Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort Member of the Cayuga Collection

Beautiful location and for the most part the service was great. First the pluses ....beach is super and the staff down by the beach was friendly and welcoming and they do a great job of creating safety (lots of lifeguard drills it appeared!) and overall the sense of a lovely vacation feel. There are golf carts to take you everywhere on the property, which is pretty necessary as the property is steep and quite spread out. You just give a call and someone shows up in minutes. Many of the drivers have a great personality, just made it surprising when a few of them seemed not friendly--and for us there was no need to speak English--I was always happy to try my Spanish! Ditto for the staff in the main restaurant--some were friendly and welcoming and a few others were all business and not very welcoming or patient. On with the plus items...the beds are very comfortable, rooms are private and quiet, and the policy of free mini bar snacks (with free restocking) is wonderful! The monkeys and iguanas --and sloths--on the property are terrific. There is a dinner in the beach restaurant on Wednesdays, Sats and Suns and since we were only there for the Wed dinner, I wish that the staff at breakfast had reminded us of it and also, there could be a small guide in the room that would include the beach dinner evening schedule as well as a map of the nature trail --with distances. We wanted to walk it ourselves, without their guide, but didn't have a good sense of the overall length of the trail. There was a little sense that they wanted to encourage us to sign up for their guided (for a fee) walk. The food in the main restaurant was good, but not exceptional and the dinners are quite expensive. The breakfast has many choices and again, it's good but not exceptional--but nice that it's included in the room price. Overall, however, it's a lovely place, clearly the nicest place to stay in Manuel Antonio, but also quite pricey, which you know if you're reading this! Trip.com had the best price by far, at least for November.

I stayed at Hotel Arenas del Mar with my mom to celebrate her birthday, and it was a wonderful experience. The hotel is amazing, beautiful, and super relaxing. Every detail made our stay memorable, and my mom was absolutely delighted, which makes me very grateful. Everyone at the hotel was so friendly and made us feel special. From the moment we arrived, the staff’s service was outstanding. I want to give a special shoutout to Andrea from Reservations, Derian, Jorge, Farlon, Alex from the Concierge team, and Karen, Carolina, Alexis, Bryan, Keylor, and Yonathan from the restaurant team for their kindness and excellent service. It’s a great option for us ticos looking for a getaway—totally worth it. I highly recommend Arenas del Mar for anyone seeking an unforgettable experience. Thanks for everything!

The resort is amazing! You have the best of both worlds. The rainforest and the beach. Stunning views! We saw sloths, monkeys, iguanas and much more on the property! Manual Antonio National Park is very close that is a must! The staff was excellent. Very friendly and accommodating. Highly recommend!

I’m currently sitting at the airport wishing I had more time at this hotel. From the rooms, the food, beaches, the activities, everything was amazing. We did quite a few of the tours offered through the hotel and the guides (Julian and Mau) were incredible. They are so knowledgeable about all of the wildlife as well as the plants we encountered. They even gave us some good tips on where to look for birds close to the hotel property which turned out to be great advice. The food and drinks at the hotel are great! We never went off property to eat because the food at the hotel was so good and there were lots of things for us to try. The staff here are what really makes this place stand out. I felt like we were staying with friends instead of at a hotel in a foreign country. Alex, Oscar, Gustavo, Lucretia, Danny, Karen just to name a few helped make this trip truly special. We went to Costa Rica in hopes of seeing lots of animals and we were not disappointed. We were able to spot so many animals right on the property. We definitely plan on coming back and can’t wait for our next adventure in Costa Rica. Pura Vida! ❤️

Our family had the most amazing lunch on the beach. A troop of monkeys made their way through the area as we were dining, a sloth was napping in a nearby tree, and 2 macaws were in the trees next to us. The food and service were exceptional. It was such a lovely experience.

