This is a beautiful resort hotel located in a remote location. We had a group of 33 fly in for a wedding at the hotel. My husband and I are the most adventurous of our group and we really enjoyed the nature hikes, zip line, horseback riding, kayaking, bird watching, golf, and the monkey quest. The tour guides were highly educated, very professional, Costa Rica natives who could answer any and all questions about the local flora, fauna, climate, customs, etc. Everyone at the hotel was vey professional, ready and willing to accomodate any request. Not an easy task with a group of 33! I have never experienced a more attentive staff. We did not have any children in our group but observing the staff with the kids that were there I would not hesitate to bring our grandchildren on our next visit. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and included native children dancing at the rehersal dinner, luau style reception, and fireworks! It was the most wonderful wedding ever. We absolutely plan to return. This is the pefect place to go for your first trip to Costa Rica. We learned so much about projects to protect all the plants and animals native to this beautiful place, especially the ARA Project to repopulate Islita with Scarlet Macaws which were almost hunted to extinction. W highly recommend Hotel Punta Islita.

We stayed at Punta Islita because it was highly rated. Those that say the road is terrible are correct. Depending on which direction you come from there are from 1-2 hours of rough riding. But... we were ready for that because we had been in Costa Rica for a few days and saw a lot of bad roads. If a few bumpy roads bothers you, then you probably should stay in the cities.

Upon arrival we were greeted by several friendly folks who loaded our bags and took us to our room. Wow... not what I expected. The sliding patio door, which was the main entrance strangely, looked like someone had pried it open with a crow-bar recently. It locked, but you could pull on it and it slid open partially until the lock caught on the edge of the torn-up latch assembly. OK, whatever. The room looked dingy and old. The bathroom tub was tile, and the grout looked dirty, the fixtures were not in very good condition. The back door of the room was like the patio door, someone had been hacking at it with various instruments of destruction in the past, from the inside and from the outside!! The wood around the latch was all chopped up, and you could see right through the cracks to the outside. There was NO deadbolt, only a flimsy lock button on the handle itself. We never felt secure in this room.

On 2 different days we had a scorpion in our room. First time it was small and I got rid of it myself, the second time it was a huge black one, and I called to have housekeeping dispose of it. We realized that about a 1/2 inch opening along the bottom of that back door was letting any critter walk right in our room, so we rolled up a towel and put it against the bottom of the door and that seemed to help.

Service - we heard a lot about the great service, but they were not that friendly to us. Now the caveat here is that we had just come from staying at the Arenal Nayara hotel, (see my review on that), and compared to that place I suppose it's hard to measure up, so I will not slam them too bad on this, some of the staff did try to be friendly on occasion. The one staff member who I would rate outstanding was MIguel. He was a bartender that really seemed to love his job, and love people! He made us feel very welcome, was truly interested in us, and even helped me to learn some Spanish. They should give that guy a raise. He treated EVERYONE like royalty! He stood out from the rest of the staff.

Beach area - spectacular! That is the crown jewel of this place. The beach is nice, they had plenty of good lounge chairs and tables around to relax and watch the waves. There was also a nice pool with swim-up bar. One evening we had dinner at the beach, and it was lovely! The food was not great of course, because they had to keep it warm buffet style, but the place was decorated with lights, torches, etc. White linen tablecloths, etc. VERY romantic. We loved it!

All in all if I were going back to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica again I would probably look at other hotels to see if I could find a nicer one. I probably couldn't beat the beach, but the rooms certainly have to be nicer somewhere else.

We have visited Punta Islita several times over the past two years and have had first class experiences most of the time. In the past three weeks two groups of friends have stayed at the hotel and a number more staying in near by Carrillo have headed over for lunch by the beach. Our service has been excellent for a mixed crew including three small children and one infant. My wife and I are heading there to stay over the weekend and I will report back expecting the same level of service that we received in the past. We will also be having a spa experience and will be able to comment on that. Last February when we stayed, the service was great including some special touches such as setting our dinner table away from the main dining area to give us a bit more privacy. Compared to the prices one pays for similar experiences near Tamarindo, this hotel provides good value and supports the local community.

On the bumpy ride from the airport to the resort, my family and I were worried if staying at Hotel Punta Islita would be worth it. From the minute we arrived, and were greeted with fresh cold towels, our stay was way more than we ever expected. There were 32 of us in all because on the 3rd day of our stay my sister was getting married. The whole trip the staff was incredible, especially Marvin who did whatever we asked- and more. He was unbelievable. Miguel, Andrea, Nelson, Antonio, and Briner were also wonderful and greeted each and every one of us by name. All were happy to help us. They contributed fully and helped my sister and her new husband have the best night of their lives. The rooms, villas, and views were absolutely breathtaking. It helped to be in a villa because then we got a golf cart which helped us (and others) get around the hotel campus. We also did many activities including; the zipline, horseback riding, and surfing and our guides were fun and so nice. Overall, our vacation was beyond words and we are all already talking about making a trip back.