Hotel Mar Rey

I had a completely different experience this time! I will definitely be back!

Hotel Mar Rey is in an excellent location—right across from public beach access, making it super convenient for enjoying the beach or catching the sunset. It's also surrounded by restaurants, shops, cafés, and a pharmacy. While the hotel is older, it’s clean and well-maintained, with nice bedding. We appreciated the staff’s quick response when we reported a slow water flow in the shower—it was resolved promptly.

The main downsides were some noise from outside (understandable given the age of the building and limited soundproofing) and the lack of breakfast or complimentary coffee.

Overall, we had a comfortable and pleasant stay.

Lovely property in the heart of Tamarindo, and across the street from the beach.

Loved being in downtown Tamarindo where the action is and still be in a very safe and comfortable room. I will definitely stay again.

I like the pool, location, and cleanliness.
The owners and their family live in the hotel. All their dogs are on site and unrestrained. They bark and awake the guests at night and in the mornings, early. My complaints to the owner were met with shrugs. Sleeping is a problem here. Even time by the delightful pool is disturbed. We stayed on the beach our last few days to get away from the constant barking. It was not like this last year. I love dogs, but I love my sleep and quiet on vacation. I will stay elsewhere when I return to Tamarindo in the future.

This family-run hotel provides a quiet room with on-site parking right in downtown. The beach is across the street, restaurants are all around, but somehow the courtyard pool and little patios is serene. Good wifi and A/C, guard at night and books in the lobby. We had just the room (with a fridge) but understand other rooms had small kitchens for longer stays. Especially appreciate the comfortable chairs outside for hanging out after hours.

Very close to beach and restaurants.

Imagine a hotel that sounds like your local animal shelter. Does that relax you? The dogs live in various rooms with their respective owners, who own and operate the hotel.

This came as a shock to me, since I stayed here last year and enjoyed the property. New owners, I guess.

No good location or clean room could make up for days of lost sleep that resulted from being awakened, daily, in the nighttime and early mornings (around 5:30 a.m.) by a shrieking Dachsund. But there were also the two Dobermans that could let go with their deep, gruff barks when excited by the Dachsund.

All the dogs have free run of the place. They pee on the porches, in the bushes, poop in the parking lot, and come and go as they please.

I complained to the hotel owner, who owns one of the dogs, and she was unconcerned.

But the barking is not only in the mornings and nights. It continues throughout the day. So poolside is just more of the same.

Just for reference, I have owned dogs my whole life; I dog sit for friends; I recently worked at a doggie daycare and boarding facility. I am what most refer to as a bona fide dog lover.

I have been at Hotel Mar Rey for 4 days and nights and it has been exhausting. I am sleep deprived and my vacation is just 3 more days and I can’t wait to get out of this hotel.

You could not PAY ME to stay here again.

We have stayed before at the Mar Rey, had a wonderful visit, and wrote a glowing review. This time was a little different. The location is still perfect. It’s in the heart of Tamarindo, steps away from the beach, and close to everything. The room smelled quite musty when we arrived, but the A/C worked well and it got better after a day or so. The main complaint you read about is the noise. The hotel is in the center of town and there is street noise and a night club close by, so there is noise both early and late. During the day, if you are using the pool, there is near constant noise from the business next door as they repair ATVs, and run pressure washers and leaf blowers all day. We had hoped to hear birds and the surf, or just the quiet whoosh of the A/C, but there was no time of the day that was peaceful. But, that is just the environment outside the hotel. The stunning part was the dogs inside the property. This hotel is quite “dog friendly”. At the pool, there were as many as four dogs at a time running freely. Not just off leash, but their owners were often not even present. The dogs simply barked at the room doors if they wanted to be let in or out. Constant barking at any hour was perfectly acceptable to the staff and the hotel owners. We’ve been awakened one night and three of four mornings, so far It was not addressed. At all. Ever. Even after complaints. The dogs run freely onto all the guest room patios, nosing through your clothes, shoes, and belongings, and urinated freely on the walks, bushes, chairs, table legs, etc. we saw a Doberman run into a guest room through a momentarily open patio door and the family all fled onto the pool deck to get away. No one was bitten, but it was quite startling for everyone. The family with three of these dogs seemed to be the hotel owners. It was crystal clear that their dogs were a much higher priority than any guests. Our recommendation is find somewhere else to stay, or if you are still considering Mar Rey, at least ask whether the owners and their dogs are going to be in residence during your stay. Of course, if you have dogs and want a noisy place where they can run and bark totally uncontrolled, this is the place for you!! No need to ever walk your dog, you just open the door to your room and let them out! How convenient.

