Gaia Hotel and Nature Reserve - Manuel Antonio — Hotel in Quepos

Let me start by saying I don’t often leave reviews. So the fact that I felt the necessity to write such a long and detailed review of Gaia Hotel speaks volumes. But here it goes… If you are visiting Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, then Gaia Hotel and Natural Reserve is the perfect choice. Surrounded by lush tropical forest, the facilities are simply breathtaking. We were fortunate enough to spot sloths, monkeys, and macaws in the trees right outside our room (see pictures below). The multilevel pool is perfectly positioned for enjoying the sunset, and the service is top-notch. The staff goes out of their way to ensure that you have everything you need, and they truly make a lasting impact.

Our experience at Gaia was truly amazing, and it was the staff that made the most significant difference. We had a terrible start to our trip to Manuel Antonio National Park due to a tour company's irresponsible behavior. They ditched us without explanation or apology, and they didn't even bother to get us the tickets required to enter the park. However, the kindness and generosity of the staff at Gaia turned it into an unforgettable and happy memory.

We went to the hotel lobby hoping to get some advice on obtaining same-day tickets to the Manuel Antonio National Park, which typically sell out several days in advance. Jose at the front desk immediately started making phone calls to see what could be done. At that moment, Boris, the owner of Gaia Hotel, walked in and learned about our situation. He dropped everything he was doing and personally intervened. He called the director of Manuel Antonio National Park and secured tickets to the park for us. He then arranged for Juan, the hotel's dedicated tour guide, to take us on a private guided tour of the park.

Juan is an incredible guide with a contagious enthusiasm for the park's wildlife. We saw an array of animals we would have never spotted on our own, including sloths, monkeys, iguanas, snakes, and crabs. He was entertaining and informative, and we were impressed by his vast knowledge of the local flora and fauna. As we made our way through the park, we noticed groups of 10-20 people stopped at various points with their respective guides, taking 20-30 minutes to get a 10 second view through the lens of a scope to see an animal. However, since our tour was limited to just my wife and I with our own personal guide, we were able to take our time and see many more animals while having all our questions answered. The trail lead to a picturesque beach where we got to enjoy the beautiful scenery and crystal-clear waters. If you decide to stay in Gaia, please do yourself a favor and book the Manuel Antonio National Park guided tour directly through the hotel (if I had known better I would have done this from the start).

What impressed me the most about Gaia was their willingness to make our day special. They did not charge us for the tickets or the tour and made us feel like valued guests. Boris and his team truly cared about our experience and did everything they could to ensure we had a great time. Another personal touch was Alejandro, the hotel concierge, who checked in with us daily to see how he could make our stay more pleasant. He always made sure to learn our plans, whether we wanted to have breakfast at the restaurant, or if we were leaving before the restaurant opened, he made sure to get us a box of sandwiches, fruits, and pastries along with coffee for our early morning. It is this type of attention to detail and personal touch that is intangible and makes the difference.

I highly recommend Hotel Gaia to anyone visiting Manuel Antonio. The staff is incredibly friendly and accommodating, and the facilities are top-notch. What sets Gaia apart from other hotels is their commitment to their guests' happiness. They truly care about providing the best possible experience, and I cannot thank them enough for making our...

We arrived in this hotel around 6pm on Monday Dec 28th, 2020. When you enter the hotel, you must park your car, then they will take you to the reception with a Golf Cart. While you are getting to the reception for check in, you must walk via their restaurant which is a bit odd. The lady at reception was very nice and welcomed us. She said we have booked a loft suite. So she walked us into our suite, when we entered I felt there was a musty odor. Either way, we got in and asked for an iron and iron board, which they brought to us. The iron board sheet was super dirty (as you can see in the picture). As we drove for 4 hours from Monteverde, we showered and went for dinner at their restaurant, again staff were super nice, the food was great.

