Jungle Beach Hotel Manuel Antonio

We absolutely loved our stay at the Jungle Beach Hotel. The pool/ restaurant area is perfect for spotting wildlife. We saw squirrel monkeys, white faced monkeys, howler monkeys, geckos, large blue butterflies, and deer. It was amazing to hear the howler monkeys. The room was comfortable, clean, and the bed was huge! We enjoyed the food and cocktails- one night we had one of the best mojitos we’ve ever had! It has a relaxed vibe. It was a very short walk to the beach, where we rented sun loungers, and saw toucans and monkeys. There was a small shop nearby (more shops/ restaurants are approx 10 min walk away). All the staff we spoke to were friendly, but we spoke to Carlos the most- he is such a genuinely lovely guy and knew how to get the squirrel monkeys to stop off by the pool on their daily travels! Before our trip we booked a different hotel nearby for the second half of our holiday, but we wish we’d stayed at Jungle Beach for longer- it’s such a special place!

Stayed in 5 places on our trip in Costa Rica. On par with many of the eco lodges we stayed at but this “hotel” cost us 200% more than other similar places:

The good:
- walking distance to the beach
- very friendly staff in the restaurant
- rooms for big families
- monkeys to entertain during breakfast

The bad:
- The price (we booked late admittedly) is not expensive, it is totally disproportionate to quality
- Rooms are very very basic, with cracks in the wall. No real showers just the heated shower heads budget lodge version
- Smell and noise - smelled of sewage when entering the grounds. Despite small road, a lot of noise traffic

Other considerations:
- try the Igloo hotel across the road, so much more value
- You will need a car (or bus trips) to access most things beyond the one beach so paying for this location is not worth it
- At one third of the price, I’d say 4 stars or not review, but current rating is totally inflated probably due to animal sightings.

It was good

Small parking space

Charming hotel

Small but nice pool, great decking with bar and restaurant
Loved the howler monkeys in the early am
Spider monkeys come onto the deck!

However we stayed In the house across the hiway: private pool, great access to the beach.. but the main shower is in terrible disrepair.. the flimsy old doors come right off!

Great value for the money

If I could give the Jungle Beach Hotel a ZERO, I would.

I booked a room with free cancellation and a fully refundable reservation as long as it was cancelled by the beginning of March 2026. In June 2025, I cancelled the reservation and expected the refund. Seven weeks later, the hotel had still not refunded my deposit. I had multiple attempts to communicate with them via Expedia (where the booking was made/cancelled) and directly with the hotel on WhatsApp. They replied to me the first couple of times telling me they would send the refund, and they never did. They then stopped responding to my attempts to communicate. All messages were shown as read of WhatsApp, so I know they were getting every message. I let them know in the final message that I needed some communication or I would be filing a dispute with the credit card made to book. After filing a dispute with my credit card company, the hotel FINALLY refunded me via PayPal after seven weeks.

This place is absolutely awful and they have terrible communication and customer service. It’s obvious they had no intention of ever refunding my money until they were pressured into it. I will never recommend this place. DO NOT STAY AT THE JUNGLE BEACH HOTEL!

When we pulled up to the Jungle Beach Hotel we found a charming hotel carved into the jungle We awoke to howler monkeys in the trees and watched deer and capuchin monkeys from the pool and outdoor dining area. Truly Costa Rican Magic!

Had a great 5 night stay at the Jungle Beach. During our stay, we saw white-face monkeys, squirrel monkeys, and howler monkeys (yes, they are loud and will wake you up bright and early if you are a light sleeper), as well as deer and macaws. The hotel is a short walk to the beach and a 15 minute walk to the national park. The hotel bar and restaurant were great. We got breakfast, lunch, and dinner there as well as happy hour drinks. The pool is small, but a good to dip your feet in. Great option for the value.

Loved it. Great for families!

Great place
Friendly
Convenient location
Beautiful grounds

Overall it was a fun experience, I will say, we weren't impressed with the electricity running through the shower.

If you're a tourist in Quepos, you're probably there to visit Manuel Antonio see some wildlife and hang out on Playa Espadilla. (Or maybe you're there for sport fishing. I don't know much about that). Anyway, the staff at this place was absolutely fantastic. And we got to this hotel about three hours before check in, and had lunch and played scrabble next to the pool, and saw a huge troupe of white-faced capuchins (the locals do not like these monkeys. Be forewarned, they are cute but do not approach them. One was hanging out on a railing on this little bridge in Manuel Antonio, and my wife tried to take its photo and it jumped on her and tried to steal her purse. There is one, specifically, that comes by this hotel like three times per day, often with an accomplice, and you can watch them plot to steal candy bars from the little canteen shop near the pool. It's funny until you witness how destructive they become when the bartender Carlos spritzes him in the face with a water bottle) and after those left, a separate troupe of squirrel monkeys came by. Those are very sweet. Photo attached. Other times we were either eating breakfast or hanging out by the pool, we saw a couple of toucans, an iguana, a couple of scarlet macaws. The small pool area has a lot of shade if you're an instant sunburn person like me. They clean leaves out of that pool all day. And getting to the beach involves looking both ways across a two lane but busy road and then walking about 100 yards. There is a small convenience store with a liquor aisle right when you cross the street. The food at Jungle Beach is great, but there is also another good bar/restaurant, Buena Vista, that has rentable umbrellas and beach chairs set up at the end of that gravel road. They had amazing tuna steaks when we were there. Manuel Antonio and the bars, restaurants, bodegas/grocery stores right outside of it are less than a 10-minute walk down a beautiful beach (although, pay for a guide if you go to Manuel Antonio. They have telescopes and can help you a lot, and Jungle Beach got one to pick us up early, no problem).

Great ambiance. The name says it all. Our room was very basic. Food was good. Was not walkable to restaurants and beach as I have a knee injury. The beach was less than a 5 minute drive. You could see and hear the monkeys.

I would definitely stay there again.

We loved this hotel and would highly recommend for anyone with small kids or families travelling together.

Very unique property near Manuel Antonio National Park and restaurants. Awesome pool deck backing to a forest full of monkeys. Very nice and responsive staff. Recommended.

Very nice hotel. Rooms are decent but no hot water. Close to the beach shopping bars and restaurants with easy transportation into town if you so desire. Restaurant and pool area is nice and monkeys come to visit. You also hear them howling in the morning lol

All the staff were extremely helpful with suggestions and tips. Carried luggage up the stairs without even asking. Outdoor dining and bar area very nice. You feel like you're in a jungle. Keep in mind you'll be visited by up to 3 different monkey spcies at breakfast - very cool. Nice beach across the highway with an 8 min. walk.

Friendly staff. Convenient restaurant. Lots or monkeys. Walk to beach. Pura Vida 😊

Everything was great, a lot of monkeys in the mornings, super cozy bar/restaurant, super beautiful large rooms.