Hotel Isla Inn — Hotel in Cahuita

I've stayed in hundreds of hotels globally and this one was just a litany of issues.

I stayed. here for two nights. My first room was on the ground level and I wasn't in there 5 minutes before it became apparent that the walls and ceiling are like paper. So much so, I could follow the conversation next door. The room above creaked with every footstep. Luckily, the restaurant music was turned off by 8.

Wifi was sketchy and slow. Took two hours for a few pictures to go. As well, not all the outlets worked either. The TV worked, but the max volume was set so low, the conversation in the next room was louder.

The next morning, I had breakfast and heard someone's toilet had overflowed. I didn't think much of it until I went back to my room to find it raining inside. The bed was soaked and the floor was wet. Luckily my electronics were on the other side of the room.

I packed up and they gave me a room they said hadn't been used for awhile as it needed repairs.

I said no problem and when I got back, the repairs were done. As it was near dusk, I realized the two CFL bulbs on the ceiling were the only source of light and were very dim.

I asked for a lamp, but they said they didn't have one. I asked for a couple of light bulbs. They tried 3 other CFLs but all were dead. I asked if they had more and he said no. I asked if they could buy a couple and they said they'd ask the boss. Never heard back.

The TV didn't work, so I used my laptop and cell phone flashlight to help get my bag arranged and get ready for next day.

The fan in the room didn't work. It actually sparked when I plugged it in. The AC worked in both rooms.

However, since the second room hadn't been used, it looked like mildew was on the walls in the washroom and part of the room. I have an allergy to mold and within a few hours, my eyes were itching and I was thinking maybe the room was just dusty from not being used. Nope. It was the mold.

As with the other room, the creaking floor upstairs meant I heard every step until ~11pm.

And it didn't end there.

I was up around 1 to go to the bathroom and spotted something in the corner of my eye. I grabbed my glasses and sure enough, it was a cockroach. I trapped him under the garbage can. Others I spoke also had cockroaches in their rooms. One was already dead and in the other room she accidentally stepped on one and killed another smaller one.

It was the first time I've ever seen a cockroach.

Despite this laundry list of craziness, it has some positives. You can't beat the location right next to the beach. The staff were good and breakfast was adequate (coffee drinkers said it was weak)

What this place needs is upkeep. Just seems like management is dropping the ball.

I mean, what hotel doesn't have a freaking LED light bulb in the...

I will start by saying that the administrator is very customer oriented. Same thing for the lady in the kitchen. Apart from that, you have to understand that Puerto Viejo is not known by having fancy places nor luxury nor new buildings. The hotel has a lot of potential but still is not a good place to stay. First of all, the water in the rooms is not drinkable, yet, the hotel does not provide any bottled water. There are signs about it, very small. The taste of the water (we tried to at least brush our teeth) is disgusting, the toilet looks very yellow due to the muddy water. Really, this is a health issue.||Second, the place is infested by cockroaches. The ceiling is full of rats and they make terrible sounds at night. My girlfriend had to kill some cockroaches in the kitchen and there was one in my suitcase when I was packing to leave.||Third, they simply do NOT wash the bed clothing. No matter what they say, they do not wash it. The mattress cover was yellow. It was not dirty no, it was stained. The pillows smelled like if they were stored for one-hundred years.||Fourth, the breakfast's fruits were ok, the bread is very good but the coffee is the second worst I have tried in my life. Coffee is very important to many people and the drink served there did not taste like coffee. Chances are that it was made with the non drinkable water.||Fifth, we asked if our reservation could be changed from Fri-Sun to Sat-Mon they say no because we needed to ask for the change 15 days prior to check-in. The change was only for one night, in low season, in rainy season. They would not change it. Not because they were full, but because they did not want to. This simply show so little customer orientation. When we met the Administrator, we figured out the person who denied our request twice was not him.||Sixth, the room we got had the bathroom all dirty. There was mud on the floor and the towels were dirty. They changed the room. Then we moved to a new room and it didn't have soap.||In general, the infrastructure of the hotel is ok the maintenance is terrible. I would not recommend to stay in this hotel until they take care of water...

La Isla Inn was a nice, clean, budget hotel. 3/5 simply because you get what you pay for. The staff was friendly and helpful, there is an all night armed guard who is also very friendly and non-obtrusive. In fact, our last full day there, my wife's paperback was moved during a rain shower from the pool area to the dining area by a gentlemen just trying to be helpful. Someone else then came along and picked the book up, we believe it was an accident, there were items of actual value left in the pile. The office staff and the security guard reviewed the CCTV footage and returned my wife's book to her later that evening. Once done, we each left our books on the book shelve "exchange" near the kitchen. The pool was nice, had just been repainted. The outdoor "shower" was an improvised faucet that didn't work half the time, so the "kiddy" pool became the sand wash area. Great location, literally walk across the street and your on a beautiful beach with multiple surf lesson vendors nearby, a couple of beach volleyball courts that were constantly busy that nearly anyone could jump into and play along with and only a couple km down the road from "downtown" Puerto Viejo that offered any kind of food / bar / shopping you might want. Frankly, we're spoiled and are used to staying at the Riu All Inclusive Resorts. If that's what you're hoping for this isn't it, but it was nice, clean and very affordable, enabling us to feel free spending whatever we wanted on food and...