A solidly good place to base a stay near Manuel Antonio. It's not spectacular, but I'd be surprised if anyone really had a bad experience here.

It's on the main road from Quepos to Manuel Antonio Park (and the beach) - just like a 1,000 other hotels and restaurants. It's too far to walk easily to either but an easy drive or taxi ride. There are a few restaurants in ready walking distance so you are not car bound. It's on the 'wrong' side of the road so no ocean views, but the gardens are very pleasant and the open air feel of the place (the bar, reception area and restaurant all all 'open air' and next to the patio and pool) make it easy for everyone to find a suitable spot to hang out.

The staff are friendly and very helpful and the manager/owner visible and accessible (although we didn't realise who he was when he asked how we were enjoying the place). From what we saw the tours that they arrange were well organised with staff around to make sure the right people ended up at the right place.

Our room was big and clean. The A/C was a very effective in-room unit, but pretty noisy. We had room 22. My impression was that it was not one of the better rooms, but it was fine. What it did lack was any windows other than the massive glazed patio doors where the entrance was. It wasn't dark or dingy, but the only light was also the entrance from the path outside, so there was a trade off between privacy and light.

Although we were right above the restaurant, the free WiFi didn't extend to our room, but was fast in the public areas.

The restaurant and bar we reasonably priced and pretty good quality. However the restaurant is closed on Sundays which was a surprise to us. It would have been useful to us to be reminded that it would be closed the night before or at breakfast. Breakfast was a little limited, but not seriously. The extra charge of $2 for bacon was strange, especially when you can borrow DVDs for free - not a big deal, but seemed a little idiosyncratic.

When we were there the place was lively without being overly busy despite being fully booked on one night. The layout of the public areas does mean that, apart from your own room/terrace, it is difficult to distance yourselves from other guests. That wasn't a problem for us, but the manager and clientelle are mainly American (at least when we were there) and, naturally, the atmosphere and dominant culture or the place is American. No real complaint at all from us on that score, but it may not be everyone's ideal.

In short, lots to like, not much to dislike, but realise that the layout of the public space will ensure you get to know (or, at least, be close to) the other guests without being crowded.

The room we had was a delight--king size bed, walk in closet, beautiful wooden shutters, sofa, wet bar, large shower. Only thing it lacked for us was a place to hang your wet beach clothes. The front desk staff was extremely helpful, Luis and Ricardo at the restaurant felt like old friends within minutes. They were both professional and accommodating. Quick 3 minute bus ride to the beach and National Park.

Our travel agent suggested we stay at the Falls. It was the BEST decision we made for the whole trip! The resort is really one, big, lush garden full of flowers, plants, birds, butterfiles, etc. Everything is convenient. The food was as good as, if not better, than anywhere we ate in Costa Rica. The rooms are large, clean, have updated bathrooms and granite countertops. The closets are huge! the mattresses are great, and the linens/towels perfect. We had a mosquito net over our bed but never used it. Our room also had a large LCD TV. There is a covered sitting area outside the room. Housekeeping was perfect. There is a small-ish pool, but it is convenient and was never crowded during our one-week stay. Plenty of lounge chairs by the pool. An open-air lounge area is located at the front with computer for checking email, etc. However, all this pales compared to the quality of the staff. By the time we left Luis and Ricardo were like family to us! We can't thank them enough for all the great service, fun, laughs, and advice on what to see and do. They totally made our experience! Also, Joanna, in the office is wonderful and helped us with several excursions, etc.! They all went well beyond what was expected and were exceptionally gracious.

Given the positive reviews here and the price of the hotel, I was expecting a lot more from this "resort". However, this is our first visit to Manuel Antonio so we haven't seen the other hotels. The hotel grounds are nice - but there is wildlife all over Manuel Antonio area so I'm not sure how unique it is. The hotel pool was fine - the outdoor furniture was fine (run of the mill plastic patio furniture) - nothing that pretty or extraordinary. The front desk staff was friendly and helpful and helped us book a few activities. It always seemed like we were bothering Luis at the bar/restaurant when we ordered or asked him anything. Ricardo, however, was phenomenal - always helpful, interested and energetic. Our first room (#4) was on the edge of the property, close to a fan/ventilation system, and quite dirty. There was dust and dead insects on things, and a dirty dehumidifier in the bathroom. This was a standard room, so we asked if it was possible to upgrade, which we were able to do (for an additional fee). The upgraded room was a lot cleaner and nicer...we enjoyed staying there. The room was not incredibly private nor quiet, but we were fairly centrally located on the property. There is no room service (no phone in the room, for that matter). The breakfasts were really mediocre. If you didn't get there early enough it seemed that they ran out of the interesting/local food. We felt it a bit awkward that you had to pay $2 extra for bacon - couldn't this be a "free" option where the price was absorbed elsewhere in the room fee? It seemed like penny-pinching of some sort. The happy hour drink specials were nice, but we ended up going to other nearby restaurants to take advantage of the sunsets. We had dinner at the hotel one night - it was, again, fine but not extraordinary. In general, we expected something more from this hotel so were slightly disappointed at its mediocrity. There was nothing horribly wrong, but nothing extraordinarily good either. For example: one night we lost electricity for about 40 minutes. There is no generator at the resort, and apparently the water pump is electric, so we had no lights (the emergency light in the room went out after about 10 minutes) and no water. I would have thought that a resort of this price would've had a generator of some sort somewhere on the grounds. Then the day we left there was going to be no electricity all day long for the guests because of repairs - we were happy we were leaving! In any case, without having a means of comparison, I would say that this hotel is average. Fine, but not exceptional.