We had a simply fantastic honeymoon at Arenas Del Mar. Our room was absolutely beautiful, with a great view of the beach and one of the pools. The hotel staff was extremely friendly. Our nature guide, Ersel, really knew his stuff, and went out of his way to make sure that we got to see as much of the Costa Rican wildlife as possible. We would highly recommend Arenas del Mar.

You know it's been a great hotel experience when you find yourself getting teary eyed at the end of your stay. True, Arenas Del Mar was our last stop of what had been an amazing trip - but the hotel experience more than exceeded our expectations, making it very hard to leave!

My friend and I booked through a Snique Away deal for a "ocean breeze" room. We expected to maybe see a sliver of the ocean, given other descriptions of the breeze rooms. We were pleasantly surprised to walk into our room and discover a huge balcony looking directly out to the ocean and the far end of Manuel Antonio. We loved the coffee bar and free snacks in-room set up on the balcony, and the oversized chairs that were perfect for reading at the end of the day or watching the gekkos on the balcony ceiling at night!

As others have noted, you often need a golf cart to get from one place to another on the property - but that is because the property is huge! It also allows for the hotel to be both on the beach and overlooking the beach with great views :) We also didn't mind sometimes walking the hills, as the hotel is embedded in the jungle and full of iguanas, monkeys and sloths for spotting.

We did a tour of Manuel Antonio park through the hotel. While more expensive than negotiating your own rate at the park entrance, we appreciated the ease of transportation to the park and the extensive knowledge of our guide. Traveling to the park also made us appreciate the tranquility and remoted feel of the hotel. The park entrance has lots of vendors, day visitors at the beach, crowds for the park - but Arenas Del Mar sits just 5 minutes down the road and feels a world away.

The only drawback we experienced was the one restaurant on property. It was not easy to get to other restaurants (up a big hill), so we ate at the hotel restaurant both nights. We had steak served raw, which we sent back (and still came out near raw). We both had fish the second night which was tasty, but for the price of the meal I expected more. If I were to return (and I hope someday I do!) I would make the effort to leave for dinner. That said, the included breakfast at the same restaurant was delicious.

My husband and I spent part of our honeymoon at Arenas del Mar and we wished we would have stayed longer! The hotel was wonderful in every way. The staff was very attentive and helpful, the food was delicious, and the beach was awesome! The drive to the hotel once we arrived in Quepos was a little scary and the road into the hotel was terrifying so be aware! Nevertheless, we had no problems with any of our drivers and they maneuvered the roads very well. The vibe at the hotel was pretty mixed. The ages of the guests were quite varies. We noticed one young couple that seemed younger than us and a lot of middle aged people as well as some older couples. There were even some families with young children.

Our accommodations at the hotel were just perfect. We stayed in an ocean breeze room and were able to see a little of the ocean. There were large trees outside out balcony and the first day we woke up to monkeys swinging on the trees! The food was also very good. The only complaint about the food was that nothing was included except breakfast. We knew this going in but meals became a bit pricey. Also, the drinks were pretty weak.

All in all, it was a beautiful, relaxing trip and Arenas was a great place to begin our honeymoon. This is certainly a place we would consider revisiting in the future!

We arrived in costa Rico in the night so I didn't get my first glimpse of the view until the next morning when we opened our windows to paradise. I have to say that our entire experience was paradise from the food to the incredible staff. We can't wait to go back and take our family. This green resort makes you think about the importance of taking care of our earth. And the incredibly beautiful surroundings make you want to have more of a hand in it as we'll.my favorite vacation ever! Lori kindle Wy