Jungle Beach Hotel at Manuel Antonio — Hotel in Quepos

I am writing to warn people about staying at the Jungle Beach Hotel, in Manuel Antonio. My room was broken into and my computer stolen. On the evening of Friday, May 11, 2018 I checked into the Jungle Beach Hotel for 2 nights. When I checked in I was given a key for my room, but I was not told how to properly use it to double lock the door. I went out the next day and when I got back to my room and started packing, to leave the next morning, I found my laptop was missing from my backpack. I went right to the front desk to report it. Video footage from cameras showed a man wearing a cap and a young boy. The man went up the stairs to my room while the boy stayed at the bottom and clearly was keeping watch for anyone coming. The man went into my room and then came out with something in his arms. He went down the stairs to the boy and they quickly went out of the camera frame as they left. I was told I would have to do a police report. I asked to see the owner, who, turns out, lived right across the street. He was an American man who came over and immediately reviewed the video footage and seemed sincerely concerned about what happened. He told me later that one of his staff would be in trouble because they should have been watching the security cameras and prevented the incident. The owner, Chris, drove me to the police station and waited while I went through the reporting process with a police man. I was leaving early in the morning, but the owner Chris assured me that they would do everything they could to get to the bottom of this, and even made reference as to reimbursing me for my stolen computer. He also did not charge me for my 2 night stay. When I got back to Canada, I sent them the original receipt of my computer per their request, but a week later I was told that the insurance company was denying the claim. After many attempts I finally got through to Chris the owner who told me the police had found the thief, but he claimed he was a friend of mine and that I had given him the key to come and visit and denied stealing anything. The insurance company was denying the claim. There was no more that could be done. I said to Chris, “are you kidding me!, the police are satisfied with that! Of course he is not going to admit it.” What kind of cracker jack operation is this. I asked Chris what he thought about all this. He said, “I don’t really know what to believe.” At this point I was flabbergasted and very disappointed. How could he even question things, after seeing the video footage and admitting to my face the negligence of his staff. That is why I am writing this review. To warn people about staying at the Jungle Beach Hotel, in Manuel Antonio. The whole incident wreaks of collaboration and corruption, and I warn people about the safety of this place, and integrity...

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,...

My friend and I enjoyed our stay at Jungle Beach Hotel. We found the location ideal, situated a short walk down the hill to the beach and national park and a walk to some restaurants up the hill (just be mindful that there isn’t always a sidewalk and cars and buses drive quite fast). A car can take you farther up the hill for more restaurant selections or to Quepos, a few kilometers away. The pool and deck were very nice and clean. While breakfast was not included, it was a competitive price compared to nearby restaurants. The room was spacious and clean. It was slightly musty, but this is to be expected due to the constant humidity and heat of the jungle. The air conditioning worked amazingly but the water in our shower was warm at best. We didn’t have any howler monkeys wake us up in the morning, yet we did hear them in the distance during breakfast. Plus, one morning we saw Titi monkeys in the trees near the deck. The guys working the front desk were exceptionally kind. They gave us advice on where to go to eat and spend our time. Overall, we’re quite happy with our experience.

Some notes: If you want to go to the beach, bring your own towel as there is a $15 charge for any hotel towels you take to the beach. Additionally, it is best to walk because parking by the beach is costly and the people trying to get you to park in their lots are persistent.

Accessibility Note: We did not request but were given the accessible room on the property so we wanted to share our experience for anyone with accessibility needs. The ramp to reach the room is quite steep and would be difficult to navigate with a manual wheelchair. You must go through the gravel lot to get to the ramp (although a car could likely get you pretty close to the ramp). The bathroom is spacious and the shower has three grab bars. There is not a large space between the beds and the desk. I may not recommend this hotel for a non-ambulatory...