We had a great time in Costa Rica. The hotel was affordable, the room was simple but good for the money. The beach was beautiful and the restaurant at Velero has a nice view of the ocean. We liked the breakfasts better than the dinners, so ventured out for dinners...try Ginger up the road for great Tapas.
The help at the front desk was interesting....the woman that has the day shift was great and helped us book several day trips...Monteverde, Rincon de la Vieja, and Palo Verde River tour...all amazing. The girl who works afternoon/nights was not a help at all, which caused us to panic when we first arrived.
If you want to see the howler monkeys, we saw them a the Playa Hermose hotel up the beach at around 4 near their pool in the back. oh, and bring an eye sleep mask because the hall lights stay on late at the hotel some nights and shined into our room. Luckily I had one with me, but I would have been annoyed if I didn't.
Overall we had a blast.....

After reading the reviews on this hotel and viewing the photos on the hotel's website, we decided to take a chance and book this hotel for one evening before we moved onto our all-inclusive hotel. We had a little trouble finding the place from Liberia airport (due to the lack of street signs in Costa Rica), so get good directions if you are driving yourself, but we truly enjoyed our stay at Hotel el Velero. This was a lovely hotel, right on the beach. The architecture is beautiful, rooms were clean and the beach-front restaurant was wonderful. We stayed on a Sat. night, so there was a one-man band that played great classic American music that evening. The food, drinks and relaxed atmosphere made for a great stay. For the price, this hotel was a great find and I would recommend it for a short-stay.

The only negative would be the open ceilings to the hallway. You do tend to have a lot of noise flood into the rooms. So if you like to sleep in, this may not be the place for you.

We have a group of 4 couples who vacation together yearly

We were all very pleased with our Hotel El Velero experience

We found the help friendly and knowledgeable, even with our limited knowledge of Spanish

We really enjoyed the evening cruise on their sailboat

We stayed here for the last 3 nights of our 2 week trip to Costa Rica. The hotel is prefectly located in the middle of Playa Hermosa. Spectacular view of the rock island formations and the points that divide Hermosa from Playa Coco and Playa Panama. We had an upstairs room which included a king size bed (most comfortable bed we had on our trip!), closet with shelves, 2 end tables, 1 chair and a stool for your luggage. We had a TV and phone which we never used. There wasn't a coffee maker, which I would have liked to have....but coffee is available at 7am downstairs by the bar/restaurant. The a/c is run by a remote and it kept the room very cool. The bed had 2 thin pillows and we asked for 2 more and was given them immediately with no problem. Beach towels are available at the reception desk. We went on their sailboat snorkeling trip and had a great time. The BBQ nite (Wed and Sat) was very good. 2 dinners (filet mignon, baked potatoe, vegies, cokes) cost about $40. Breakfast costs about 10. There is a small restaurant across the street (about 8 tables...very small) that was absolutely wonderful. My husband loved their hamburgers & fries -$3, and I loved their typical tico food. They served everything and offered fresh seafood. There are several restaurants on the beach that we heard were good...we just didn't have the time to try them out. One night we ate at Gingers which only served appetizers "tappas". Very good but expensive....we probably would not have gone there again...only for a special occasion. There is a grocery store around the corner - very small - but has everything you need.

There is not much in Playa Hermosa, but unfortunately it is growing fast. Large condos are being built and I'm afraid that it will become too big. It is about 20 minutes from the airport and the beach is amazing. For any shopping or souveniers, you will need to go to Playa Coco. Also, howler monkeys are around El Velero and Playa Coco....enjoy!