Kaya's Place
200 Meters Before Town, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca 70403 Costa Rica
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Avg. $40 /night, 1/16 - 1/17
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About
#6 of 35 lodges in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
Location
4.4
Rooms
3.7
Value
3.9
Cleanliness
3.8
Service
4.1
Sleep Quality
3.8
The Door is Always Open at Kaya's Place... Kaya's Place is a 26 room lodge on the stunning Black Beach in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. Built in the Afro-Caribbean "Rustico" style, the hotel is artistic and unique. Local woods and materials have been used in their natural state, making each room different and beautiful. Every space you encounter will be a pleasurable experience. The sound of the waves is always in the background, soothing and tranquil, guaranteed to take you away from the stress of everyday life. Inside the hotel, you will find many places to relax. The reception area is more like a living room, with a gigantic sofa, television, people to chat with and view of the ocean. The large deck upstairs has a wonderful ocean view with hammocks and sofas - perfect for reading or taking a siesta. In the back, gardens line the walkway, filled with local plants and flowers. A covered sitting area in the garden offers another opportunity to meet and enjoy the company of others while you stay with us. Our restaurant is spacious and open with view of the ocean and a small creek with fish, water lilies, crab and other water life. Located in Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean Coast, the area is blessed with natural beauty in the form of dense jungle with impressive flora and fauna and some of the world's most beautiful beaches. Kaya's Place is part of the growing eco-tourism industry that supports the preservation of almost 2 million square meters of primary rainforest. Taxes from this industry support the many national reserves and efforts to maintain the natural resources. We are dedicated to preserving these resources while sharing it with all the people that come to know this amazingly beautiful part of Costa Rica. Our recent renovation of Kaya's Place was completed with the same philosophy. No lumber or materials were taken from the primary rainforest. Much was recycled wood or dead fall from local farms and lumber that had washed up from the ocean and rivers. With these natural and renewable materials, we achieved a unique character with rustic and artistic designs. Also all the walls are painted by hand, with many details and awesome drawings. BE OUR ECO-GUEST Our Door is Always Open at Kaya's Place - We Hope to See You Soon!
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Property amenities
Free parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Wifi
Bar / lounge
Beach
Pets Allowed ( Dog / Pet Friendly )
Non-smoking hotel
Laundry service
Restaurant
Breakfast available
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Quaint
Budget
Location
200 Meters Before Town, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca 70403 Costa Rica
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Grade: 75 out of 100
75
Changuinola Airport
25.3 mi•
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Limon Airport
27.5 mi•
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17 Restaurants
within 0.3 miles
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Detailed Reviews
If you’re looking for American food while visiting Costa Rica, this is the place. We had the ribs, grilled veggies, mashed sweet potatoes and onion rings. All were good. Nicely sized portions, craft beers and fun atmosphere. Bands every Sunday night.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We went there from walking from the beach and the pizza was delicious. And the view was amazing. Great place, excellent location, awesome food. Staff was fun and service was great. We recommend and we will go back.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip:Â Excellent Pizza, recommend the Mexicano one
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Friends of mine had a small wedding at Kaya’s Place in Puerto Viejo (Feb 06) and we had a wonderful time. The staff there took such great care of everyone. The owner and two girls working there went out of their way to make everything look beautiful. The resident chef did a lovely job with dinner, the cake, and not to mention the bride’s hair! Kaya’s has nice, clean rooms, a very relaxed vibe, lots of spots to hang out with friends, read or nap in a hammock. A lovely beach is right across the road and it’s a short walk into town for good food, fresh juices, piña coladas, people watching and easy access to various adventures nearby and in other parts of the country. El Loco Naturel was a favorite among several good restaurant options in town, they have an amazing Caribbean jerk recipe and I am still thinking about a coconut milkshake I had there. EZ Times is a great place for a cold drink on a hot day and seems to have a constant ocean breeze. John at Adventuras Bravas can arrange surfing lessons, river rafting, scooter rentals, and probably more and was very nice and generous with his knowledge of the area. Easy to spend a week at Kaya’s waking up to great tipico and fresh banana bread for breakfast, exploring the beaches and jungles in the area during the day, and enjoying the local restaurants, music, and people at night.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kaya's Place in Puerto Viejo is a dark place. The best thing it has going for it is the ocean across the street. The owner has a terrible reputation for being rude, and I can attest to this. It is unkept, rooms are moldy and the atmosphere, as I said, is dark. The bar houses a rough group of drinkers and what appears to be druggies, and i highly recommend that you do not bring children to this place. For the price, one would expect kind staff and cleanliness, but this does not exist. I highly recommend staying elsewhere, as there are many places in the same price range that deliver a much higher quality.
