I never write hotel reviews but I just had to warn other fellow travelers.

Hotel El Milagro is your typical mid-range hotel in Costa Rica reminiscent of an outdoor ed camp for adults. Cracks in the windows and doors, weathered walls, wiry mattresses, mildewed bathroom tiles, etc. All that for an "affordable" rate is just fine and dandy.

However, the other day (just returned to the U.S.), I was in the room and a baby snake had slithered underneath the door and into my room! Upon calling the staff and reporting a snake in the room, they responded, "So what's the problem?".

I suppose if you are not afraid or don't mind snakes (or other creepy crawlies), this place would be just fine for you. However, I strongly recommend against staying here. Avoid the stress and book a stay somewhere else!

At first we were a little surprised/shocked. No TV, wireless internet didn't work, and across a road from the beach. In fact, you then had to walk thru a little woods and some ground plants before being actually on on the beach. The room was smallish and no tub, just a walk in shower, and a really strange door lock mechanism. Once we got through the first night and realized that the one window air unit coupled with the ceiling fan worked just fine we felt better. Our stay in the US before coming down was in a Hilton so you can see why we saw so many differences at first.
Turns out, the rooms were cleaned up quickly every day when we were out - even for a short time. The staff was very friendly, the one kid really liked their bartender/waiter Walter, whos personality really filled a vacuum there. The plants on and around the rooms were really very pretty and the outside shower and footwash were more than handy, what's more is the inside shower was a walk in and really huge. Sure, it wasn't the Hilton, but I got to really feel comfortable in that little bungalow despite it's size. The walk to the beach was not that big of a deal, but the walk into the middle of town took about 15 minutes. The bungalows were always dead quiet at night whereas in town things got pretty crowded and noisy. Our fan was a bit squeeky the first night but it seemed to get better later on and their was a nice safe for your junk. Other personal items (like a laptop) were never disturbed by the maids, fortunately. The horses that frequently parked outside seemed to add to the charm and a very very near tiny, very tiny grocery store was great and handy. The proprieter very friendly also. We never ate dinner there, so many other places all around. Breakfasts were fast and good. I really became kinda hooked on them, and the whole place really didn't surprise us with a big bill at the end of the week.

Lets just say that I was only checked in for about 10 minutes before I checked out! Broken down cars at the front entrance,pool and jacuzzi that you could barely see the bottom of, along with rude staff made me cancel my stay there and ended up staying at the Best Western next door. It was a MUCH nicer place that ended up being cheaper! Beware the Milagro......

My husband and I ended our 10 day trip through Costa Rica in Tamarindo. We were not overjoyed that our last days would be spent at El Milagro Hotel. In fact, after our first tour through the hotel we actually tried to book a room at the Tamarindo Diria Beach & Golf Resort (which was booked).

The rooms were quite small and shabby. The bathroom was in poor shape. The air-conditioner was VERY loud, but worked VERY well. The pool was not appealing, my husband and I chose not to use it during our stay.

Towards the end of our stay, the hotel started to grow on us a bit. We spent most of the day on the beach and most of the evening in town. When we returned to the hotel we were grateful for the cool room and the restaurant/bar staff was helpful and friendly. We also booked a great horseback tour through the hotel.

However, when we return to Tamarindo we will choose other accommodations.