Accidentally stumbled upon this place. We were headed to Manuel Antonio and realized it was closed… so we were looking for the closest hotel we could find to have lunch. We picked this place randomly off of the map and WOW did we luck out! We were able to buy two day passes and apply the value towards food and drink. In exchange we were able to use all of the beach and pool facilities. It was the best day of our entire trip to CR, and a complete accident. Next time we visit, we will stay here for a few days. It is heaven! Gorgeous, clean, wonderful service and safe. The road to the resort off the Main Street is intimidating…. But you’ll make it. Promise! 🤣

I’ve been visiting Quepos and Manuel Antonio since the late 90’s and I’ve been able to spend a bit of time in many properties in this area. Arenas del Mar is my favorite spot, and while I could write many pages and touch upon many details, I will summarize the sentiment with a few key points. 1. The vast majority of hotels in this area do not have direct access to a beach, and much less so to one that is practically private. I believe that this beach is called “Playita” and it actually remains beautiful even during the rainy season, which is not always the case along CR’s central and south pacific coast line. I recommend maximizing time there when the tide is lower. 2. Good views are actually common in MA, but Arenas offers you spectacular vantage points from ANYWHERE… rooms, restaurant, bar, pools… anywhere you are, the eyes will be pampered. 3. For most of us, food and drink are an important part of quality downtime. The chefs at Arenas are doing exemplary work, focusing on authentic cuisine with quality ingredients. And their a-la-carte breakfast menu is the most ample I’ve ever seen. I was able to try a few options and they were all 10/10, which is rare… 4. Wildlife is abundant. You will definitely see monkeys and probably see macaws. If you are lucky, you’ll catch a sloth or two… eagles, snakes, etc. This is what happens when you are immersed in the forest. 5. Service. I left it last, but it certainly is not least. You are warmly and attentively received in the “Welcome” area, then shuttled to the beautiful, open-air reception, and finally taken to your room. It’s a wonderful process that serves to educate you on how to make the most of your stay. The staff at the restaurant, beach-club, guest services… and even housekeeping, are constantly going further to sweeten your stay. I am very much looking forward to my next stay, with the family.

This was our first visit to Manuel Antonio, and we spent three nights at this resort. We really enjoyed our visit. The staff was wonderful. We ate at both of the resort restaurants and loved them both. We enjoyed a day at the beach and that was very nice. On our last day, we booked a sailboat excursion through the hotel, which was wonderful. The boat was named Brisa Elegante. This sailboat was one of the highlights of our entire trip.

I don’t even know where to begin when describing how amazing of a time and how well I was taken care of here. The atmosphere: Holy s***. It doesn’t get better than this. The view from one of the restaurants is considered one of the 1000 places in the world you need to see before you die, and I can see why. Every where you look it is lush and mindbogglingly beautiful. The amount of wildlife on the property is not overstated, either. They literally take you around the grounds, winding along the cliff side, through the rainforest. The food: Chef’s kiss. I highly recommend being brave and trying out their typical Costa Rican options. You’ll get to try all sorts of exotic fruits and flavors. The staff: Idk if it’s the culture, or staff training, or what… but every single staff member went above and beyond for me and seemed to be genuinely interested in me and invested in making my experience as wonderful as possible. And they succeeded. From the administrative staff, golf cart guys, and my tour guides… everyone was awesome. The tours: I can only speak of the ones I went on, which were: whitewater rafting the Naranjo River, private surfing lesson, the coffee tour, and a private tour through Manuel Antonio national park. I had a great time doing all. All were worth the money. Extra kudos to Alvaro and Milak at the surf school who took great care of me when I got seriously nauseous! Experience as a solo traveler: I was the only solo traveler I saw during my 5 day trip, so I would recommend being very comfortable with yourself and traveling alone before going here. Because it was the rainy season, there were fewer guests overall, and therefore a couple of my tours ended up being private. Depending on your mindset this could be either lonely or a total luxury! Rainy vs Dry season: I was glad to never have to wait for a beach lounger or a table. I was told it’s MUCH more crowded and hot in the dry months, and much more expensive. I happened to get lucky with the weather during my trip - it mostly rained at night. There was one afternoon/evening with a major storm… which is the norm… and I wouldn’t have been happy with that every day. It’s a gamble in that regard. It is however the best time for whitewater rafting if you’re into that. Overall… this place was a dream. It was worth every cent. Just go!!!