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Date of stay: August 2012Trip type: Traveled solo
Value
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My husband and I stayed there on our honeymoon. Of course it was our honeymoon, so we were having a good time, but if I could have stayed somewhere else I would have.
When we got there the owners were not there, and in charge was a young man who was constantly talking about cocaine and acid. I believe he was also throughly intoxicated.
He didn't know our reservation, and therfore didn't know what room we were in. He ended up giving us a lovely room...which was more expensive than our original request. But, it was the only clean one out of the whole lot, so we had no choice.
When the owners did come back they ended up overcharging us despite their mistake, and it seemed like they made a habit to do so. We tried to come to our defense but were treated like vulnerable toursits. On the whole Puerto Viejo is glorious, but the hotel is not. Stay in town somewhere, or out in Manzanillio or Punta Uva.
Kaya's place also promotes the hobby of the gentlemen of Costa Rica, so if this is your thing go there: [-]
When we got there the owners were not there, and in charge was a young man who was constantly talking about cocaine and acid. I believe he was also throughly intoxicated.
He didn't know our reservation, and therfore didn't know what room we were in. He ended up giving us a lovely room...which was more expensive than our original request. But, it was the only clean one out of the whole lot, so we had no choice.
When the owners did come back they ended up overcharging us despite their mistake, and it seemed like they made a habit to do so. We tried to come to our defense but were treated like vulnerable toursits. On the whole Puerto Viejo is glorious, but the hotel is not. Stay in town somewhere, or out in Manzanillio or Punta Uva.
Kaya's place also promotes the hobby of the gentlemen of Costa Rica, so if this is your thing go there: [-]
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Date of stay: July 2006
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I stayed here for three days and hated it; some factors of that experience were beyond the control of the hotel though. This compound is large and expensive. The staff were ALL non-indigenous except for one cleaning woman, which was not exactly inline with my ideal concepts of social justice and non-exploitation of developing countries. I stayed here for three days during Semana Santa (Holy Week), 2006.
The whole town seemed to be all about partying youth, which is not my scene. If you are in your early twenties and want to hang out on the streets all night and day, then this may appeal to you. So I picked the wrong time to be here, and my stay at Kaya's place is affected by this. The hotel cannot be responsible for my decision to be here at what might be the toughest time to relax here for anyone.
But, firstly, the rooms are all jammed next to one another, on two levels. I stayed in a "garden" room, which is in the back of the hotel, and not facing the dusty road. The amount of vehicular traffic this weekend was of a volume that cold kick up enough dust to choke you in your sleep.
The downsides of Kaya's: It is expensive; the tightly packed rooms that are usually filled with more than one person have no windows that close, disallowing the prevention of other people's noise from traveling into your room. (My room had paper-thin walls. Some neighbors kept us up all night followed by others who got up at dawn the next day and disrespectfully yacked all morning until I was pulled from sleep hours before intended); the electricity went on and off and on and off all weekend, and with, the ability of the plumbing to work; toilet paper of any kind cannot be flushed down the toilet, resulting in potential foul odors as you wait for your trash can to be emptied (these joined the other general sewer smells of the area); rooms are so tiny I kept bumping into furniture; some of the staff are nagging and unprofessional (perhaps a result of dealing with the many rowdy young quests); rules are posted about every possible behavior of the guests that can be governed, although is seems that most guests did not care about blasting music and blabbing outside of the designated talk times; privacy is near non-existent.
