Hotel Playa Espadilla y Gardens

Staff was super helpful with restaurant recs, arranging park guides, and spa treatments at another hotel. Room was very clean, facilities well kept and the atmosphere around the pool/bar/restaurant very peaceful and beautiful! The location is great because it’s at a dead end in the road so it’s quieter than other properties in the area.

Hotel Playa Espadilla y Gardens has a lot going for it. The rooms are okay—nothing fancy—but each one has its own outdoor seating area, which is a really nice touch and makes it easy to relax and enjoy the surroundings. The property itself is beautiful and spacious, with a sister property right next door that adds to the overall appeal.

The food was very good, and the hotel’s location is hard to beat—right between Manuel Antonio National Park and the beach, both within easy walking distance.

Wildlife sightings around the hotel made the stay extra special. We saw monkeys multiple times right from the grounds, and while I didn’t spot toucans inside the national park, I was lucky enough to see two toucans land on a tree at the hotel itself. That moment alone made the stay worth it.

Overall, a solid choice if you want convenience, good food, and the chance to enjoy Costa Rica’s nature and wildlife right from your hotel.

Great location! We were able to walk to the park so we didn’t have to deal with parking. Room was nice. Food at the restaurant on site was just ok.

Lovely hotel, great location and friendly staff - we had a great time

We had an above and beyond exceptional time at this property! It’s walking distance to the beach literally just takes three minutes… lots of great restaurants right by the hotel if you choose to not eat at the hotels restaurant… local vendor selling unique souvenirs discount prices, walking distance to the park Manuel Antonio national park… the Hotel staff was some of the kindest and most accommodating professional people that we’ve ever encountered… the room was clean and efficient and literally had everything we needed… they have cute cabanas by the pool where you can relax. The pool is amazing!!! we didn’t see any animals on the Hotel property, but we did see a ton of them at the national park nearby and honestly, we should’ve just stayed longer at this hotel because everything was so wonderful there. There’s literally no other hotel that anyone should ever stay at because this one’s so close to the beach and such a perfect location and everything you could want. I don’t care how much money you have. This hotel is amazing. But I will warn you that the eggs Benedict were terrible…. The pancakes are whole-grain, banana pancakes, and they’re the best things I’ve ever eaten…. At least it felt that way while I was eating them… and possibly everything else on the breakfast menu is good. The problem is is that they put some kind of fruit juice in the hollandaise sauce on their eggs Benedict and I guess they wanted to make it tropical but it just didn’t work. Still 100 stars.

This place is walkable to the beach and Manuel Antonio National Park.

Nice hotel

We loved everything about our stay at Playa Espadilla Hotel and Gardens. Most especially the staff who were so incredibly kind and helpful. We would most certainly stay here again

Amazing experience, hotel was very clean and the food in the restaurant was lovely, better than some of the other actual restaurants we tried in the area. The hotel staff are also very friendly and so attentive to your every need, every single one of them are a credit to the hotel. Thank you for making our stay there special

The staff at the hotel was amazing - so helpful and friendly. Our rooms were cleaned daily with a different little animal made from towels each day. The pool was warm and clean, and we watched the monkeys play in the trees and toucans and macaws fly around. Walkable to the beach, many restaurants, shops, and Manuel Antonio national park. I would definitely stay there again

Two properties combined into one hotel. Each with pool though 'Gardens' has no bar or restaurant which is based in the other site a couple of minutes across the road.
Room was decent with a safe and a fridge.
Thanks to Yafit and Eric for being helpful and friendly.

Lovely setting on the edge of Manuel Antonio National Park. The hotel also has a small private reserve, which we intended to visit but 3 dogs dissuaded us from doing so.

Beautiful view from our well appointed room. Excellent restaurant and good options for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as happy hour at the pool bar at 5 pm.

Live music at night. Would not hesitate to recommend, even though I fell ill at the end of our stay for unknown reasons.

Just spent 3 nights here, in the garden rooms. A popular hotel with organised tours. Lots of positives, location close to the park and beach, pool area was very comfortable and quiet, we mostly had it to ourselves. You are given beach/pool towels which you have to return to reception at the end of your stay otherwise you are charged if lost. Great place for spotting monkeys and of course iguanas are never far away. Breakfast was included and was fine (buffet style) and we ate at the restaurant for 2 nights, good choices. Happy hour was great, lovely cocktails and very chilled out. Rooms were kept spotless, loved coming back to the towel animals!
Ok the negatives, when we arrived getting into the road was chaotic, we realised afterwards it was the main route to the park so at certain times loads of cars, buses etc would use this narrow road. We were closest to the road which was noisy especially in the morning and this morning a bike was revving up at some ungodly hour!
However all in all a decent functional hotel but perhaps the area was a little too busy for my liking but I guess we all have different ideas of what makes a good location.

Ik vond de prijs-kwaliteit eerlijk gezegd een beetje tegenvallen. Ik had gedacht dat het hotel in een rustige omgeving zou liggen, maar onze kamer lag vlak naast de weg , waar ook een restaurant zat met hele dag muziek tot 21:00 uur. Kamer had verder een slechtsluitende deur, geen stopcontacten naast het bed en de stopcontact van koffemachine deed het niet. Er waren verder ook veel positieve dingen hoor, zoals een fijne warme douche, gratis kluisje, koelkast en een mooi zwembad. Ook het eten bij het restaurant van het hotel (50 m verder) was top.

We loved the spacious room, its proximity to a beautiful pool area with outstanding gardens, its proximity to the beach and the national park and the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff,

Great location, a short walking to the beautiful Playa Espadilla beach, to the National Park and to restaurants. Great outdoor garden with fun sitting options around the pool and near the rooms. They also sent us very important tips before arrivals. A fun place to stay.

Great service and location

We stayed in the Garden Hotel, where we enjoyed the peaceful well maintained tropical gardens and relaxing pool area. We also spotted monkeys, birdlife and iguanas. Only a few minutes walk to national park. Room was extremely clean and comfortable and service excellent; particularly from Manager Melina, who went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure we had everything we wanted. Also Dylan and Aralie were really friendly and hospitable. Dinner at the main restaurant (in the other half of the hotel) was excellent and served in a romantic outdoor setting with fairy lights and live music on some nights. A lovely experience - we’d certainly return.

We checked in around 8:00 p.m. and Dillan was very friendly and welcoming. The staff went out of their way to help us with tour trips. The motel is a couple blocks from the beach and a couple of blocks from Manuel Antonio. The rooms were clean, the breakfast was delicious, and the staff was great. There were monkeys and iguanas that would visit everyday.

Great location. We walked into the National Park, on a grass path to the beach, and down the street--approximately 3 blocks--to the restaurants. The hotel is split between two locations (within view of each other) each with a pool but it is the upper hotel site that has the bar and restaurant (serving breakfast) under a thatched roof. Our room at the other site was near the road to the park but once the traffic stopped around 5 pm, it was quiet. We had comfortable wooden chairs outside our room and a lovely covered lounging bed with privacy drapes. At sunrise, we were awakened by the sounds of the birds in the National park. Fun experience. On the day we had a guided tour of the National Park, it was an early start. Knowing we would miss the breakfast, staff provided us with box lunches. Very much appreciated. An unexpected level of service. Recommend this hotel.