Was fun!

Stayed here for 3 nights as we travel Costa Rica and thought it was good, in the middle of the action… right next to the beach and not far from some great restaurants. The room and beds were comfy, just a little noisy as the bikes zoom up the road in the early hours! The staff were really helpful and love the dogs!

I recently stayed at this hotel and overall, it was an okay experience. The room was somewhat clean—not spotless, but acceptable for a short stay.
Had the basic amenities. Bonus for having a fridge and microwave in the room. The staff were generally friendly and helpful, no major complaints there.

There were a couple of issues worth noting:
One, there were holes in the window screens, which allowed bugs to get in, and two, the main door didn’t fully meet the floor, leaving a gap that allowed critters to come inside. These are small but important details that really affect comfort.

On the positive side, the area around the hotel was nice and peaceful, which added to the overall relaxation of the trip. The shared kitchen and outdoor barbecue space was a great feature and made the place feel more social and convenient. It would’ve been even better if charcoal had been provided—or even better, if they had a gas barbecue to eliminate the need for charcoal altogether.

If you’re not too picky and just need a simple place to stay, this hotel is a decent option, especially if you plan to enjoy the outdoor features. With a few upgrades, it could be a much better experience

First time in Tamarindo and Hotel Mar Rey did not disappoint. This is not your all inclusive type resort. However, it has everything you need just steps from the property.

First the Great—This place has an after hour security and closes the office at 10pm. Nice pool and you can stop at a local store and buy your own beer to enjoy. No bar or Resturant but you are across the street from Waffle Monkey (breakfast/lunch) and extremely close to El Mercadito which has every kind of food under one roof. Black out curtains and AC worked well. Close to shopping and literally 100 steps to the Pacific Ocean and the sunset (I counted). Staff does everything you need your staff to do, my thanks to them for being great! I would 100% stay here again!!!

Not so Great—this is a small tourist town so as expected it can be busy/loud in the AMs. This is not the Hotel’s fault in any way but being located in the middle of town this is a consideration.

The Mar Rey was convenient to everything. We’ve staying in Tamarindo many times and wanted to be on the beach this time. We did however end up leaving two days early.
A few things … we were in the end room facing the parking lot and street. Which was quite noisy at night. We came back to our room one evening and there was a woman sitting on our patio who walked off the street to wait for her taxi. It was sorta unsettling having someone sitting at our door when we arrived back. She was nice and apologetic.
There is security that sits there at night. We did not feel unsafe. Also be aware that the cleaning staff enters your room to clean without warning and I came back to use the bathroom after being at the pool and a lady was cleaning the room. We had all of our belongings out in the room. And I had to ask her to leave so I could use the bathroom. I didn’t feel like anyone was dishonest BUT we would have liked to be able to put our money and passports in safe before strangers entered. Would stay again just prefer a room inside the hotel complex not facing road.

The service and staff were very nice and helpful for suggestions and booking cars/outings. The hotel was cute and across street from beach access. The downside for our family was the noise/sound from the local clubs - it was very loud until late on weekends but a bit better on weekdays.

An absolutely amazing stay at Mar Rey! Unforgettable time :) The owners and staff are so welcoming, helpful and charming....you feel right at home before you even arrive on site because they ensure that your entire journey goes splendidly well. I could not have picked a better hotel....I am definitely returning there, but plan to bring my entire family with me next time! :)

The rooms were very clean and furnished nicely, having back door access to the pool area was great

We liked the safety, cleanliness and it was central to many amenities.

Basic hotel, No Food, No Ice Machine, but walking distance to everything needed. Little Italian cafe right outside the hotel, great coffee and breakfast. Secure, Front desk was helpful. Strong WiFi, free parking.

Great pool. Rooms are quiet despite busy area.