Jenn Ulman

Review of Hotel Tamarindo Diría Beach an...

We had booked an ocean view room in July and infor...

We had booked an ocean view room in July and informed 2 days before our stay in early Dec that the rooms were being renovated and they put us into a lagoon pool view room. They only said sorry and gave us 10% off, with no room for negotiation. It felt like the staff thinks we are all rich who come there, but in reality, we only do a beach vacation every 3 years, and to miss our anticipated ocean view without much acknowledgement or compensation wasn't the nicest. Rooms were decent, but shower lacked a little.

Breakfast buffet was surprisingly good. Luis (handsome diablo bartender at family pool - he said to write that in the review :) was great, but yes, drinks are expensive. We went to the local store and bought beer and wine to sip on some nights.

We dined at 2 of the hotel's restaurants for dinner while there - both had great food with good service, and reasonably priced (for Tamarindo which has great food, but a bit more pricey than other destinations).

We did not use the hotel's tour services - there are many on the beach and in town willing to arrange tours for you for less money. Find Gerard if you can - super nice guy! Walking into town is easy - everywhere in under 10 mins.

Many come for the surfing to this area. The waves and undercurrents can be challenging for anyone less than a strong swimmer. The life guard whistled at us to come in as our 8 y.o. boys were in an area known for riptides. We almost had a tragic end to our paddleboarding adventure - glad we were wearing life jackets! This of course, has nothing to do with hotel, but should be aware of Tamarindo beach in general. It is beautiful!