We traveled all throughout Costa Rica staying at six different hotels throughout our honeymoon. This was by far one of our top two! Upon arriving we were greeted with a glass of champagne and a very polite check-in experience. We stayed in room 107 which was listed as a penthouse--- come to find out all the rooms are listed as penthouses! It had a great view, and again the first day we had a bottle of champagne in our room.

Everyday the room was very well cleaned, and the cliche rose petals were scattered throughout the room along with our robes and towels in heart shapes. While a little cheesey, they were all still nice touches.

The room itself had a huge king bed, two other beds on rollers, and a full sized couch, table, and chair on the balcony. The room was huge, and the balcony was also very large. The bathroom had an open ceiling which was one of our only complaints about the room. While large and open in size, it is a little less than romantic when someone needs a bathroom trip. A large jacuzzi tub, and a walk in closet with a safe. Very generous in size, and being a couples-only resort, and only having around 9 rooms, they can really treat each couple special.

There was a ton to do in the area, and the front desk was great about scheduling day trips and also advice about restaurants and the area. They were also very honest which we appreciated. For example we came at the end of the rainy season and had wanted to snorkel. The front desk advised against booking this trip as the water was very stirred up. After swimming at the beach we saw why, and appreciated their suggestion!

The private beach was nice, but about a 15-20 minute walk. The walk back is almost straight uphill, so even though you are going to the beach, you might want to consider taking athletic shoes.

Best reasons to stay here:
1. No kids! While this would eliminate families from staying here, as a romantic retreat it was perfect.
2. Spa on site. We both had two massages which were excellent.
3. Excellent front desk service as well as wait staff.
4. Huge rooms, comfortable beds, and romantic setting.

There were a couple of the downsides of this hotel.
1. The pool. It was very small, and we were their when the temps were very high. While you only have nine couples sharing the hotel, even with another couple sharing the pool we felt a little like we were eavesdropping on each other. There was also a random LARGE crab that would appear from time to time.
2. The "sales" on food/drinks. While we ate about half of the meals at the hotel while we were there, the meals we did eat were always on "1/2 off special." So the $20 burger was only $10, and the $8ish drinks were only $4. While I'm not complaining about the sale... they ALWAYS had a sale. Just change the prices and don't run promotions. I'm not sure if their trying to make the prices seem expensive since this is a luxury resort? But it didn't fool us.
3. The concern of safety in the area (not at the hotel). The hotel had a 24 hr guard, and a locked gate, as well as a safe in the room, so our safety at the actual hotel was never an issue... but once you step out of the hotel property, you get a feeling of being very out of place. The sign at the beach even reminds you to take all of your belongings with you. While this is typical of a tourist area... it is still a little bit of a turn-off.

Overall we LOVED out stay at Issimo, and would recommend it. Perfect for honeymooners or to rekindle your romance!

My wife and I have traveled to many places and stayed at different hotels, but nothing compares to Issimo Suites. When we walked into our room for a second we thought we got a wrong room. It was a very large loft style room with a whole wall of windows. The views were amazing. You could see the lush jungle trees and the ocean in the background. At night you could hear the howling monkeys, and during our breakfast (which is complimentary) we had a few monkeys peek at us and even join us on the terrace. The service exceeded our expectations. Everyone was incredibly nice and helpful, particularly the servers/waiters at the restaurant. The food was delicious and very affordable too. We are already planning our next trip to Manuel Antonio and another stay at Issimo Suites.

My wife and I stayed for 6 nights over the Xmas period.

What most impressed us was the quality of service by every single one of the staff. In my experiences with hotels is that you may get 1 or two staff members willing to go the extra distance but not all.

From the time we checked in to the time we checked out we were very well looked over.

The rooms were clean and even the floors were mopped every day.

We were visited by monkeys on our balcony one of the days we were staying.

Also being adults only is nice to have.

I thoroughly recommend staying at this hotel

I booked my December trip to Issimo Suites in July. My fiance and I liked the price, the free breakfast, the possibility of seeing monkeys at breakfast, the great spa deals, and the raving reviews of the staff.

The free breakfast was amazing. Chocolate croissants, fresh fruit, hash browns, an omelet station, rice and beans, yogurt, and more. We actually did see monkeys at breakfast, and at lunch and at dinner! Meals were 30% at the hotel. And because the food was good, we took advantage of that numerous days. We were told the food in Costa Rica wasn't worth writing home about, but we enjoyed it.

My fiance and I had two, hour-long couples massages for 69 dollars each.

When I had to print out and fax paperwork for my job, the staff was more than willing to help me with that. They also helped us book activities such as ziplining, ATV tours, jet skis, boat tours, etc.

I was worried when we first arrived. I was in jeans and hot. The AC in our room wasn't on and the florescent lights weren't flattering. And there were two lizards on our wall. By the time I cooled down, noticed we had some non-florescent lamps, and decided to ignore the lizards, I felt a lot better about Issimo. The bed was incredible. If I hadn't been so tired at night, I would have flipped the mattress over to see what kind it was and bought one for myself. There were also really comfortable "couches" or bedded lounge areas in the room which were nice to rest on when you came in hot and sweaty from an a walk in the national park.

The beach was a bit of a hike but it wasn't a big deal to me because we did so much besides go to the beach. Also, we saw lizards, sloths and monkeys on the way to and from the beach. I enjoyed that walk more than the $10 per person walk in the national park.

What I liked about Issimo, is that what we saw was what we got, and in some cases, it exceeded expectations. So often, websites make rooms look bigger than they are, make deals look better than they are. But with Issimo, there were no disappointments only pleasant surprises.

The week convinced me that if I were to return to Manuel Antonio, I'd be returning to Issimo as well.