More about Hotel Verde Mar
Danger! Read their cancelation policy very carefully!
by TripAdvisor Member KevinWilliams
We booked three rooms for January 2-10, 2006, in August 2005 - with a total deposit of $275 (one night per room for three rooms). The description and reviews sounded good. The prices are listed in US Dollars, but then on December 6, 2005 they charged our credit cards for the whole stay in Costa Rican Colones, and this was converted to USD by VISA to the tune of $2649.15 ! When I tried to point out that we were not staying over Christmas or New Years they told us that January 2-10 was still part of "New Years week" If we had known this we never would have made these reservations. I tried to point out that the reservaton form said "Christmas, New Years, and Easter Week." My mistake, but certainly an honest one, but when the situation was not quickly resolved, this became such a disagreeable experience that we decided not to stay at this hotel, but the hotel maintained that they were within their rights to the entire fee! The hotel never said if they were able to rent the rooms and credit us anything. I fought this for months through my credit card and finally they had to agree that January 9th and 10th couldn't be considered part of "New Years week" since weeks generally have only 7 days and that the Colon to Dollar surcharges were not correct. In the end, I ended up paying $1710.48 for a hotel we never stayed at - For me a very painful experience that I hope never to repeat.
--
As constructive criticism:
1. I believe they should list the dates of their special weeks were there is no cancellation possible (eg. December 24-30, 2006 instead of Christmas, New Years, and Easter Week.
2. Require the full deposit/payment for the "special weeks" of Christmas week, New Years week, and Easter week on the reservation form, not the single night deposit, since for those three special weeks the deposit of a single night/room is meaningless.
3. State prices in the currency that will be charged.
Regards,
Kevin Williams
Cerritos, California
Much Better the next morning
by TripAdvisor Member Taylorcat2us
When I arrived, after a 5 hour van ride from the gorgeous luxury Trapp Family Lodge up in Monteverde, I was more than a little unhappy with this hotel. But, looking at it with fresh eyes the next morning, it was a cute place with nice staff, and great location. At first look ... the beds in the top accommodations there looked little more than large metal cots, but I slept really well on these. The pool is small but well maintained and has cute stone sculputres. The winding metal walkway down to the beach is a super touch, and the walk from the hotel to Manuel Antonio's entrance is an easy one. Though the hotel has no restaurant, I heartily recommend the Marlin Restaurant a short walk away ... for a magnificent pasta with shrimp at lunch or dinner, and breakfast of pancakes with strawberries and bananas. Yum. I think it needs to be stressed that you can enter the park for $7 on your own, the paths are very well marked and you can't fail to find the animals (especially the capuchine monkeys) all on your own without an expensive guide. Back to the hotel, there is a nice sized "lockbox" in the room ... big enough for camera gear ... but you'd need to remember to BRING a lock with you.
We LOVED Hotel Verde Mar
by TripAdvisor Member C-U-there
…..we LOVED Hotel Verde Mar with its clean, funky, colorful rooms. What a wonderful beach – what wonderful sunsets. We wanted to stay on the beach so this suited us perfectly –
There is no restaurant but there are lots close by and there is a kitchenette so we had breakfast in our room.
Our kids loved the free boogie boards. It is right beside the national park. The staff were friendly and ready to help us with anything we needed. We went on 3 tours which made our stay.....watched the dolphins, tried white water rafting and saw the night frog tour.
By far, the place we enjoyed the most during our 2 week vacation to Costa Rica.
Great location, terrific staff
by TripAdvisor Member M.D.R.Seattle
My wife, two teenage sons and I spent eight days at Verde Mar. The staff were very helpful answering questions, booking tours and drivers. The location is great, right on the beach, walking distance to Manuel Antonio Park and a quick taxi or bus ride to Quepos. The one bedroom suite has a small kitchen, was clean and quiet and perfect for our needs. No phone or TV in the room was a plus. The pool is great on hot, humid days. Verde Mar is a great value, and highly recommended.
M.R., Seattle WA.
Felt Like Home!
by TripAdvisor Member auntysteph
My boyfriend and I really enjoyed our 5-day stay at Hotel Verde Mar. We were very happy with the location especially, because many of the other, more pricey, hotels are at the top of a steep and windy road. Having never been to Manuel Antonio, it was a pleasant suprise to see that this last minute change in accomodations really paid off. Originally, we were scheduled to stay at Hotel Arboleda, but after reading the most recent (terrible) review of that hotel, we came upon Verde Mar; and on passing Hotel Arboleda, and speaking with some other travelers, we were glad that it was not the hotel we ended up staying at.