As we walked back to the room, I looked around, I saw the floor is dirty, part of the floor is broken, spider web in the closet… so I went to reception and said can we change the room, as we thought the musty odor will be gone, but it is still there. The lady at reception was nice and said, they don’t have any room available beside a studio which is a downgrade. My wife said, it is all good, as long as it is clean, we are okay. So they took us to the other room which was smaller, but looked cleaner. This is around 11pm or so. My wife went to the restroom and I am laying on the bed and noticed a scorpion coming out of the closet and going toward the bed. As my wife came out of the bathroom, I told her about it; and of course, she freaked out. (Even though they told us this is not the dangerous type of it, but just imagine we were sleeping, and this guy was walking on our face in the dark! You see it in the picture.) the staff came and killed it and we moved back to the first room. Both of us looked around and made sure there was nothing else. We were exhausted, so we slept in. In the morning I looked at the room, and the fact they are charging about $500 for it and call it a 5-star hotel is just crazy talk. As a consultant, I travel all the time and stay in hotels. This is more a 3 star hotel (a dirty one unfortunately).

In the morning, we went to the reception, and told them we can not stay there any longer, they were very nice and apologized about it and offered us a bigger room, a different one. At that stage we just didn’t feel it was the right place for us to stay and we asked for a refund for the remaining of our stays (2days). They agreed, so we packed out stuff and as we were leaving, they gave us a piece of paper, our name on it with our passport number saying, the staff accommodated our refund and therefore we won’t write any negative review. I told the guy, I am not going to sign this, and I must write about it as other people need to know where they are going to stay. If I was paying $150 per night, my expectation would have been different and if I am paying $500 per night, different expectations. The gentleman was very nice and said, sure you have every right. I told him I will write a review and I make sure to describe everything as others have the right to know; I will also write that the staff were super nice and friendly as they were. for those of you who stayed in a real 5-star hotel, please look at the pictures and decide for yourself if this is a 5-star hotel or not. My goal is not to destroy their reputation or anything like that, my goal is simply to make them improve their accommodation so people can enjoy their time and get the value of the money...

The facility is nice but the maintenance isn’t the best. The room I was in had a leaking fridge and it wasn’t the cleanest…the pool was a bit run down… for the price I’d expect better.

The staff were friendly but seemed stressed… the person who greeted me in reception rushed me through the intake procedure, hurriedly gave me a drink, pointed at the guy who would be my “concierge”, then had me hurriedly follow him around with my bag on my back for a tour. I think maybe he was annoyed to be doing buddy’s job for him? Not sure, but I’ve seen that dynamic play out in work teams so I get it, BUT my whole point for paying roughly $500/night was to not encounter stress. That was very stressful. Speaking of the “concierge”, he didn’t help me very much, he responded to my tour request after 6 hours… by then I had already walked into the office and asked someone else to sign me up.

I could tell he was trying, but the general feel I got from him and his colleagues that he was being overworked… and by the level of cleanliness/maintenance of the rooms and pool area I have to guess the staff is likely being overworked & under-motivated. I was definitely glad to only be staying for one night because I would have definitely checked out early if not.

The security staff/doormen who ran the carts and hotel shuttles were very punctual, professional, and friendly.

The restaurant was breathtaking! Mostly EXCELLENT service, great views, ok food, nice ambiance. The staff/servers were very friendly and professional, but again sometimes there was a feeling of them rushing, forgetting to bring/refill water/coffee… I’ve worked in hospitality so I know when I see a good server, and there were some excellent ones here but, the theme of being somewhat overworked still seems to follow.

The SPA treatment was AMAZING, but the service provider had to hurry between answering the phone and directing/providing my next service, which was stressful. Again giving me the feeling the staff was short.

I can see the vision, but the execution is falling short with the synergy of the staff; understaffing in the spa and concierge; room maintenance and cleanliness; pool maintenance. I got the feeling something was off with the staff… maybe people were being overworked??? and that energy is palpable… it COULD be 5 star but it definitely is more like a 3 star due to the service/maintenance. I wouldn’t recommend at the current price, and I definitely won’t be back for a hotel stay because I could have gotten the same level of service somewhere closer to MA for a lower price… & nothing annoys me more than checking into a hotel room and feeling like I need to clean it myself. I WOULD come back to the spa, maybe during a less busy...