Shana Hotel & Spa

A unique experience in the jungle with excellent service. The staff were fantastic and went above and beyond to make sure our stay was perfect. We enjoyed our room, and we were lucky to see macaws and monkeys right outside. The monkeys especially stole the show. It was an exceptional vacation and a lovely escape from the winter in Europe. Pura vida 🌞🌀

like some recent reviews we were left unimpressed by the hotel. The staff on the whole were very nice but one seemed to take a dislike to us from the beginning. The steep hill down to the restaurant and pool area and the trail to the beach is not easy going down or up. When there is a golf cart around you can go with them but on returning from the beach we waited ages at the bottom of the hill before a cart came by going downhill…we waited for ages for him to come back and then he asked if we wanted a ride….it was pretty obvious we were waiting as why else would you stand there for so long…he did see us when he had passed earlier.Perhaps a phone near the top of the trail would be a good idea and maybe the golf cart guys should be looking to see people standing at the bottom of the hill. Railings on the steep climb down to the beach would be sensible. The food is average and expensive. Breakfast is pretty good but you shouldn’t have to watch out for the very hot tongs in the warming trays. Wooden handles perhaps or some kind of insulation is needed. Because of the hill we opted for room service for our evening dinner and every time it was cold on arrival and not served on hot plates. our first night my wife got a nuked lobster and there were no pliers to get into it even if it had been edible..the food manager said there was no point in doing another one as they are all like that he said. My wife got a spaghetti dish which was tasteless and of course cold. I had surf and turf …the prawns were unpeeled in a sauce which made it very messy to unpeel and the luke warm steak was nothing special. On our second night we had planned to eat elsewhere but the road was closed for repairs and we had had to walk quite a long way to the hotel when we had returned by cab from the manuel antonio park and cars could not pick us up to take us to the place we had booked to eat later. So second night cold food room service. third night I was too tired to go out to eat so we braved room service again and specifically asked for hot plates. same again we got cling film covered luke warm food on plates only warmed by the food but I did get a warm bottle of coca cola. i did complain and they came to pick up my cold food and returned with hot ish food again on a luke warm plate and no bottle of cold coca cola. The room is a large two bed room with a kitchen and two microwaves. The shower room was designed by someone who never tried to get in and out of it and the towels live elsewhere. the lights in the shower room are dim. The music from the pool area drove my wife nuts. Luckily I am partly deaf. The monkeys can be a wee bit aggressive and tonight they smashed our neighbor’s glass top table on the balcony. The views are wonderful and the wi fi good but for me the cooking and basic food management and the lack of attention for those stuck at the bottom of the hill mean we would never return and if you are smart don’t book the place unless you are fit and just love luke warm food. Ultimately it is the resonsibility of the manager as these are really basic hotel management things to get right.

Starting with the positives: the staff are excellent, friendly and helpful and the adults-only pool area is great. Drinks at the 3 to 6pm Happy Hour are well priced; outside of this they are overpriced as is the food. The food generally was ok, but the eating environment was rather like a ‘works canteen’, not pretty, old, tired and smelling of fried food. The beach we assumed would be along a small path and would be very close (by the beach?). Actually it is 300 metres down a steep incline (1000ft) and 120 odd crazy steps. Young fit people won’t notice it, but just try it with my registered blind wife…! Our main beef is with the room! We booked a standard room ($350 a night! - more than any other room rate in our 3 week stay in Costa Rica - and we stayed in some excellent 5 star hotels). They put us in the dungeons… room 202 is down 20 steps below the car park, dark and gloomy. The room was like a 2 star motel. The view is jungle, no sky, no light. Cheap minimum furniture painted in sticky black paint that everything stuck to like glue. The bathroom was a decent size with a good (huge) shower, but it has not been refurbished for years. 202 is next to a family room and has an interconnecting door that allows you to hear every word spoken by the families next door… horrible. Avoid any room in block 1 or 2 that is 10 or 20 something, the price is the same for the other rooms so ‘insist’! If you don’t have to go to Manuel Antonio, then don’t. The hotel, restaurant and tour prices are almost double most of the rest of the country. It is a tourist trap!

Exceptional stay! Went on a couples get away trip, and had a great. There are monkeys that play near the balconies which is amazing to experience.

The hotel is lovely as are all of the employees. My friend and I visited for 3 nights. Our room had 2 king size beds, a beautiful bathroom with a walking shower, a garden tub and 2 sinks. Tge hotel grounds in incredibly lush and everything was blooming or fruiting. Watching the white faced monkeys was very entertaining- they were everywhere- on our balcony in the morning, by the pool in the evening, peaking over the awnings at breakfast. They seemed to know they couldn’t come in the restaurant as they hung around but never tried to come in. Everyone was super helpful and friendly. (Shout out to Kevin!) The walk to the beach is worth it. It’s a bit of a hike, but if you take your time and enjoy the jungle and all the birds and animals that can be found, you won’t mind a bit. And once you make it to the beach, you will be rewarded beautiful water that’s almost like glass. Chairs and umbrellas are available for rent. Paddle boards, snorkeling gear, food and drink are all available. Spend a few hours at the secluded beach. You’ll be glad you did. A word of caution, I would not recommend this hotel for anyone with mobility issues. There is a lot of walking up and down steep slopes and stairs. If that’s not for you, then this is not your hotel.