El Faro Beach Hotel

Container design with a Pacific outlook

Shipping containers take on a different life at El Faro Beach Hotel. Set into Manuel Antonio’s hillside, they become air-conditioned rooms, while the infinity pool and elevated deck turn attention toward the Pacific. It is an appealing combination for travelers who like inventive design and want their hotel to have a character of its own.

Begin with breakfast, head toward Playa Espadilla, then come back for a swim and a drink at the poolside bar. The beach is about a ten-minute walk away, and Manuel Antonio National Park is only minutes from the hotel. An open-air restaurant lets a relaxed meal become part of the day, with complimentary parking and WiFi adding useful conveniences.

Find your place on the hillside

The level and view make a real difference at El Faro. The container design continues inside each category, with air conditioning, cable television, a phone and a safe providing familiar comforts.

• Standard Poolside Rooms sit on the lowest level, combining one and a half 20-foot containers.
• Deluxe Ocean View Rooms use a 40-foot container, while Studio Rooms occupy a 20-foot container on the top level with ocean views.
• Deluxe Superior Ocean View Rooms use a 40-foot container and add a kitchenette with a mini-fridge, microwave and coffee maker.
• Master Rooms occupy the top floor in a 40-foot container, with panoramic ocean views and a spacious bathroom with a tub.

Take the coast at your own pace

The container construction gives the hotel its identity, but the coast gives the day its rhythm. A surf lesson on Playa Espadilla, a guided wildlife hike in the national park or a catamaran cruise can lead into an afternoon by the infinity pool. For a change of landscape, the area also has canopy zipline outings and whitewater rafting on the Rio Savegre.

At sunset, make time for the top-level deck. Look toward the water, or into the neighboring trees where monkeys, sloths and parrots may appear. After a day on the coast or in the forest, El Faro gives you a distinctive hillside place to return to.

Highlights to help you choose

• Stay in converted shipping containers on a Manuel Antonio hillside, an inventive, budget-minded alternative to a conventional hotel building.
• An infinity pool and poolside bar make it easy to pause between outings; the open-air restaurant gives you somewhere to eat at the hotel.
• Playa Espadilla is about a ten-minute walk away, and the national park is only minutes away; choose the setting for coastal and forest days rather than immediate beachfront access.
• The top-level deck overlooks the Pacific at sunset, while neighboring trees offer opportunities to spot monkeys, sloths and parrots.
• Standard Poolside Rooms sit on the lowest level; Studio and Master Rooms are on top levels with ocean views. The room’s position is part of the choice.
• Deluxe Superior Ocean View Rooms add a kitchenette with a mini-fridge, microwave and coffee maker, useful when you want simple refreshments in your room.
• Master Rooms pair panoramic ocean views with a spacious bathroom and tub; other room categories should be chosen for their own features.
• Complimentary parking and WiFi support a stay that mixes time at the hotel with surfing, catamaran trips, park hikes or Savegre rafting in the area.