Hotel El Velero — Hotel in Sardinal

April 2025 update: My wife and I were delighted, when we arrived earlier this month for our third stay at Hotel El Velero, to find our amigas and amigos still there; we also enjoyed making some new friends.  We are grateful to Gabriella, Eduardo, Joshua, Genaro, Oscar, Julio, Elena, and Adrian for all of their kindness and helpfulness throughout our stay.  We also always enjoy, of course, the beautiful beachfront  setting, our comfortable room, and the delicious breakfasts (we choose from among the many offerings, scrambled eggs, Gallo Pinto, tortilla, sour cream, local cheese, plantains, and coffee), afternoon fruit smoothies, dinners (fish filet, shrimp with rice) with beer and cocktails, and desserts (scrumptious brownie with ice cream). We hope to return later this year, and we recommend to others enthusiastically this, our favorite Playa Hermosa lodging! (One thing more: We have been fortunate twice to see/hear a very talented singer/guitarist, Laura Jimenez, who performs weekly at El Velero during dinner: If you have an opportunity to enjoy one of these wonderful dinnertime performances, we urge you not to miss it!)

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January 2025 update: My wife and I were thankful that we had second opportunities last month both to visit Playa Hermosa and to lodge at the wonderful Hotel El Velero. We were fortunate to have again for our accommodation Ocean View Queen Room 11, which is very comfortable and, located on the second floor, enables us to enjoy viewing from our door the ocean, the beach, and the hotel pool. We ate breakfasts each morning and two dinners at the hotel open-air restaurant, which serves delicious food and beverages, priced moderately. During one of the dinners, we were treated to wonderful live music, provided by Laura Jimenez, a talented singer and guitarist. My wife and I spent our time reading, watching and listening to the waves, viewing the gorgeous sunsets, and strolling the gray (volcanic) sand beach, which stretches in each direction. We also had very pleasant conversations with some of the other hotel guests. Although the hotel location and facilities are splendid, it is the staff that makes Hotel El Velero outstanding. We are grateful especially to Gabriela, who works at the front desk and is so kind and helpful, Julio, Oscar, Genaro, Elena, and Joshua, who provide friendly, excellent service in the restaurant, and the housekeepers and those who keep the facilities beautiful, tidy, comfortable, clean, and in good repair. We are looking forward already to our next visit!

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March 2023: My wife and I were thankful, during our first visit to Playa Hermosa last month, to lodge at the beautiful Hotel El Velero. Our Ocean View Room had a splendid view, indeed, and we were very comfortable in it; we appreciated the fine job that the housekeepers did, tidying it daily. We enjoyed very much relaxing and walking on the gray sand beach and playing in the pool. (The ocean waves and currents were too strong for us, but we saw a number of other people having fun in them.) All of the members of the staff with whom we interacted - reservations, front desk, dining, housekeeping, and maintenance - were friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the three breakfasts, one dinner, and three desserts (!) that we ate at Hotel El Velero during our stay. The food was delicious and the service superb: for the latter, we are grateful to Cristian, Francinie, Jenaro, and Joshua. We recommend: the excellent Costa Rican breakfast - eggs, Gallo Pinto, plantains, tortilla, local cheese, sour cream, and coffee; for dinner, the fish with rice and wonderful cooked vegetables; and, for dessert, the scrumptious brownie with ice cream. Our enjoyment of the food was, of course, enhanced by the surroundings of our beachfront table and the sound of Pacific Ocean waves. My wife and I are planning already, for next year, another Costa Rica visit, and we have been fortunate to make a reservation, to enjoy once again Hotel El Velero’s...

We just spent a full week at the charming El Velero Hotel on Playa Hermosa. We were warmly introduced to the kind and friendly staff, and our room was fresh and ideal. The AC and fan work great, the shower was really good and we had a king size bed with a beautiful view of the sunsets. The whole property was constantly being tidied and cleaned, swept and washed, and every morning the pool was being meticulously maintained. It was lovely to be able to hang our clothes in the closet and feel like we were home for a week, where we were taken care of and always being asked how we were and if everything was to our liking. This is a great hotel for couples or families, business or solo trips, there was never much noise late in the evenings, and the atmosphere was congenial and also conducive to meeting other friendly travelers of a similar mind. We got great recommendations for things that we specifically wanted to do within our budget range, including a fantastic day out at Diamante, road trips, good (free) snorkeling, horse riding, and waterfalls! There are quite a few comfortable options for sitting on the beach in the shade under the palm trees, or watching the beautiful sunsets, including upright chairs, and beach loungers, even swing seats and hammocks! The waiters will bring food and drinks to you while you enjoy the beach! The restaurant food was absolutely excellent and we ate a lot of meals there. We partook in taco night on a Tuesday and on Wednesday and Saturday enjoyed their barbecue night very much. The meat and fish were fresh and tender, prepared and seasoned with care, served with gorgeous bright vegetables and the fruit… plentiful and delicious. Steak, lobster, chicken, shrimp, Mahi-Mahi… we ate it ALL! The tacos were awesome. We loved every meal and savoured leftovers. The staff became friends fast, and we can’t wait to see Gabby, Oscar, Joshua, Genarro, Elena and all the others next time! The beach is sandy and gorgeous, the ocean warm, and there is good snorkeling at both ends! Trust me, you want to be here. It is beautifully traditional yet cozy, extremely clean, and with wonderful food, drinks, service...

We just spent a full week at the charming El Velero Hotel on Playa Hermosa. We were warmly introduced to the kind and friendly staff, and our room was fresh and ideal. The AC and fan work great, the shower was really good and we had a king size bed with a beautiful view of the sunsets. The whole property was constantly being tidied and cleaned, swept and washed, and every morning the pool was being meticulously maintained. |It was lovely to be able to hang our clothes in the closet and feel like we were home for a week, where we were taken care of and always being asked how we were and if everything was to our liking. This is a great hotel for couples or families, business or solo trips, there was never much noise late in the evenings, and the atmosphere was congenial and also conducive to meeting other friendly travelers of a similar mind. |We got great recommendations for things that we specifically wanted to do within our budget range, including a fantastic day out at Diamante, road trips, good (free) snorkeling, horse riding, and waterfalls!|There are quite a few comfortable options for sitting on the beach in the shade under the palm trees, or watching the beautiful sunsets, including upright chairs, and beach loungers, even swing seats and hammocks! The waiters will bring food and drinks to you while you enjoy the beach! |The restaurant food was absolutely excellent and we ate a lot of meals there. We partook in taco night on a Tuesday and on Wednesday and Saturday enjoyed their barbecue night very much. The meat and fish were fresh and tender, prepared and seasoned with care, served with gorgeous bright vegetables and the fruit… plentiful and delicious. Steak, lobster, chicken, shrimp, Mahi-Mahi… we ate it ALL! The tacos were awesome. We loved every meal and savoured leftovers. |The staff became friends fast, and we can’t wait to see Gabby, Oscar, Joshua, Genarro, Elena and all the others next time!|The beach is sandy and gorgeous, the ocean warm, and there is good snorkeling at both ends! Trust me, you...