Hotel Parador Resort and Spa
Manuel Antonio
Set on twelve acres of lush rainforest high above the Pacific coast, the award-winning Hotel Parador Resort and Spa offers the only full-service resort in Manuel Antonio. With 129 rooms, this four-star boutique style eco-resort has more rooms and service offerings than any other hotel in the area. Hotel amenities include swimming pools, restaurants and bars, a spa, fitness center, tennis court, gift shop, conference room, a computer station, self-service washing and drying machines, tropical gardens, jungle trails, and WiFi in most public areas and rooms.
Manuel Antonio is a popular beach area with several jungle-lined beaches, shops, restaurants and more. Most hotels are spread along the hillside above the beach area. Only a couple of businesses are grandfathered in with beach-front access, meaning the beaches are pristine and backed by jungle. The majority of shops and restaurants are distributed along the main road between Quepos and the main beach, Playa Espadilla. Visitors will find everything from budget-friendly local restaurants to high-end international restaurants offering steak and seafood. There is a grocery store in the town center and many souvenir shops. As the Parador is not within reasonable walking distance to any of these amenities, the hotel provides a complimentary shuttle service at set times to the main beach and any shops along the way. Of course, taxis are available on demand at an additional cost.
While the Parador may appear to be a beach-front hotel on the map, it is positioned on a large rock outcropping with cliffs down to the ocean, so there is not direct beach access. Guests can, however, walk about 10 minutes down the hill to Playa Biesanz, which is one of the prettiest, yet least visited beaches in Manuel Antonio. Biesanz is one of the local treasures that most tourists are unaware of. To access it you have to walk along a trail through the forest which is one of the better places in Manuel Antonio to see monkeys and sloths.
Manuel Antonio offers visitors a plethora of activities. This is one of the few beach areas in Costa Rica where you can go whitewater rafting or canyoning. There are several canopy zipline courses to choose and from, and surf lessons are available on the main beach. Wildlife is abundant in the Manuel Antonio National Park or the Damas Island Estuary. We offer these and plenty of other fun, thrilling, enlightening activities on our Manuel Antonio Tours page.
There is plenty to do at the resort as well. You can pass the time by walking down to Playa Biesanz or along the resort's groomed trails in search of wildlife. Hotel Parador offers three swimming pools and a swim-up bar in the main pool. There are sitting areas with lounge chairs, and the bars offer a variety of tropical drinks. The fitness center offers free weights and modern machines, and the tall windows allow you to look at the rainforest while working out.
The resort's Pacifica Spa offers five treatment rooms near the jungle. Services include massages, wraps and scrubs, facials, manicures, and pedicures. Professional makeup artists and hair stylists are available on request with notice.
The Parador Resort offers several excellent dining options. La Galeria offers ocean view fine dining with a diverse menu of Mediterranean inspired dishes. The El Quijote Restaurant offers International dishes in a relaxed and casual ambiance. The La Fragata Restaurant is in the Ocean Vista Building at the highest end of the property. This restaurant serves tasty cocktails, fresh fares, and tropical drinks in an inspired setting with views to the jungle and ocean. The Galeon Pool Bar and Terrace Restaurant is near the central pool area serving light fares, sushi, and cocktails. The Parador also offers two private dining room for intimate gatherings.
Rooms at the Hotel Parador Resort are well-equipped and range in quality from the more affordable Garden rooms to the more luxurious and pricey Suites. All rooms offer views to either the gardens, jungle, or ocean and are equipped with air-conditioning, cable TV, safe deposit box, telephone, mini-refrigerator, coffee maker, iron and ironing board, a hairdryer, and free WiFi access. Please check the Amenities Section for complete details of what is included in each room category.
Latitude: N 9° 23' 51.1"
Longitude: W 84° 10' 5.79"
06/25/2023
Wonderful place to stay! We saw more animals here than we did in the national park! Would highly recommend this place. It was clean and beautiful!
05/10/2023
Great hotel, my only feedback is that they asked us to download WhatsApp to contact them and this was not convenient. Call me old, but I do not want to have to make an account on an App I don’t have. I want to pick up the phone and call someone.
02/17/2023
Lovely hotel and staff
12/07/2022
The ocean views were beautiful and the pools/swim up bars were also beautiful. The food was good for the most part but definitely on the expensive side at $22 for a cheeseburger (LOL just an example, we ate mostly local food). The staff was friendly and it was a good experience!
02/22/2022
The pools were wonderful. We had fast service in the restaurants.
