South From the Center of Samara Going Towards Playa Carrillo 3km, Playa Samara, Costa Rica | (618) 248-8274
Oceanfront location on Samara Beach
Huge pool with plenty of space for lounging, volleyball, and
cocktails
Roomy villas, ideal for families and those who like to cook
their own meals
Cheerful, modern restaurant with lots of seating options
Free buffet breakfast included in room rate
Spacious grounds with mature landscaping and a beautiful tree
canopy
Beachfront massage service
Concierge on-site to schedule excursions and activities
Well-stocked on-site market and boutique
Free Wi-Fi
Plenty of free parking
Service at reception and the restaurant can be excruciatingly
slow
Some are the rooms are incomplete, missing artwork, chairs, and
TVs
Only one restaurant on-site, and none within walking distance
The beach is good for swimming, but not surfing
The beach has gray sand, making the water seem murky
The pool can become busy with lots of noisy kids
Iguanas frequently cross the pathways and may bother the
easily startled
Some rooms smell musty and showed signs of wear and tear
Some rooms are missing adequate furniture on the terraces
No telephones in the rooms
Check out time is an early 10:00 am
The mid-range, 59-room beachfront Hotel Villas Playa Samara perfectly
emulates the town's laid-back, casual vibe. Its beachy, modern restaurant with
terraced seating and the adjacent, huge free-form pool with a pretty swim-up bar and volleyball net are the main hubs for guests, mostly families. The gray-sand, crescent-shaped beach with its calm
waters makes it lovely for swimming and strolling, but serious surfers will be
disappointed. The hotel has simple, modern hotel rooms, but the more spacious
villas appeal to guests who prefer to cook their own meals (a nice option given there is only one restaurant on-site, and none within walking distance). Those seeking lower rates should consider the nearby The Hideaway Hotel Playa Samara, though it's not right on the beach.
Disclaimer: This content was accurate at the time the hotel was reviewed. Please check our partner sites when booking to verify that details are still correct.
Scene
A laid-back, beachfront hotel that caters to families with spacious villas and a huge pool -- but it lacks snappy service
Type-A personalities will not be happy at Hotel Villas Playa
Samara. The cheery, beachfront resort takes laid-back to another level, and
that's a tough task in a country already heralded for its easygoing nature.
Unlike the bustling Tamarindo and the surfer-focused Nosara located to the
north, Samara is a beach town content with its reputation for being off the
radar, free of five-star resorts, and unpretentious. The mellow Hotel Villas Playa Samara falls perfectly into Samara's
rhythm. The hotel is located at the southernmost part of Samara Beach, away
from other hotels and the small town. The crescent-shaped stretch of soft sand
with calm waves and a shallow entry is not dramatic, but makes for a pretty, uncrowded backdrop.The hotel's airy modern lobby is finished in
ivory marble tiles and decorated with just the right amount of colorful artwork,
fresh flowers, and pottery. A sectional sofa tucked in a corner allows guests a
place to rest while awaiting check in, while a concierge sits behind a desk
fashioned out of a surfboard and can assist guests with local activities as
well as day-long trips to Arenal or Monte Verde National Parks.Behind a privacy screen of bamboo and Guanacaste
trees is the hotel's restaurant, a modern space with lime-green and orange
accents and three tiers of seating -- under a covered roof, along a teak deck,
or on the open terrace beneath stings of white paper lanterns. Steps away is
the resort's pool. At one end, a gentle slope is ideal for small children while
adults prefer to congregate along the submerged stools at the swim-up bar or
rally with other family members at the volleyball net. While the pool technically closes around 6:00 p.m., guests tend to ignore the rule in favor of grasping last moments of daylight
and family time. Disregard for time seems to be customary at Hotel Villas
Playa Samara. The pace of service is politely unhurried, and sometimes painfully
slow. Waiters take their time placing orders and forget to deliver drinks and
checks. Those who maintain the rooms seem similarly unconcerned with detail. During our visit, villas
were missing furniture from patios, gaping spaces marked missing televisions, and
the walls above some of the beds were stark white, begging for a painting of a
colorful toucan.
Location
On the southern portion of Samara Beach, about a 10-minute drive to the tiny town of Samara and a two-hour drive to the airport in Liberia
The paving of Route 150, which connects Samara to
Nicoya, has made travel easier, but it is still a long-haul for most tourists,
requiring a two-hour drive to the airport in Liberia or four-plus hours to get
to the airport in San Jose. Guests also have the option to take a short flight
from San Jose to the Nosara Airport, about a 50-minute drive from Samara.- 10-minute drive to Samara
Rooms
A mix of traditional hotel rooms and more spacious One- and Two-Bedroom Villas, ideal for budget-conscious families
The hotel has a variety of traditional hotel rooms as well
as One-, Two-, and Three-Bedroom Villas with views of the ocean or the
surrounding gardens set in white buildings with red, barrel-tiled
roofs. All the hotel rooms are Garden-View Deluxe Rooms, located in the two-story buildings and offering
private terraces with two lime-green Adirondack chairs and small glass tables; those on the ground floor also come equipped with rope hammocks.The Deluxe Rooms are neat and not overly furnished, with beige
ceramic tile floors, simple platform beds (one king or two doubles) with small
floating bedside tables, desks or small sofas, wall-mounted flat-screen TVs,
and wet bars with coffeemakers and mini-fridges, some with microwaves.
The bathrooms feature single vanities with white, raised vessel sinks,
wall-mounted soap dispensers, and large stall showers with glass walls.The one-story villas are spread throughout the property,
some offering direct views of the ocean, and range from the 600-square-foot Garden View Junior Suite Villa to the 1,500-square-foot Beachfront Three-Bedroom Luxury Villa. The villas are furnished in similar style to the hotel
rooms. Beds are covered with basic white linens and duvets topped with
decorative tangerine-color throws and flanked by bedside tables with
substantial terra-cotta lamps. The vaulted ceilings in the villas showcase
exposed wood beams, the walls are decorated with colorful Costa Rican themed
art, and thick beautifully carved wooden doors grace the entry. The closets in
both the villas and hotel rooms come equipped with safes large enough to hold
laptop computers.The living areas of the villas are open rooms with small,
somewhat outdated kitchens with dark wood cabinets and unsightly beige tiles
that look like broken pieces of rock. Dining nooks with round glass tables
surrounded by rattan chairs are cozy spots for family dinners. The L-shaped
built-in sofas are finished in floral fabrics (faded by the sun) and are
somewhat uncomfortable due to their lack of back support. Large glass doors open from the living area to terraces
outfitted with rope hammocks and two small plastic chairs, arguably not
adequate seating for a family. Furniture was also missing from the small
terraces off the master bedrooms, and the villas lack televisions.
Bathrooms in the villas feature single vanities and walk-in stall showers with
glass-block walls.
Features
Beachfront massage services, a huge pool with swim-up bar, water sports, small fitness center and game room, and a boutique and market
Hotel Villas Playa Samara helps guests take advantage of the
calm waters protected by an offshore reef by offering a multitude of water
sports. Guests can paddle kayaks to Isla Chora, a small island offshore that's
teeming with several species of birds. Stand-up paddle boarding, boogie
boarding, or simply floating along in a plastic donut rafts are also
possibilities. Beneath the shade of coconut palms, guests can book a massage or
simply relax with a good read. Those who need their fitness fix can hit the
resort's small gym but a run or walk along the flat, soft sands of the three-mile-long
Playa Samara is a much more scenic option. Guests can also explore nearby
beaches such as Playa Carrillo or take a more adventurous drive to Playa
Barrigona, where celebrity Mel Gibson owns a home.
