La Mansion is the Best
by A TripAdvisor Member
I had the great fortune to travel to Costa Rica with my family and friends for a long stay at La Mansion Inn, Quepos, Costa Rica.
Our host, Harry Bodaan, was a constant deight as was the rest of the staff. The service was impeccible and dining was a delight. The location is breath taking and the atmosphere was serene.
The physical layout of the Inn compliments the beauty of the natural habitat and it was a pleasure to enjoy the monkeys and other wonderful wildlife that inhabit the area.
The gracious attitude of management and staff perfectly complimented the extraordinary beauty of the area and I most highly recommend La Mansion Inn to lovers and families of all ages.
Bon voyage!
While in Manuel Antonio you must stay at the...
by A TripAdvisor Member
While in Manuel Antonio you should stay at La Mansion Inn. It has great views from every room. The staff is the nicest I have ever encountered. There have been many Presidents and movie stars stay there and the Presidental Suite is the best ever. Make sure you book in advance!
Intimate & Unique
by TripAdvisor Member Wilart
We just spent 4 Nights at La Mansion Inn, but would have loved to stay longer. From the Champagne breakfasts in the morning, to the breath taking sunset views from our terrace our stay at the inn was complete. The infinity pool swims, modern intimate decor & curious 'Bat Cave' bar completed the atmosphere we experienced during our stay. And to cap off, outstanding service & recognition from the staff.
Wouldn't ask for a better honeymoon
by A TripAdvisor Member
La Mansion Inn is a wonderful place to go on our honeymoon. Not only did it have great views from almost every part of the hotel but it was far enough from the beach to have some peace, yet close enough to get there without any trouble. A free shuttle made runs throughout the day. The staff was so friendly and helpful, many going the extra mile to make us comfortable. The cave bar was a unique experience and the food was really good. The owner was a super nice guy and brought us down to the beach when we missed our shuttle. His three dogs also stay at the hotel and are very sweet. It felt like we were with family the entire stay. If you want a really nice place for relaxation and romance, look no further. La Mansion was so enchanting we are already planning our next trip.
A Very Nice Hotel But, Oh, That Access Road!
by TripAdvisor Member ColoBill4
Although the hotel's website and several others indicated no availability, I ended up calling the hotel directly and found that there were several rooms in fact available for our one night stay in July. I booked a standard deluxe room (Room #2), possibly the same one pictured on their website.
We arrived prior to the advertised check-in time, but the owner allowed us to go to our room, which was still being cleaned, and change into our bathing suits for a visit to Manuel Antonio National Park. We arrived early on a Sunday afternoon, and the park is closed on Mondays. This courtesy was very much appreciated.
Our room was very nice, and the extra touches we found waiting for us, such as several towels folded in the shape of a swan, and real flower petals placed delicately on the folded towel on our king sized bed, certainly added to the ambiance.
The front desk was continually manned by a very helpful and courteous staff member, one of whom steered us to a casual, family run "local" restaurant in Quepos (near the old docks), that we very much enjoyed.
This hotel, like many off the road to Manuel Antonio National Park, is set back into a hill, at a fair elevation, so nice views of the beaches and park to the south are available from the rooms. We did not see any local animals during our stay, but did see several species during our visit to the national park.
Unlike many places of accommodation in Costa Rica, this hotel offered a selection of one of a number of complementary breakfast menu items, rather than a breakfast buffet. They did accommodate my lady friend by adding potatoes to a selection that normally would not include any. Just another example of the customer-orientated service you can expect at La Mansion Inn.
If I had to list any "negatives" associated with my stay, there would be two.
One is that all the rooms and suites, I believe, are located directly above a dirt road which provides access to other properties located down closer to the beach, including a large resort hotel. So you have a fair amount of vehicle traffic, including large buses, passing directly below your room. Also, the access road to the hotel, which branches off the paved road between Quepos and the national park, is in an unbelievably atrocious condition. I could not believe a road in this condition could be the access to this hotel and several other exclusive hotel properties. Driving a rental car, I did not look forward to driving to or from the hotel. Either the hotels serviced by this road need to put pressure on someone to improve its condition, or they need to fund an upgrade themselves.
We'll be back!!
by A TripAdvisor Member
We had the good fortune of choosing La Mansion Inn for our wedding in Costa Rica earlier this year and it is without hesitation that we recommend it to anyone visiting this part of the country.
Being that this was our first trip to Costa Rica, we did not know the area or the hotels so we had to go by what we saw on the Internet. La Mansion looked like a beautiful place and our stay there confirmed that. We were on a whirlwind trip of this beautiful country and were only able to stay at La Mansion for three nights. It turns out that those three nights were the best nights of our trip; actually, it felt like we had been there a lot longer because of the warmth and hospitality of all the staff members at the Inn.
What can we say?
The People: The smiles of all the employees and their willingness to help out gave us a sense that these people really felt that they were part of the La Mansion family. Harry Bodaan seems to have instilled a sense of pride and loyalty in each of his staff members which came through in their continual commitment to take care of their guests. The staff took care of us at every turn: from Rosalie and Aldo at the front desk, to John and Oscar in the restaurant, to Cornelius at the Cave Bar and Pool Bar and the list goes on and on.