02/06/2022
Amazing views and amazed by all the animals running around. Even if some of the monkeys did get a little close it was an amazing experience
11/17/2021
Perfect stay, most friendly staff of the country we have met here :)
02/04/2020
This hotel was very lovely, had beautiful views, and a lot of wildlife that was in the trees all around the property. The pools were excellent, pool chairs were comfortable, and food for breakfast and lunch was very good. I rated the staff as an "8" due to the wait staff. All other encounters with staff (bellboys, front desk, check-in, etc.) were very accommodating, friendly and helpful. However, the wait staff were always busy, and seemed to be overworked or understaffed, as it was very hard to get their attention for anything that was needed (examples: sometimes to be able to order or to get full place settings of silverware, plates and coffee cups, or sometimes to get a refill of coffee). One morning I had to get up twice to request a setting, which then did not include coffee cups. Another morning I had to walk around and find a waiter to request more coffee. Outside of that experience, everything was top notch! If I had my wishes complete, however, perhaps a more varied dinner menu would be nice. We at out (off the premises) 3 nights due to that.
01/19/2020
The staff was wonderful, helpful and kind. The views were beautiful.
01/15/2020
So beautiful!
01/02/2020
The location of this resort is the best of both worlds. They have trails through the forest with lots of monkeys playing around and then you also have beautiful views of the ocean. The beaches are close by and they also provide a shuttle. We had a great experience. The one thing that we had not seen yet was a scarlett macaw and that was something our daughter was really wanting to see. The first morning we were there, we woke up to four scarlet macaws in the tree outside our balcony. It was amazing to watch them flying around and playing.
12/27/2019
The Personal is very friendly and helpful. The atmosphere was very pleasant with a spectacular New Years Eve event. For a top Hotel the Qualification of most of the Personal was below our expectation. The Restaurant was OK but again not completely achieving the Quality of a top hotel in relation to the rate of the room. Location of hotel was fantastic.
07/19/2019
Exceeded expectations by far! Front desk gave us a free upgrade to a suite because we were staying 5 nights! Beautiful room, view, resort, etc. Close up with sloths, monkeys, birds and many different wildlife. Pool was amazing and all staff were extremely polite and accommodating at all times. This place is a dream!
05/12/2019
Great hotel. I would return to this hotel.
02/03/2019
Very nice hotel, clean and comfortable. Pools were very clear and clean without a lot if chlorine. The path to the “bay” beach was treacherous and should be filled in or at least a warning sign posted. Restaurant was good, with very hardworking and friendly servers. More variety on the menu would have been appreciated. If I had known how much hilly walking was going to be necessary, I would have requested a room closer to the main restaurant. Some of the paths were steep and paved with irregular stones. It would be nice to add some more entertainment options, such as lectures on the wildlife. We had a problem with insects in the room.
01/02/2019
Lots of different activities at the hotel. My only complaint was the moldy smell in our room.
07/30/2017
Loved the Hotel and Staff. Food was Amazing and the Views phenomenal. I didn't give a 10 because we thought the access to the Beach would be closer and safer.
06/18/2017
Excellent resort! Front desk did not explained that we could have dinner at the bar too.
03/27/2017
We loved this hotel-beautiful & scenic, it had such character. The staff overall were good-pool bartenders weren't very knowledgeable, but otherwise were fine. The pool was nice, food was good.
12/28/2016
Best hotel ever!!! Loved the staff!!
12/24/2016
Rooms so-so, 24hr Landry next door. very limited towels. no flowers in rooms or dinning, nature trails a joke, hoped for a better beach
11/25/2016
Beautiful hotel. The rooms were nicely appointed. Food was not expensive and not very good. Ended up going into town to eat.
08/22/2016
Many items and services at the hotel, such as laundry, were expensive.
08/05/2016
The staff provided exceptional service! Every morning they checked in with me to make sure things were going well, they made me feel at home
02/12/2016
The hotel was very nice, but after being so spoiled at Hotel Korin and Hidden Canopy, I felt a little disappointed. The staff did not have their eyes on the guest and were frequently gathered together talking. The restaurant's Breakfast, although delicious, but staff did not speak or understand English too well. If we had started our trip here, I would have rated the entire experience as a 10 but having been Treated so well at the other two hotels it was a little bit of a let down. We enjoyed the walk to the beach and seeing the wild monkeys and sloths!!!! The beach was clean and warm and shady in the afternoon(!!!!).
01/06/2016
Hotel exceeded our expectations. LOVED LOVED LOVED.
01/03/2016
Really nice hotel. beautiful pool
06/06/2015
During the low/green season not all the restaurants are open and the food can be a bit pricey for dinner but they have a great and reasonable room service menu which we utilized 2x during our stay as well as a Happy Hour from 6-7pm at Bar Don Juan.
05/05/2015
The property was beautiful - the spa was terrific- the room was wonderful - the wildlife was entertaining. The food was not as good as at the other hotels and was very pricey - $20 for a hamburger is a bit much.
12/28/2014
Only complaint is there were no monkeys in the monkey trails
12/27/2014
It was my favorite hotel of this trip.
12/25/2014
The Parador was amazing--we loved every aspect of it. Our five year old learned to swim in the pool. The view from the pool is my new picture of paradise when I close my eyes. The food was fantastic. The staff were very helpful. It was super clean. Truthfully--the best place we have ever been! Love the swim up bar and the kids loved that they could get milkshakes there. Our 14 year old says she is going to have her wedding at the Parador...we'll see...
12/21/2014
Very good location
