Café de Playa Beach Front Hotel

We have spent several New Year's Eve parties in this place and the price is high and the service and food very bad. Paying was a nightmare. 2023 was the worst. The place is nice and an excellent place to watch the sunsets, have a drink and eat something. This year, a group of 18 people arrived at the beach and asked if we could use 4 beach chairs and a waitress told us yes, if we consumed something. We started looking at the menu and even thought about ordering French fries for the kids, but they no longer sell anything like snacks. So we would order ceviche and something else. At that moment the waitress came back and told us that for using those chairs we had to pay 20 thousand colones each. We decided not to use the chairs, not to order anything and never to consume in that place again. Very bad.

The staff is very nice, welcoming, helpful and friendly. The location is very good. The hotel is quite easy to find. A parking is available directly at the property. The beach is within a walking distance. However, avoid booking the room number 2, there are bedbugs in the bed…

One of our favourite places for sunset drinks here in Coco used to be Café de Playa. We’ve brought friends and family there all the time since we moved here in 2019. Recently we showed up for drinks with a group of seven and were told by the owner that he wouldn’t seat us unless we ate dinner as well… which we wouldn’t do as their food is unfortunately not very good, in our estimation. So we ended up going elsewhere. What a shortsighted policy. Why not come up with a better menu to have people stay for dinner, rather than turn away loyal customers?

The hotel grounds are beautiful and well kept. Right on the beach. The pool was very relaxing. The restaurant is lovely. The staff were friendly. No internet for the 3 days we were there. A prior guest had lost the key to the safe in our room at some point, so there was no safe. Our room was not cleaned but once in the 3 days and only the bed was made, no new towels, etc. The water pressure is spotty at best and completely disappeared during 2 of 3 showers and a water bottle using the spigot was needed to rinse off. The refrigerator in the room was a small wine fridge. The restaurant was overpriced for what they offered. The most expensive meal of our entire trip was here and was honestly not worth the price. There are only 5 rooms and anywhere from 3-7 staff mulling around at any given time, and very few guests, so cleaning the room, fixing items, etc, should not have been an inconvenience. We were not able to keep a tab on our room so had to carry cash/ card for the restaurant. Overall, not a good value. Will look at other options in the area next trip, as there are many.

This was the worst experience we have ever had. After traveling 14 hours, we arrived at our confirmed and paid-for hotel around 9 PM, to discover that there were no lights on, and no reception, just one night Security person. After approaching the Security person, he said that everyone went home. He called the Manager, who sent a restaurant waiter to help us. It turns out that our room was given away,,, to an escort. The manager never came to help, never called us to discuss, never apologized, never reconciled in any way. The poor waiter was left to figure out what to do. We demanded that the person in our room be told to leave and that the room be cleaned. Eventually, the waiter told "Brenda" she had to leave. Brenda was obviously a known frequenter of this facility. She stormed off into the night. A cleaning person eventually showed up to clean the room. We got our room at 11:30 pm. Warning. Do not book this place. And do not pay in advance.

Do NOT stay in this hotel. This hotel advertises as being 4 stars and it is not even 2 stars. I booked two nights, and when I arrived with my family, the building is nothing like they show in their advertisement photos. We paid extra for the larger room, that later found out it was the same as all other rooms. The bathroom doesn't have hot water, there is no staff at all from 7 pm-noon, they don't provide toiletries, the building is so run down, and there is mold on the walls. It is so unsafe to arrive after 7 pm, since there is no security nor any lighting in the hallways. The locks of the room and the safe have been forced. The linens and towels are nasty. There aren't any food options from 7 pm-noon, including breakfast, since there is none in the hotel to assist. These are not qualities of a 4-star hotel. We spoke with management about these issues at the beginning of the stay, and we were told the owner was out of town and unable to help us. We decided to leave because we were afraid for our safety, and our young children's safety, as well as very disappointed with the service and the hotel overall. It was certainly NOT what we paid for as the hotel advertised to us. I requested to be refunded for the night we didn't use and because the hotel is not what they advertise. The owner contacted me back and called me a "f***ing b***" for complaining. There are several reviews from past travelers that expressed that the owner is incredibly rude and aggressive. I definitely do NOT recommend this hotel, and I request Booking to review their contract with this hotel which is clearly falsely advertised.