Hotel El Castillo Divertido — Hotel in Veintisiete de Abril

This is SUCH a wonderful to place I am hesitant to publicize it! If I could LIVE at any of the 15 hotels I had the pleasure of visiting while in Costa Rica, this would be it. To begin with, the building itself is rather spectacular. Built by a German man and his Tica wife, it has such intriguing features as colorful plaster walls, a cool tiled entryway with a large table outside, and a rooftop that must be seen to be appreciated. The exterior walls have those openings like a castle has, there is a large round bar area, a great hammock area, and more. The gardens are lovingly tended and are beautiful. || The owner (the wife) lives in a cabina on the grounds and is expert at being present without inserting herself into the moment. I could have visited with her for many more days. She would sit and have with us after serving us a delightful breakfast of eggs, fruit, toast, and wonderful coffee (of course). She took us on an excursion into the mangrove in her flat-bottomed boat and helped us understand what we were seeing in a totally unassuming way. || The beach is an easy walk from the house and there were sights to see and restaurants in the area. It was quite warm during our stay, and while the room was not air conditioned, the ceiling fan kept it tolerable for sleeping. One of the best parts of our stay here was that early in the morning we began hearing the howler monkeys. They can be heard from 3 Km away, but I would run up to the roof to watch and hear them play and move about in the trees. It was simply magical. You could see the Pacific Ocean from up there, so the sunrise, the clouds, the monkeys and the sea breeze were all the stuff of which memories are made. I hope my photos...

Wholeheartedly do NOT recommend staying here. I had a very negative experience with the owner and my stay in Playa Junquillal would have been ruined had I not found somewhere else to stay.

My experience is a long story, but summarized is as such: In my confirmation email, it was stated that check in is between 1 and 10. I arrived at 2:30 and no one was at the hotel, with gates shut across the front desk. I called out and waited almost an hour with no one coming. Having been travelling for 6 hours to get there, it being 30 degrees, and a solo female traveller this was very frustrating. I left my bags with a note, took my valuables and went to the beach. Upon returning, the owner was there and I mentioned I had arrived a few hours prior but no one was there. She became immediately hostile and told me I should have told her when I was coming (this had never been communicated as something I should do) and if I want perfect service I can go somewhere else. For this to be the first thing she said to me says it all.

She continued to be hostile and unwelcoming to me, and as the only guest in the hotel, I felt extremely uncomfortable. The hotel itself is not nice, it’s dirty and has obviously been neglected for some time. There was a cockroach in the room, and it was unbearably hot at night with the fan looking like a health hazard to turn on.

I left in the morning and found somewhere else to stay which saved my experience in Playa Junquillal. I have since found more reviews that mention the hostility of the owner that I somehow missed when I first booked. Obviously this is a long...

Silvia, the owner is a welcoming and charming host. You can go kayaking with her between mangroves, which is well worth doing. The room we had was clean and facing the ocean, with a private bathroom and hot shower. The complimentary breakfast includes eggs, fruit, coffee and toast and is good. ||Every friday there's a BBQ happening on the roof terrace, with a small buffet of meats, salads and sides: great local food and a cozy atmosphere with the stars above and the sound of the sea in the background.||The beach, just 200m away, is wide and inviting, with very few people and you can walk a few hundred meters north to Playa Blanca, where you can sit in one of the natural pools. The water temperature is exceptionally high here. Lovely!||One of the few places that is not insanely overpriced! ||Close to the hotel there's a good grocery shop and in the little village there's a bar right...