Hotel Raratonga is a small friendly lodge with 7 units total, double private rooms and fully equipped kitchen apartments for 2 to 4 persons, swimming pool, A/C, private bathroom, hot water, safety box, wi-fi, daily cleaning. Rates from $45-$60 p/night p/double room. 2 minutes walking from the best surf spot and beach of Santa Teresa, supermarkets and restaurants. Ideal for couples, families and group of friends.
Playa Santa Teresa 300 Meters North from Lora Amarilla Santa Teresa Beach, Santa Teresa 60111 Costa Rica
Raratonga Hotel & Apartments
249 reviews
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.
We had the most wonderful week with Alessia at Raratonga. We had a two bedroom apartment for our family of 3 which was perfect and even included a fridge and cooking facilities so we could prepare simple meals. The property is located on the edge of Santa Teresa so quiet enough to be out of the hussle and bustle but still plenty of food options right there and the beach only a couple of minutes down a track over the road. Alessia was so lovely with lots of helpful advice and suggestions and the accommodation was beautiful!! We were so sad to leave!!!!
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Date of stay: April 2024
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Trip 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.
Beautiful, neat and smartly designed shacks, with some rooms having a relaxing deck looking on a jungle view.
Great Location in north Santa Teresa with a great choice of restaurants and amenities nearby, beach is 2 mins away.
Alessia is a terrific host that made sure we had a good time, for instance, we forgot a mobile phone in the room that we though we lost, When she found it after we left, she gave it all she can to contact us by email, whatsapp and phone, to come back and get it before taking the ferry to Puntarenas. The booklet she provided us during our stay also had top-notch hints!
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Date of stay: March 2020
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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.
Hotel Raratonga has the nature-y feel of a cabin in the jungle, but it's only a few minutes walk from the beach, grocery store, and many of the best restaurants in Santa Teresa. It was a wonderful place to relax, whether by the pool or on the balcony, and to work, as the WiFi was fast and reliable.
Alessia was a fantastic host, accommodating last-minute changes in plans for both arrival and departure. They also provide an awesome app that has plenty of information about places to eat and things to do in town.
Recommendations: If you're going to be working remotely, bring a cushion or fashion the towels into one, as the wooden chairs can be hard on the back after a few hours. There are roosters nearby so if you're a light sleeper and don't want to be woken up between 4-6 am, bring earplugs. Soda Tiquica, the restaurant a few doors down has the best Costa Rican food in town.
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Date of stay: January 2021
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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.
The check in process needs to be correct and less convoluted. I booked on Hotels.com and the information given was that $40 would be charged and the rest collected at the hotel. Then half the amount was charged a day later just to make sure my credit card was good and then that dropped off and then everything was recharged at the hotel in two different amounts which was super confusing and because of the currency rate exchange I ended up paying four dollars more than my firm hotels.com quote. If I am quoted one price I don’t wanna pay a cent more. That’s the whole point of locking in a price. That sort of stuff is bothersome to me because I’m on vacation and I want things to go smoothly. The Hotel operator should just make the check in process easier and collect the money upfront like every other hotel with a cancellation policy date. I’m not sure why they are making things so difficult on themselves and their clients. Also the light in the room was faulty so it always flickered and never really stayed on which was super annoying because obviously the person cleaning the room had to of known about it and it never got reported. There are a few other issues which I won’t bring up. But mostly it’s just about the Hotel being more organized and on point with taking care of their customers.
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Date of stay: January 2022Trip type: Traveled solo
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.
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Very cozy. Impeccable cleanliness, direct attention from the owners and very personalized at all times. Accessible location. The pool in optimal conditions. Security in all areas. Recommendations for visiting tourist places and restaurants and facilities for making payments in a wide variety of ways. Super recommended
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Date of stay: November 2023
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Trip type: Traveled solo
Room Tip:Â No pierdan tiempo buscando algo muy lujoso. Raratonga ofrece un espacio a ogedor con lo necesario...
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 had a good stay at Raratonga. The location is very good; the beach is just 75meter away and there is a very good soda next to Raratonga. Also we met some nice and friendly people in the hotel, especially the ones from Quebec, Canada ;)
The staff is also very nice and willing to help in a friendly way.
There is just one negative point; there is a rooster next to the hotel which starts to make noice as from 4 am. This is not good for your sleep ;). Hopefully the hotel can do something about it for the future guests.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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.
A little confusing to find because there are two properties - one are apartments, one hotel - but very close together, so not a problem. Owner is very hospitable, and has put together booklets in the room with ideas of places to go, beaches and nature reserves and maps of how to get there, and local restaurant ideas, etc. There is mini fridge and coffee maker - no coffee, so you must walk down the road a couple minutes to a small grocery store - they have all the supplies you'll need. Room was clean and ready for us upon arrival. Bathroom only has liquid soap/shower gel/shampoo combo, so bring toiletries if you prefer bar soap or specific shampoo and conditioner. AC worked well. Two negatives: 1. the neighboring yard has chicken(s) & rooster(s) which crow every 20 seconds 24/7. The building is made of wood, so sound goes in and out like air...including to the joining room. We didn't get much sleep because of the rooster. 2. The roads to Santa Teresa are atrocious, so don't think that a sedan will be sufficient. It's not. Even the short driveway is very very steep and scraped the bottom of the car. All in all, it was very pleasant, the pool was relaxing, and the balcony area is a relaxing place to enjoy your morning coffee or a book
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Date of stay: April 2014
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Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Rooms farther from check in area/office are closer to the neighboring yard with roosters/chickens...