The Place: We had the luxury of staying in a Junior Suite and the pictures on the Internet did not do this room justice. The decorations were exquisite and the housekeeping did a wonderful job of keeping the room cleaned immaculately and decorated with fresh flowers.
The location above the water is ideal for this part of the country as the views are outstanding and it is still just a quick trip down to the beach. We did not find there was any excess noise from the road and enjoyed the beautiful view from our balcony.
Food: We had 16 guests at our wedding so we got to see and taste a large variety of items on the La Mansion menu. John recommended some favourites, however, all of our guests raved about the quality of the dishes that they ordered. Breakfast was also complimentary (room service if you wish) and there was a terrific selection to choose from.
We had a chance to see some other hotels in the Manuel Antonio area as our wedding guests each chose their own accommodations. In comparison, we knew we had made the right decision to stay at La Mansion as it offered services that were beyond what many of the other hotels had to offer. After leaving La Mansion, we travelled around Costa Rica and stayed at other “nice” hotels of equal calibre, however, none of them had the same ambiance that we found here.
We count ourselves so very fortunate for having had such a wonderful experience at La
Mansion and even more so as we now have a piece of paradise we can return to in years to come.
A Bit of Paradise
by A TripAdvisor Member
My husband and I have been traveling to Costa Rica for the last 5 years, we spend all of our vacations at La Mansion and have loved every minute we have spent there,we sometimes travel there twice a year. Starting with the breathtaking views overlooking the Pacific, this place is a true paradise. The staff always goes out of their way to be more than accomodating and they always make us feel very special. The dining experience at the Mansion is not to be missed, the food is always fabulous and we always end up eating the majority of the meals in their dining room. We have gotten to know Mr. Bodaan over the years, he is a very interesting man and he is always very accomodating. My husband and I would not consider staying anywhere else, when selecting a hotel in the Manuel Antonio area.
Ok but not great
by TripAdvisor Member juliannac
This hotel was nice but not great. The pool was a little on the small side and while the rooms were fairly nice, there was really nothing about the hotel that felt inviting or like I'd rush to get back there. Also the road that the hotel is on is simply TERRIBLE. It is a complete mess and almost impossible to drive on. And it's also somewhat isolated. No thank you. ANYTIME you want to leave the hotel you have to take a cab, there is nothing worthwhile within walking distance. This really stunk.
Important to note that Manuel Antonio is a little over developed. It was fun but I would only recommend staying there for 3 or so days. It's a little cheezy. Lots of folks who like things like: the Olive Garden, Cancun, New Jersey...
A Superb Stay!
by A TripAdvisor Member
My wife and I spent our honeymoon at this magnificent Inn. The staff was very friendly, helpfull and professional, which made our stay very pleasant and relaxed. The food was excellent,the pool(bar) and Jacuzies were amazing and our suite was perfect for a honeymoon. We had a large balcony with breathtaking views of the Pacific and beaches, and the owner sent us a bottle of Champagne for our honeymoon! We truly love this hotel and it's staff, and we will be back for our 1st anniversary!! Jim
Forum Posts
makanda by the sea question
by lilmeows
My fiancee and I are planning our honeymoon to stay at the Makanda by the sea hotel and have heard mainly good reviews however the bad ones we have heard were that the customer service was bad, some did not have balconys or Ac,also some were very far of a walk from getting to the front area and they felt stuck in there rooms..I have heard many other good things but I just wanted to check before we booked the hotel that this was untrue or if it would be better to reserve a certain room..I think we are looking at getting a studio and I am not quite sure on the differences between the villas or studios..anyone whom has stayed there or heard of anwnsers to any of my questions would be so amazingly wonderful to respond..we are taking our honeymoon first week in march 2006 so im trying to hurry and get all the info i can..thanks again
RE: makanda by the sea question
by LisainCR
Makanda is a boutique style hotel (not a big resort) and some of the many benefits is that it does not allow children, is couples oriented (honeymoon, perfect choice) and they pride themselves on the personalized service. The villas and studios are ideally situated for privacy so possibly this is where others felt isolated. When I viewed their website, the studios showed A/C and I would be very surprised at the price if A/C is not avail. The restaurant is A+ and the infinity pool gorgeous. As I live in M.Antonio, I've never actually stayed in the villas/studios but I can say without a doubt it is one of the best if not the very best in the area. Makanda does not have a "resort" type of feel and is more personalized to the guest. If you're looking to have more interaction with other travelers SiComoNo might be a good option as it characterizes itself as more of a "resort" (ie: multiple restaurants, several bars, cinema, on site spa etc.) You can email me at Latitude9Lisa@aol.com (not associated with any real estate or hidden agenda, just trying to help!) Lisa in Manuel Antonio
RE: makanda by the sea question
by jsn55
Hi. My wife and I spent our honeymoon earlier this year at 'La Mansion Inn'. A small boutique hotel with beautifull rooms, swimmingpool, superb food and an absolutely first class staff. It appeared that during our stay Chuck Norris was spending his birthday in the hotel. He stayed in the award winning presidential suite, but we haven't seen him much. According to the many photos of celebrities in the lobby (Arnold Schwarzenegger, several former Presidents, Nicolas Cage, Charlie Sheen etc.) La Mansion seems to be a real Celeb hideaway. We would defenitely recomend this wonderfull hotel, where we will be back soon!
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