surprising when a few of them seemed not friendly--and for us there was no need to speak English--I was always happy to try my Spanish! Ditto for the staff in the main restaurant--some were friendly and welcoming and a few others were all business and not very welcoming or patient. On with the plus items...the beds are very comfortable, rooms are private and quiet, and the policy of free mini bar snacks (with free restocking) is wonderful! The monkeys and iguanas --and sloths--on the property are terrific. There is a dinner in the beach restaurant on Wednesdays, Sats and Suns and since we were only there for the Wed dinner, I wish that the staff at breakfast had reminded us of it and also, there could be a small guide in the room that would include the beach dinner evening schedule as well as a map of the nature trail --with distances. We wanted to walk it ourselves, without their guide, but didn't have a good sense of the overall length of the trail. There was a little sense that they wanted to encourage us to sign up for their guided (for a fee) walk. The food in the main restaurant was good, but not exceptional and the dinners are quite expensive. The breakfast has many choices and again, it's good but not exceptional--but nice that it's included in the room price. Overall, however, it's a lovely place, clearly the nicest place to stay in Manuel Antonio, but also quite pricey, which you know if you're reading this! Trip.com had the best price by far, at least for November.

I’ve been visiting Quepos and Manuel Antonio since the late 90’s and I’ve been able to spend a bit of time in many properties in this area. Arenas del Mar is my favorite spot, and while I could write many pages and touch upon many details, I will summarize the sentiment with a few key points. 1. The vast majority of hotels in this area do not have direct access to a beach, and much less so to one that is practically private. I believe that this beach is called “Playita” and it actually remains beautiful even during the rainy season, which is not always the case along CR’s central and south pacific coast line. I recommend maximizing time there when the tide is lower. 2. Good views are actually common in MA, but Arenas offers you spectacular vantage points from ANYWHERE… rooms, restaurant, bar, pools… anywhere you are, the eyes will be pampered. 3. For most of us, food and drink are an important part of quality downtime. The chefs at Arenas are doing exemplary work, focusing on authentic cuisine with quality ingredients. And their a-la-carte breakfast menu is the most ample I’ve ever seen. I was able to try a few options and they were all 10/10, which is rare… 4. Wildlife is abundant. You will definitely see monkeys and probably see macaws. If you are lucky, you’ll catch a sloth or two… eagles, snakes, etc. This is what happens when you are immersed in the forest. 5. Service. I left it last, but it certainly is not least. You are warmly and attentively received in the “Welcome” area, then shuttled to the beautiful, open-air reception, and finally taken to your room. It’s a wonderful process that serves to educate you on how to make the most of your stay. The staff at the restaurant, beach-club, guest services… and even housekeeping, are constantly going further to sweeten your stay. I am very much looking forward to my next stay, with the family.

This was our first visit to Manuel Antonio, and we spent three nights at this resort. We really enjoyed our visit. The staff was wonderful. We ate at both of the resort restaurants and loved them both. We enjoyed a day at the beach and that was very nice. On our last day, we booked a sailboat excursion through the hotel, which was wonderful. The boat was named Brisa Elegante. This sailboat was one of the highlights of our entire trip.

Amazing resort - location and accommodations are fabulous. Best of all are the staff that work there. They make you feel like family. Great vacation!

Arenas Del Mar is an amazingly beautiful hotel set into the side of a rainforest hill with rooms nestled into the hillside. The rooms are top notch and very comfortable. The private beach is beautiful, peaceful and completely relaxing. The food however is sub par for what you would expect at a first class hotel. Dinner entrees start at approx $40. I had a shrimp pasta the first night which had great flavor however the shrimp were tiny and were overcook until they were rubbery leather. Other than the overpriced and poor food, the hotel is wonderful, staff is super attentive and helpful, scenery is amazing. You can always arrange a car to take you down the hill for some outstanding food at any number of restaurants. I would definitely stay here again but just realize I’ll be dining in town vs at the hotel restaurants.

The staff, the views, the amenities, the beach, and all of the wild animals made a perfect vacation. Lunch on the beach was simply delicious. Breakfast was incredible and you could pre-order if you had an early excursion, the mattresses and pillows were magnificent most comfortable, we ever stayed on

The hotel is nice, cozy and modern. Location is very good, and the beach is nice and relaxt with all kinds of facilities. Food in all restaurants was diverse and good. The two of us made reservation for a 2 night stay. Unfortunately one of us faced a medical issue. The hotel staff truly took care of us. Very thoughtful, they arranged for a doktor and (in the end) an ambulance. I stayed an extra night on my own, due to the situation, and I was well taken care off. Thank you VERY much Arenas del Mar Team! We sincerely hope to return one day to thank you in person, and enjoy the hotel a bit longer,

Accidentally stumbled upon this place. We were headed to Manuel Antonio and realized it was closed… so we were looking for the closest hotel we could find to have lunch. We picked this place randomly off of the map and WOW did we luck out! We were able to buy two day passes and apply the value towards food and drink. In exchange we were able to use all of the beach and pool facilities. It was the best day of our entire trip to CR, and a complete accident. Next time we visit, we will stay here for a few days. It is heaven! Gorgeous, clean, wonderful service and safe. The road to the resort off the Main Street is intimidating…. But you’ll make it. Promise! 🤣

We stayed here recently (room 701) and overall had a nice stay. The staff is so nice and the rooms are clean. We had a monkey encounter almost every day, which was really fun. And we saw sloths and macaws from the pool. Really great nature and breathtaking views. The pools are beautiful (no hot tub), and the chairs at the beach were really nice. Although the water was pretty rough and not recommended for small kids. I got an hour long massage for $113 which was a great value. A few things held me back from giving it five stars. 1. You are also really stuck at the resort. As many reviews share, it is on a VERY steep hill and far from the town. So be prepared to eat the same meal every single day. While breakfast is included, strangely you have to pay for iced tea. I did enjoy the dinner options, although the prices were high for the area. Also there's a $25 charge for room service, which is high even for the US! 2. I think they are on a septic system because there are certain places on the property (outside our room, the spa) that absolutely stunk like sewage. Like, a nausea-inducing smell. I hope they can solve for that. 3. I personally thought the bed was too hard and springy. They should invest in upgrading the mattresses. While I enjoyed it, I don't think we would go back.