Shana Hotel & Spa

The staff were all pleasant and professional . The accommodations were very nice. Food and drinks were delicious. The monkeys at breakfast added a bit of entertainment. The indigenous flora and fauna were outstanding. Make sure to use the golf cart with driver if you want to avoid the steep walks. A very long walk through the forest to the beach - if you have any sort of mobility issues - perhaps the pool is a better choice .

My husband and I spent a week at Shana by the Beach, and had a wonderful experience. The entire staff were welcoming and gracious and made sure we wanted for nothing during our stay. The highlights: - Johnny at Guest Services made booking tours and excursions a breeze. He never led us astray! - MONKEYS ON OUR BALCONY AND AROUND THE POOL! We kept our distance (as one should), but they were hilariously mischievous, jumping around the property looking for food. The only downside is they woke us up at 5am every day by loudly knocking over our patio furniture. (I thought it was funny, honestly.) Do make sure to keep your patio doors locked here though -- the monkeys DO know how to get in and will try! - The restaurant staff (Javier, Elieth, Alex & Ericka) were all amazing and attentive. Food was good with VERY generous portions, and lots of options for a variety of tastes/diets. - We spent our mornings out adventuring off property, but returned in the afternoon to enjoy the pool. The adults-only pool is quiet, peaceful, and offers amazing ocean views. It also offered lots of wildlife spotting! In addition to the aforementioned monkeys, we saw sloths, toucans, a red macaw, and tons of gorgeous butterflies. The staff were always eager to point interesting things out as they saw them. - I spent a rainy afternoon getting a facial at the spa. I don't know what kind of magic Jesenia did, but my face is STILL poreless and glowing. Napping under a pile of iced cucumber slices is next-level. - Our room was beautiful and comfortable. We slept comfortably and found it a nice respite after busy days. - The easy beach access was a plus (and Playa Biesanz is lovely -- ocean like bathwater), but we didn't get to take as much advantage of it as we would've liked since it was the rainy season and weather wasn't the most cooperative! - The golf carts to help guests get around the VERY hilly property were welcome on especially hot or rainy days. The only issues we ran into during our stay were maintenance-related. (Dead batteries in our TV remote, low water pressure making our en suite bathtub impractical to fill and use, low battery on the safe), but honestly none of it took away from the trip. We weren't there to watch TV, after all, and guest services did their best to address everything quickly. :)

Amazing resort. We stayed for the first half of our honeymoon. Here were some of our favorite things: - steps to the beach from the hotel - a walk away from a huge public beach (that ended up being more private that the beach at the hotel!) - monkeys on our deck!! - free amazing breakfast - wildlife nearby (we saw sloths, green tree frogs, monkeys) - Big rooms - Beach view - National park 20 min away - the local town, Manuel Antonio had tons of great food and cafes We definitely recommend this for any couples!

Everything was so great. The people are nice and kind. Food was awesome and the monkeys were the perfect add on. I enjoyed my time here very much.

Shana is even more beautiful than we expected it to be, and the wildlife we encountered in the immediate area greatly exceeded expectations. Every evening we enjoyed watching howlers, capuchins, toucans, macaws and a sloth from the pool deck. Johnny was super helpful booking our excursions into MA, mangroves, etc. - he took all the stress out of this process for us, provided a lot of extra useful advice, and always greeted us with a smile. We made memories here to last a lifetime and definitely hope to return. Fully recommend!