I would not recommend this hotel to anyone who might be as irritated as I was under similar conditions, some of which can be slightly mitigated.
The whole town seemed to be all about partying youth, which is not my scene. If you are in your early twenties and want to hang out on the streets all night and day, then this may appeal to you. So I picked the wrong time to be here, and my stay at Kaya's place is affected by this. The hotel cannot be responsible for my decision to be here at what might be the toughest time to relax here for anyone.
But, firstly, the rooms are all jammed next to one another, on two levels. I stayed in a "garden" room, which is in the back of the hotel, and not facing the dusty road. The amount of vehicular traffic this weekend was of a volume that cold kick up enough dust to choke you in your sleep.
The downsides of Kaya's: It is expensive; the tightly packed rooms that are usually filled with more than one person have no windows that close, disallowing the prevention of other people's noise from traveling into your room. (My room had paper-thin walls. Some neighbors kept us up all night followed by others who got up at dawn the next day and disrespectfully yacked all morning until I was pulled from sleep hours before intended); the electricity went on and off and on and off all weekend, and with, the ability of the plumbing to work; toilet paper of any kind cannot be flushed down the toilet, resulting in potential foul odors as you wait for your trash can to be emptied (these joined the other general sewer smells of the area); rooms are so tiny I kept bumping into furniture; some of the staff are nagging and unprofessional (perhaps a result of dealing with the many rowdy young quests); rules are posted about every possible behavior of the guests that can be governed, although is seems that most guests did not care about blasting music and blabbing outside of the designated talk times; privacy is near non-existent.
I would not recommend this hotel to anyone who might be as irritated as I was under similar conditions, some of which can be slightly mitigated.
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Date of stay: April 2006
Value
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My boyfriend and I recently stayed four nights at Kaya's Place, and I'm still not sure what to make of it.
When we first got to Puerto Viejo, we had trouble finding the hotel because there are no signs pointing you in the right direction from town. We eventually made our way there, though.
I found the hotel's owner, JT, to be equal parts rude and helpful. He really does seem to love it there in Puerto Viejo, but somehow he doesn't seem to really like visitors to the area (which makes me think he might be in the wrong line of work). I kind of felt like he was just treating us like dumb tourists a lot of the time. That being said, he also was welcoming and invited us out to dinner with him and some other hotel staff during our very first conversation with him, so I didn't really know what to make of him.
I liked most of the other members of the Kaya's Place staff. The people who work at the front desk were very nice and welcoming, as was Randy, the man who does maintenance there. We also made friends with the overnight security guard, Will (who only speaks Spanish, but is VERY friendly and kind). I thought the cleaning girls did a good job, too.
Something that I didn't read about before I went to Kaya's Place is that it is situated on an EXTREMELY dusty road, which cars and large trucks traverse all day long and into the night. The traffic is kind of loud and often mutes the sound of the ocean on the other side of the road, and dust is blown at the hotel pretty much constantly. To the hotel's credit, they do clean and sweep up the dust every day, but I would've liked to have known about that road beforehand.
Our room itself was very clean, if small. I found the bed to be pretty comfortable, but would have preferred a larger fan in our room than the one we had. We paid for an ocean view room, but couldn't see the ocean very well out of our window (although I could hear it at night between vehicles going by).
Kaya's Place has a nice porch with hammocks and sofas to lay on. We spent a lot of time out there just reading and taking naps.
I really would not recommend Kaya's Place to families with small children for several reasons: First off, JT has two large dogs that, while they seem like gentle giants, I don't know how they would behave around really small children. Secondly, the environment there really is more of a beach-y, surfer, party atmosphere and I don't think small children would fit into the scene terribly well. (To be fair, the hotel states on its website that small children are not allowed to stay in several of the rooms there.)