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.
Apartment : Perfect. We were on the second floor, the apartment to the left - the balcony gives this extra magical feeling with its beautiful vegetation and company ; butterflies, birds and sometines more ;) The place is clean, practical and comfortable. Only negative fact : you can easily hear through the walls, but we were lucky that all our neighbours weren't noisy and we didn't have any problems sleeping. lo Pool : Clean and great pool - the public area is filled with beautiful vegetation, has a lot of shade spots and has a very peaceful feeling.
Location : Great location - we were not close tu the crossroad going to Mal Pais (15 min biking distance), but we were at a very reasonnable walking distance to everything useful such as surfshops, all great restaurants, grocery store, beach (3 min walk).
Special Thanks to Jany (sorry if it's misspelled!), one of the owners that we met - he gave us great advice for our travelling and was always very nice and smiling!
Thank you so much! Will surely come back to the same apartment if we go back to Santa Teresa!
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Date of stay: January 2014
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Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Â LOVE the appartement on the second floor to the left of the building - the balcony is gorgeous
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 have been going to Costa Rica for more than twenty years to surf, but I had never visited Santa Teresa. I usually stay in Playa Negra or Avellanas in Guanacaste. We went down to Santa Teresa for one night stay and when we started looking for hotels we were surprised to find out that everyone had the same rate: $110. Rooms and cabins were nice, but $110 in a town that has no sidewalk and the majority of hotels are not on the beach? Come on, you can stay at Hotel Playa Negra on the world class surf point for $110 or at cafe Playa Negra for $60 with AC and WIFI. So we decided to stay at the Ratatonga but guess what, it was $110 and they asked to please pay cash to avoid the 5% credit card surcharge. The room was dark, beds small with lumpy and skimpy sheets and when the upstairs guests showed up, the whole place started to rattle. Overpriced as the majority of hotels and restaurants in Santa Teresa, which has a nice beach, but the town looks like Gulch City in 1850, dusty and dirty.
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Date of stay: January 2014
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Trip type: Traveled with friends
Room Tip:Â Go to higher floors,otherwise you will feel like you are in an earthquake zone....
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 Raratonga, Owner at Raratonga Hotel & Apartments
Responded Jan 22, 2014
Dear guest, we are really sorry to hear that your stay in Playa Santa Teresa and our hotel wasn't a pleasant one, as much as we are surprised about it since you didn't mention any of this in the pleasant chat we had yesterday. It seems you really disliked our town and thinked our place was overpriced as the rest of the places and restaurants too.We can only accept your comment and be sorry you have no good memories to carry with you, but we would like to try and give you our perspective about it. We actually think that Santa Teresa is a little jewel compared to other beaches and we feel that you would have felt it too, if you stayed maybe a little be longer. Getting into town at 6pm,when it's getting dark, after a long trip and leaving the next day at 11am, might not be enough time to see the beauties a place has to offer,plus doesn't leave you the oportunity to restore after many hours driving. You say businesses are overall overpriced for a town that doesn't have sidewalks or for not being right on the beach, but we think this is a common mistake people make, not considering the fact that in this remote recently growing town, we have to make big efforts and spend a lot of money to guarantee even just a basic good like WATER to our guests.Restaurants also have to spend more respect other towns to have their supplies delivered here. Regarding the thing that there are no places on the beach ( except for a couple of luxury exclusive ones) well thank God! we would say, since we have something here that really has no price : a virgin, intact stunning beach, framed by a lush green vegetation. It would also be proper and fair to mention that the place you rented and paid $110 p/night for, was actually a 2 bedrooms apartment for 4 persons, with fully equipped kitchen,A/C and ceiling fans in both rooms,private bathroom with hot water,safety box free of charge,wi-fi free of charge,private patio with dining area, swimming pool,gated and safe parking area free of charge. The apartment and the building are completely built ecologically in wood and yes, sometimes you might hear your upstairs neighbors steps if they are particularly noisy people. But for those who do not appreciate the ecological qualities of a wooden building, we can also offer our concrete apartments in our latest Aparthotel. Lastly, we sincerly apologize if you didn't find our prices properly adjusted to our facilities or the facilities of the town and we send you our best wishes for the year, hoping one day you will give Santa Teresa a second chance with a little bit more time and ideally reserving ahead maybe a unit more suitable for your budget, since we also have double rooms at $55 p/night or triple rooms $65 p/night,just they were not available at the moment you showed up. Best Regards Alessia Sonnati
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Raratonga Apartments were great! We had a lovely set of rooms with kitchen, the best mattresses we ran into in Costa Rica, really nice grounds,and a swimming pool. We were insulated from the dust of Santa Teresa roads, which is overwhelming, and our owner/host, Gianni, was wonderful. He was there with a smile every day, and arranged everything we needed, from advice on beaches, to taxis and reservations. He was a true joy and made our stay memorable. We stayed other places in Santa Teresa, and this was the best, in atmosphere, accomodations, and professionalism. Alessia did a great job arranging our shuttle from the San Jose Airport, ferry transport and van to Raratonga. Our arrival was delayed by a day and she rearranged everything .Loved Raratonga Apartments!
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Date of stay: February 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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.
There are more places to choose from in the Santa Teresa area.
PRICE RANGE
$107 - $125 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
raratonga
LOCATION
Costa RicaProvince of PuntarenasSanta Teresa
NUMBER OF ROOMS
7
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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