Verde Mar had a warm, welcoming staff. They were all very friendly and accomodating, fun to talk to and joke around with. PLUS! it *really is* just a short walk to the beach, which was literally, right in the hotel's backyard. On our first night, we were greeted by a family of monkeys making their way across the trees above the pool, and a few days later, we found a mother sloth and her baby hanging out in the trees near the lobby.
Although, one suggestion I might give the hotel is to possibly light the path to the beach (even just a little), so that it there is a little more visibility after the sun sets, since it is relatively early when that happens. Other than that, I would say it was basically the perfect place to stay if you are looking for something home-y with a local charm. It is definitely not a resort, so if you are looking for a place that will cater to you staying in your room all day and avoiding the sunshine, this isn't the place for you --- but really, why would you want to stay inside all day when you are in the middle of paradise?
Thank you to the staff of Verde Mar for making our stay memorable!!
Good value - great location
by TripAdvisor Member SuperNoni
We stayed for 3 nights at the hotel and found it to be a great value. Very clean (as pretty much everywhere in Costa Rica), very friendly and helpful staff, and an almost ideal location - right on the beach and close by to all amenities.
Best restaurants are a short cab ride away (or a longer uphill walk) and the entrance to the park is 5-10 minutes away.
Rooms were fairly spacious, equipped with a kitchenette and much needed A/C. The swimming pool is small and lounging chairs, while stylish, are not the most comfortable. But, who cares with the beach right next door.
No place like Verde Mar...must go (there) , must stay (there).
by TripAdvisor Member ALittleLeprechaun
If you want to get away from 'everyday 'toils of life' and leave your stress somewhere....Verde Mar is the place to go. Enjoy nature all around, at its fullest. Watch the monkeys, the birds, the iguanas ... soak in the warm ocean, walk the lovely beach, soak in the wonderful pool. Forget the work world exsists for a while. Rooms are conducive to RELAXING ...the staff - from the reception staff, to the cleaning staff to the maintenance staff are all friendly and helpful. They make you feel welcome and make you feel you are part of the family ...one big happy family.
I've been there numerous times, stayed in numerous rooms, the last being the 'guide room' and I have not been dissatisfied for one moment. Keep up the good work all of you! GRACIAS!
A Leprechaun ....all the way from Ireland!
Verde Mar - Bad place to stay
by TripAdvisor Member rlkinghorn
Bad place. They conned me into paying cash for 5 nights. Next morning the electricity went off for 6 hours. No air conditioning, no lights, and surprisingly no running water (toilets would not flush). I tried to checkout and get a refund of the 4 future nights, but they would not give me a refund as the loss of electricity was not there fault. Of course, they started with 'we have to contact the manager', who was unavailable for 2 hours, then of course he/she was not picking up their cellphone. etc etc..They also lied to me about a booking I wanted to make on a bus back to San Jose, telling me that the bus was not running that afternoon. It was, and according to the bus driver, they were getting a bigger commission from the other bus line that they booked me on.
Don't stay here
Robert Kinghorn
Good Hotel
by TripAdvisor Member MarylandMachita
My boyfriend and I stayed at Hotel Verde Mar for 3 nights and enjoyed it. Our room had a kitchenette which was nice and was fairly clean. It's a very good location...from our deck we could see the ocean (through trees) at high tide. It's also a 10 minute walk to Manuel Antonio National Park. Most of the other hotels would require a cab ride to the park. The hotel had a few boogie boards for guests to borrow which was fun. There's no restaurant there but that doesn't matter because there's plenty of places to eat close by. The hotel desk staff were also very helpful in calling cabs for us and recommending places to eat etc.
lucky find
by TripAdvisor Member sponger21
beautiful place. real chill and laid back. no tv or phones, but that made it so much more relaxing. everyone was really friendly and helpful. the monkeys are funny as hell until they start doing laps on the roof, but they are so freakin cute.its location doesn't allow for bigger surf, but is still fun to get out(i got waist to chest high and fun), and the girlfriend loved the place. excellent restaurants in the area, with ceviche everywhere. will be back soon.
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