Shana By The Beach

This one was our overall favorite, and should be a 10+. The dining and hotel staff were more than accommodating in every way.. Our only disappointment was that they didn't seem to share the country's concern for conservation of energy and offer a way for us to use linens a second or third day.

Were we expecting more ocean views from the pool/restaurant area, but loved the resident sloths and monikers everywhere. The private beach was lovely. The cab rides to and from the top of the hill to town was ridiculously expensive -$10 each way.

Beautiful hotel with great food, great staff, and loved the beach access! Only negative of the hotel is difficulty in getting to town, but we had no problem getting taxis once we figured out a system.

This was a contrast to the other places in which we stayed. We were upgraded to a penthouse which was nice, but also felt unnecessarily extravagant. There were a lot more individually wrapped items -- toiletries but also cutlery, sauce sachets, etc. and no concessions to be being eco friendly. However, the beds were very comfortable, and the view was very good. We enjoyed seeing monkeys, sloths, butterflies and birds from one of the three balconies of our suite.

Upgraded to presidential suite which was amazing

The Shana Hotel gave us so many beautiful memories. The staff there was too wonderful and missing them already. Love them all. Love the waiters, maids, reception, and yes even the owner was truly amazing. We had the garden view which gave us Squirrel Monkeys, White faced Capuchin monkeys, Howler monkeys, sloths and so much more. Also the Hermit crabs and crabs on the beach and all the wonderful people all around. Love you all.

Michelle at the front office was excellent always polite smiling and always helpful. She was excellent. Their best employee by far. She deserves to be recognized. We enjoyed the music at the restaurant as we ate our dinner on 7-4-19. After a long tiring trip from Arenal it definitely perked me up. They could add some more items for breakfast.

Loved this resort and Ismael the owner went above and beyond for us!! Great choice

great staff, attentive. while room was special in it design and extras, it was below the restaurant and thus noisy early in morning and evenings. Restaurant was uneven in service and food quality; some had great food, others not so much.

I think because it was overly touristy, it just did not have the same vibe as the other two areas. Not horrible, just not my thing.

The hotel, it’s premises, and especially staff was just great! The only minor problem we had was the food offered in the hotel. We tried it a couple of times and found it a bit bland and overpriced, so we ended up taking a taxi and eating elsewhere most of the time. However, we understand that everyone has a different taste and the overall prices in Manuel Antonio are pretty high, so we would not hold it against the hotel.

The bathroom was huge and nice but needed more hooks. The breakfast was delicious and the staff everywhere was wonderful.We loved the surrounding nature.

We loved it! The staff was warm and wonderful, especially the wait staff and bar tender. . So many close ups with the monkeys and sloths, even a toucan and 3 scarlet macaws. Food was fantastic. So good that we ate there every night and we’re happy. We were sad to leave.

Room was great. Breakfast staff could be slow but menu was great. Pool staff was friendly but sometimes got busy / not very responsive. Office staff was ok - did what was asked but didn't seem very excited about it. They did make sure we knew about The Mansion, and that was great - we went there for dinner (which was ok, service was very poor) and to the pool one day (which was stunning). Loved the beach and went down there several times.

The room was large and had a great view. The walk down to the small beach was pleasant, even though they were rebuilding part of it. There was a lot of wildlife around. Being able to use the observation deck in the sister hotel was great, and the dinner that we had in that restaurant was excellent. The major problem was the industrial food, which was not even close to 4-star. We were not the only people who started bringing our own local bread from the grocery store. Pastries and muffins also were packaged and tasted like cardboard, and the waiter admitted that the OJ was canned. Very few things were fresh, and they seemed to run out of those by Sunday. There was no information about the place -- could have used a warning that the cute monkeys could open the closed balcony doors unless they were securely latched from the inside. (Maid did not seem to latch them.) The worst problem was that there was a strong sewage smell that drifted in around the pool on the last day. We tried to sit on our balcony instead, but it was much worse up high, and we were concerned that the room would smell as well. Complained at reception and was told they would look into it. We sat outside reception (which was set back and did not smell) but the smell was still there on the nice side of the pool a couple of hours later. The room has good quiet appliances, and a ceiling fan, which was great. The floor was kind of dirty the first day or two -- made our feet black. This might be because the tile had grooves in it and was hard to clean. Hard to get a cart to pick up our bags and take them to the van when we needed to leave. A tour bus was also allowed to block the driveway for quite a while.

I like the balcony and the big windows to the trees and hearing the mo keys at night and at dawn.

Did expensive, also a food truck hit my husband at hotel, while staff were kind the hotel did not offer any additional support

This is a lovely hotel, but out of the way from the main area. Walking to and from the hotel was difficult due to the hotel's location. Taxis were expensive to go a short distance. The restaurant at the hotel was very expensive so we didn;t eat there. The Biesanz beach was lovely. Staff were very accommodating.

Upon our arrival, there was a strong septic smell on the resort and in the room. We inquired at reception and was told that they were aware of the situation and had the septic tank pumped and that there was nothing else they could do. Keeping the patio doors closed kept the smell out of the room. Would have preferred to keep the doors open and the A/C off. The smell made it difficult to enjoy the patio, restaurant and pool. Since the smell not only continued but got worse, we emailed PTW, mostly so that they could warn upcoming guests. Within 30 minutes, reception called us and requested that we meet with the manager the next day. The manager told us that a broken pipe was finally located and was repaired.

Can't blame hotel but there was a broken septic line during most of our stay. The hotel did everything they could but 'shit happens'. It affected my ratings and experience but should not reflect on hotel which had great views. For future guest would not recommend this hotel if you are unable to climb the steep hills of the property

Beautiful setting and good location to take advantage of the beach. Great service with the golf carts!

awesome accommodations, awesome staff, awesome breakfast, loved the private beach, loved Fabian the pool bartender and the entire restaurant staff.