My boyfriend and I found it difficult to enjoy any time alone at Kaya's Place because of a distinct lack of privacy anywhere other than in our room. There was also a local guy (an expat) who was really drunk and tried to strike up a conversation with us on the last night we were there, and we found him to be really rude and obnoxious. I saw him there a few other times prior to that, too, and it made me wonder about the kinds of people who hang out there in the evenings.
Overall, I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either, and I don't think I would go back. I'd probably advise against staying there unless you are a young single traveling alone or with a group of friends, in which case it would probably be the perfect place for you.
When we first got to Puerto Viejo, we had trouble finding the hotel because there are no signs pointing you in the right direction from town. We eventually made our way there, though.
I found the hotel's owner, JT, to be equal parts rude and helpful. He really does seem to love it there in Puerto Viejo, but somehow he doesn't seem to really like visitors to the area (which makes me think he might be in the wrong line of work). I kind of felt like he was just treating us like dumb tourists a lot of the time. That being said, he also was welcoming and invited us out to dinner with him and some other hotel staff during our very first conversation with him, so I didn't really know what to make of him.
I liked most of the other members of the Kaya's Place staff. The people who work at the front desk were very nice and welcoming, as was Randy, the man who does maintenance there. We also made friends with the overnight security guard, Will (who only speaks Spanish, but is VERY friendly and kind). I thought the cleaning girls did a good job, too.
Something that I didn't read about before I went to Kaya's Place is that it is situated on an EXTREMELY dusty road, which cars and large trucks traverse all day long and into the night. The traffic is kind of loud and often mutes the sound of the ocean on the other side of the road, and dust is blown at the hotel pretty much constantly. To the hotel's credit, they do clean and sweep up the dust every day, but I would've liked to have known about that road beforehand.
Our room itself was very clean, if small. I found the bed to be pretty comfortable, but would have preferred a larger fan in our room than the one we had. We paid for an ocean view room, but couldn't see the ocean very well out of our window (although I could hear it at night between vehicles going by).
Kaya's Place has a nice porch with hammocks and sofas to lay on. We spent a lot of time out there just reading and taking naps.
I really would not recommend Kaya's Place to families with small children for several reasons: First off, JT has two large dogs that, while they seem like gentle giants, I don't know how they would behave around really small children. Secondly, the environment there really is more of a beach-y, surfer, party atmosphere and I don't think small children would fit into the scene terribly well. (To be fair, the hotel states on its website that small children are not allowed to stay in several of the rooms there.)
My boyfriend and I found it difficult to enjoy any time alone at Kaya's Place because of a distinct lack of privacy anywhere other than in our room. There was also a local guy (an expat) who was really drunk and tried to strike up a conversation with us on the last night we were there, and we found him to be really rude and obnoxious. I saw him there a few other times prior to that, too, and it made me wonder about the kinds of people who hang out there in the evenings.
Overall, I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either, and I don't think I would go back. I'd probably advise against staying there unless you are a young single traveling alone or with a group of friends, in which case it would probably be the perfect place for you.
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Date of stay: October 2007Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Check in / front desk
Service
Business service (e.g., internet access)
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I will admit this review is a little incomplete, because I didn't actually stay here. When in PV my girlfriend and I were looking for somewhere to stay and stopped in to Kaya's Place. In the few minutes we looked at the rooms it became pretty clear to me this was not a place worth staying. The rooms are tightly packed together and not all that clean; the staff wasn't terribly friendly; the bathrooms are shared and smelled bad; the kitchen was out of service; the windows don't close or have screens; and the prices although fairly cheap were no better than the other budget options.
