Ocho Artisan Bungalows

Just off Tamarindo’s main drag, Ocho Artisan Bungalows sits hidden behind swaths of tropical greenery. A large handmade shell sign marks the hotel’s entrance, and a path of trimmed tree stumps leads to the tented lobby. Beneath a billowy white roof, a Guanacaste-wood bar serves as Ocho’s informal reception desk. A bamboo pergola extends over a chic seating area, where a coffee table is piled high with travel guides, novels, local magazines, and board games. Palm fronds and tropical flowers serve as the room’s “walls,” while natural stones act as flooring. The open-air lobby is testament to the hotel’s emphasis on indoor/outdoor living, and feels like an embodiment of Costa Rica’s "pura vida" lifestyle. Guests at Ocho Artisan Bungalows are young 20- and 30-somethings, most of whom are couples. The hotel’s tented bungalows have a romantic air about them that attracts honeymooners and anniversary celebrants. Though rooms have additional twin beds to accommodate kids, the hotel feels more couple-centric than family-friendly.  

Ocho Artisan Bungalows has the best of both worlds: a quiet, secluded location that’s still within walking distance of all the action in Tamarindo. The beachfront property is located just off Tamarindo’s main drag, so guests won’t hear bar-hoppers at night, or be awoken by traffic in the morning. There’s a tiny grocery store across the street from Ocho and tons of restaurants in the immediate area. Downtown is within a seven-minute walk. Tamarindo is a popular beach town centrally located along Guanacaste’s coast. It attracts year-round crowds with its incredible beach, plethora of surf shops, and international variety of bars and restaurants. Tamarindo is popular with young Americans and Canadians, particularly party-hardy backpacker types. The town is built-up and touristy, and some travelers find it inauthentic. Tamarindo is so popular with North Americans that Ticos have taken to calling it “Tamagringo.” The closest international airport is Daniel Oduber Quiros in Liberia, about a 90-minute drive. The roads leading to Tamarindo are among Guanacaste’s best, so road-trippers needn’t anticipate any problems along the major highways.  

Rooms at Ocho Artisan Bungalows are housed in tented platform structures with glass walls and billowy fabric ceilings. Though each bungalow is styled a bit differently, they all feel overtly romantic with four-poster king-size beds and ornate chandeliers. Local wood floors and stone accents give rooms a natural feel, and surrounding foliage helps make guests feel like they’re living in the jungle. In each bungalow, a stone half-wall separates the bedroom area from the kitchenette and the bathroom. Each kitchenette is equipped with small appliances, flatware, and an electric hob, so it’s possible to make simple meals. Bathrooms have beautiful Guanacaste wood vanities, tree stump slices on walls, and stone showers with skylights and unique surfboard showerheads. However, the bathrooms lack privacy, as there are no doors, only sheer white curtains. Closets are equipped with pool and bath towels, electronic safes, and umbrellas. All rooms have covered front porches, each with a table and chair set and a cushioned L-shaped sofa. According to the hotel, different rooms have different “views,” but in our opinion, it isn’t worth upgrading. All rooms are surrounded by lush foliage, which blocks any kind of view of the surrounding area. Some rooms are technically closer to the beach, but don’t expect any ocean views here. While the bungalows are definitely romantic, and the hotel welcomes a lot of honeymooners, each room is equipped with two additional single beds -- though glass-walled tents might not be practical for families. 

Ocho Artisan Bungalows has a small pool in the center of its property. The pool is shallow, so it’s better for sunbathing than swimming. It has a small water feature and is surrounded by a stone patio with cushioned daybeds and sun loungers. Beyond the pool, additional lounge chairs are set up along a grassy area that overlooks a swampy mangrove. The mangrove separates the hotel from the beach and blocks the property from direct, easy beach access. Guests are warned not to get too close to the mangrove as crocodiles have been known to hang out in its marshy waters. In order to access the beach, guests must walk around the mangrove and through the hotel’s gravel parking lot before reaching the sand. From the pool, the walk to the beach takes less than five minutes, and we’d still consider Ocho a beachfront property despite this slight hassle. Playa Tamarindo is a spectacular, miles-long stretch of sand, great for swimming, surfing, sunbathing, and people-watching. The particular part of the beach in front of Ocho Artisan Bungalows is rarely crowded, plus guests can easily walk to more happening areas with beachfront restaurants and surf shops within 10 minutes.Though it has a small bar in its reception area, Ocho doesn’t have an on-site restaurant and doesn’t serve breakfast -- a rarity in Costa Rica, where even the most basic hotels usually serve generous helpings of "Gallo Pinto" in the mornings. Though guests can technically make breakfast and coffee in their rooms, or walk to a nearby cafe for the morning meal, we’d expect Ocho to have some kind of breakfast service, especially at this price point. Note that there are no gym or spa facilities either. The hotel has free Wi-Fi and a collection of free surfboards for guests to use, though we strongly recommend taking lessons before bringing surfboards into the water. During our visit, we watched an inexperienced guest lose control of their board in the water, which required a visit to the local doctor for stitches.