First the good. This hotel literally butts up to Manuel Antonio National Park entrance. The walk to the beach takes only 2 minutes. Shops are nearby to buy souveniers. Hotel restaurant has excellent food, lots of it, for a small price. But it is the employees here that make this hotel what it is. Elias is the most incredible waiter; humble, kind, enthusiastic, helpful and just a really, really hard worker. He is superior! Maykel always has a smile and is truly accommodating, as is Enrique and Leo. These guys bring the stay up to average instead of just so, so.

Now the bad. Our room, although very nicely decorated, looked out onto impoverished locals' back yards where their laundry is hung and the landscape is unkempt. Our room did not have a clock or an alarm and no bedside lamps. Only one of the two lights in the room worked. We asked for a 5:00 a.m. wake up call, and when we received it, I got up, took a shower (in the tub that drained so slowly that it filled while the water was heating), got dressed only to discover it was 3:45 when the phone rang. UGH!!!! Although there is an adult area with pool and bar, don't get excited! The bar is only open 2 hours out of the day and the pool could be one you'd find in a house built in the 1960s. The seating area has worn upolstery that was faded and had holes in it. Very uninviting. The wet bar in the main pool is only randomly staffed.

Although this hotel has great potential, it lacks sorely in management vision.

We thoroughly enjoyed our 5 nights at this hotel. Can't think of anything negative about our experence. Here's what I really liked -- rooms large, clean, quiet and comfortable; the Air conditioner was really quiet, all the hotel staff were wonderful especially Mariana at the front desk and Ellas as our waiter; restaurant serves very good food and plenty of it; the adult only pool on the roof top is very nice and the sunset viewing area on the roof top is a plus. Short walking distance to other restaurants and the town of Manuel Antonio. Literally just a few steps to the park entrance (you can buy park tickets at the hotel and avoid line ups). Would most definitely stay here again.

This hotel looks like it will be overrun with children and full of families Don’t let the slide in the pool fool you! This does not have an overdone resort feel to it. It was great for couples! It was quiet there were not many kids the staff was fantastic. It is literally across the street from Manuel Antonio National Park and only a 2 min walk to the beach! The best of both worlds! The forest is at the back of the hotel and the beach is at the front. This place was great! The food at the restaurant was actually pretty good as well.

We just returned from a lovely stay at Hotel San Bada. The hotel is larger than hotels we typically stay in, however, as it was not at full occupancy we still got the quiet and relaxing experience were looking for. Our room was spacious and beautifully located on the 4th floor with a spectacular view. The hotel is in a perfect location for Manuel Antonio National Park and for the beach, there are plenty of restaurants and bars nearby and also a shuttle bus into Quepos if you want to travel further afield. We found all of the staff at the hotel very friendly and helpful. As other reviewers mentioned, some public areas of the hotel were a little shabby but I put this down to the unforgiving climate in Costa Rica and as everywhere was spotlessly clean I did not find this a problem.

San Bada may not be the cheapest hotel in the area but it is worth the extra expense for a first class experience.