Shana Hotel & Spa

One of the best resorts that we have been to. Clean, excellent staff and people around. Very clean rooms, and the amenities were perfect. The breakfast/ restaurant faces the ocean. There's thick forests all around so you can spot toucans, macaws flying, parrots and of course the white faced monkeys. We had a wonderful stay and highly recommend this place

We had a great time at Shana By The Beach. We stayed for 6 nights total, the location was great. It is nestled in the jungle, plenty of opportunities to see birds, monkeys iguanas. There are two pools, a family pool and adult pool to cool off from a days hike. There is also a path that leads you to Biesanz Beach, a beautiful beach with gentle waves, where you can rent some chairs or a kayak and enjoy the view. The grounds of the hotel were maintained clean and orderly and the staff was top notch. Really enjoyed their variety for breakfast, eggs, fresh fruits, juices, pastries and coffee. The staff was ready to greet you with a smile once you walked in for breakfast or dinner, thanks to Edgar, Javier, Lisandro and Jasmine for being so attentive and welcoming. The dinner menu has a variety of options which tend to be on the pricier side, but the servings are generous and the staff if equally as attentive to your needs. We took Uber rides to Manuel Antonio Nature Reserve, Espadilla Beach and Quepos which was very convenient. If you feel adventurous and full of energy you can catch the bus that goes to both the Manuel Antonio Nature Reserve and Quepos at the top of the hill in Manuel Antonio (Its about a half mile walk mainly uphill).

I would absolutely recommend this hotel and stay here again. The rooms are very nice, and they were updating a whole wing of rooms with brand new everything. Positives: 1. All the staff we encountered were so friendly and helpful, they provide 5-star service. Jalel, Valeria, and Jonny were employees that stood out to us as exceptional, also one woman running the dining room who's name I did not get. 2. We did see monkeys everywhere which was so incredibly cool, and a large iguana (the one time I didn't bring my camera to the restaurant!) We spoke with others, none of whom were seeing the same wildlife from their various hotels. Unfortunately, we did not see sloths or toucans as others have said were abundant, but the monkeys provided our entertainment. 3. You're perched high over the forest, so the views from our room and also from the pools were of the jungle and the ocean, they couldn't be beat. 4. The dining room had an excellent breakfast with a large selection of hot and cold food, the dinner and dessert we had were good - not the best, but good. 5. The nearby beach was a calm cove with warm water, even in December. There are kayaks for rent and vendors selling drinks and snacks on the sand. 6. There was enough parking, it was limited, but we always found a space. Negatives: 1. The walk from some (not all) of the rooms to the dining room and pool area was on a steep incline, but a short walk. The continued walk all the way to the lobby was quite steep. It is worth mentioning, but it's not that bad. We're in good shape and walked every time, appreciating the exercise. If you're out of shape or physically challenged in some way, it would be difficult, but there was almost always a golf cart nearby offering us a ride, or you can ask for a room that doesn't have the steep walk. 2. The path to the beach was beautifully lined with pretty pink flowers, but a little more rustic than I had seen mentioned. It's a dirt path, do not go in flip flops, we slid all over. Our second time we used our water shoes and were glad, as the beach has a lot of small rocks and it was helpful to have them on. The path is also a bit of a climb down and back up, not difficult, but not for those that are out of shape or physically challenged. Definitely pay attention to where you come out to the beach; there are multiple paths up, we took the wrong one, and ended up on the road and had to walk back to the hotel. 3. I unfortunately cannot recommend the spa. Services were half off so we tried it. The massage alone was ok, not great, but ok. We did a massage/body scrub/facial; they used so much oil, and the scrub itself was thick honey they poured all over you, and they kept going in and out of the room, it was odd and kind of gross. Overall this was a wonderful hotel! The stand out features were the views, the wildlife, and the staff, definitely the staff. I highly recommend!

One of the best vacations we’ve ever had! Shana is incredible! The staff treated us like family —all very caring and do their best to make sure guests are comfortable. Breakfast in the morning was great— hot, fresh, lots of choices and the morning crew greeted us with smiles . Rooms are spacious and clean and beds comfy. We stayed in room 128 and had a large veranda that overlooked the jungle. A 10 minute walk to a beautiful beach. So many lovely flowers around the grounds. Monkeys would visit in the morning and I truly think everyone should experience morning monkey visits. I miss them so much! The pools were so much fun. One evening we were watching the Capuchin monkeys from the pool when a whole troop of spider monkeys ran by, as two scarlet macaws flew over our heads and a sloth climbed a tree nearby. Shana is like its own little wildlife preserve. The spa was also wonderful— don’t hesitate to book the spa coffee experience!! Shana is also close to so many great adventures and excursions. We did a night jungle tour at Rainmaker preserve, a day hiking in Manuel Antonio National Park, a salsa dancing class, horseback riding to a waterfall, a vanilla and spice farm tour, a night out at the local farmers market,…A big thank you to Javier, Alex, Edgar, Ericka, Elieth, Kevin, and Daniel and all the other staff for making our stay so memorable. Looking forward to our next visit!

View was gorgeous, guest services very helpful. Guest services was able to facilitate the various changes we had due to travel modifications/young children, and were so gracious about it. Spa and spa staff was lovely. Our biggest issue was some misrepresentation of facts. We read reviews about construction before we travelled and called the hotel, because it was the first time we’d heard about it and we were concerned. We were assured over the phone it would be done “by December 3rd” when we were going to arrive. But construction of the road AND hotel was ongoing throughout our visit. We would have booked a different place to stay if we’d known we would be stuck in traffic on the road every time we tried to leave, and had to deal with construction noise by the rooms during the day. However the noise once inside our room wasn't terribly loud, and could be ignored mostly. The entire half of the hotel that doesn't face the ocean is being gutted and renovated, so its not simple fixes. The pool has areas where there's a few square feet of missing tiles, and the white curb is super slippery. I almost fell several times, my son and daughter slipped a few times. I saw a few other adults slip and fall as well. The happy hour drinks are by one get one free, however, they either dont put alcohol in them or put half the amount for 2 drinks or less. We had to add our own to make it taste like usual. I would rather have a $2 or $5 discount on the drinks than have misleading or dishonest 2 drinks with little to no alcohol. The trail to get to the beach is accessible if you’re fit and able. If you are elderly, no. It is not accessible if you cannot walk for ten minutes over steep and uneven terrain. There is no shuttle into town, but the hotel will call you a taxi for $12 to go under a mile (that’s double NYC taxicab rates, btw). The road construction makes the road not all that safe for walking into town, at least with kids. This is more of a personal preference, but the beds were VERY FIRM i didn't sleep well at all because it felt like sleeping on a lightly padded box spring. Some of the staff was really wonderful and accommodating of our family — especially Johnny in guest services. Some others very clearly did not “love their job.” I think the responses to critical reviews here should have clued us in. Next time we’ll stay somewhere it is easier to access town and a beach.