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Date of stay: May 2007Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Check in / front desk
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Kayasplace, Manager at Kaya's Place
Responded Aug 4, 2007
Dear earthbound, The family at Kaya's Place is extremely sorry to hear that you had a bad tour of our facility. From your description of the rooms it sounds like you were shown the shared bath rooms and budget travel facilities. Though these rooms are not huge, we do feel that at $10 per person for a double, many with an ocean view, they do represent a good value (screened windows included). As to the bathrooms, it is hard to know who visited them before you and when, as they are shared baths. They are cleaned daily though. Kaya's Place offers 7 extremely different styles of rooms. From the shared baths you were shown to the private cabin which is a house that has a kitchen and sleeps 9 people, to the Suites with kitchens that are extremely large, loft style rooms with an ocean view and 2 double beds built into a tree! Please see our website for all room rates and descriptions. The month of May represents one of the slowest times of the year, and it is hard for any tourist business in Puerto Viejo to survive during this time. Our chef wanted to travel, so we decided to close the restaurant until business picked up. We feel that our location, close enough to town to walk, yet far enough away to sleep well at night, affords us the ability to do this. Puerto Viejo is well known for its cuisine, and there are many options to eat. I am sorry if you saw this as an inconvenience. We do tend to cook family style dinners with all the guests that have become family on an almost nightly basis, and offer limited room in our restaurant refrigerator. This seems to work well during the slow times. Yet, on behalf of all the hard working people who sell their soul and buy a hotel in some far stretch of the planet, I feel that I must ask for you to do us all the favor of actually staying at a facility before writing a travel review of it. First impressions are powerful, yet by no means do they formulate an objective opinion. By offering us the opportunity to show you our hospitality firsthand, your input to the travel forum will have much more value. PURA VIDA Kaya’s Place Management
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I'd booked 2 days to stay here on my 18 day solo trec across Costa Rica & Bocas Del Toro. Had decided to take a bike ride there from another Cabanas i was at for 3 days to check the place out only to be treated in a very nasty way by the American owner at the bar because i rode my bike too far into his place??? At that moment i walked over to their nice receptionist and told her i was going to cancel, and did just that once i got back to my laptop. How could anyone treat a lone female "Children's Librarian" in such a rude manner is beyond me? From now on, i'll make sure only locals own the place i'm staying at since TICAS are truly warmed hearted people that only deserve my business, not arrogant Foreigners.
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Date of stay: January 2014Trip type: Traveled solo
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Having stayed here over many visits to Costa Rica, I have noticed a steady improvement in upkeep of the facility and a conscientious movement away from it being a partier's hotel to an upstanding and outstanding hotel from which to enjoy the pleasures of Playa Negra and the whole of this Caribbean seaside town of Puerto Viejo.
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Date of stay: April 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi, Good morning, thank you for choosing kaya's Place,you can make your reservation calling us direct to our phone number 27500690,we will need to know for witch day you want to make your reservation.
At the moment or less expensive rooms are private rooms with shared bathroom,that cost per night: $19 plus tax.If you stay for more than 2 nights we can offer you a discount paying in cash.
Pura vida
Shamary
Kaya's Place
How do I book? I don't see them on airbnb
sorry for our delay.
We provide you everything here. Linen, towels... and we change them everyday!
Thank you for your interest and sorry again!
Pura vida,
Kaya's Place!
"Ask about options based on your budget. They have everything from hostel rooms to suites."Read full review
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PRICE RANGE
$45 - $45 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
kaya`s place hotel puerto viejo, kayas place puerto viejo, kayas place hotel puerto viejo
LOCATION
Costa RicaProvince of LimonPuerto Viejo de Talamanca
NUMBER OF ROOMS
26
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Kaya's Place
Which popular attractions are close to Kaya's Place?
Nearby attractions include Playa Negra (0.10 miles), Bhlumi (0.3 miles), and Jessy, Sala de belleza (0.3 miles).
What are some of the property amenities at Kaya's Place?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge.
What food & drink options are available at Kaya's Place?
Guests can enjoy an on-site restaurant, a lounge, and breakfast during their stay.
What are some restaurants close to Kaya's Place?
Conveniently located restaurants include Stashus con Fusion, Port Vell, and Gelateria Deelite Italian Gelato.
Is Kaya's Place located near the city center?
Yes, it is 0.3 miles away from the center of Puerto Viejo de Talamanca.
Are pets allowed at Kaya's Place?
Yes, pets are typically allowed, but it's always best to call ahead to confirm.
Is Kaya's Place accessible?
Yes, it offers reduced mobility rooms. For specific inquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.