Payments made by partners impact the order of prices displayed. Room types may vary.
The listings of booking offers for each property take into account the compensation paid to us by our partners. Prices shown may be for varying room types. Prices displayed are the lowest available, corresponding to the least expensive room type available, as provided from our partners as of the time of the user’s search.
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Featuring an extensive, lush garden, 2 outdoor swimming pools and a hot tub, Hotel La Isla is located just 50 metres from Playa Palo Seco Beach and offers private access to it. We offer standard hotel rooms and mini-apartments all of them with air conditioning,private bathroom with free toiletries and hot water. Hotel rooms has two standard beds, air conditioning, private bathroom and furnish made with teak wood. Mini apartments also feature a living area,two bedrooms (one with a couple of single beds and other with a couple of bunkbeds, garden views and a kitchenette with microwave, fridge and coffee maker. The on-site restaurant serves international cuisine and local dishes and features a special diet menu. There is also a snack bar. Many activities such as football, volleyball and ping pong can be arranged on site, and a billiard table is available. Guests can also have a relaxing massage treatment. This property is 27 KM from Manuel Antonio National Park and 30 minutes' drive from Jaco town and beach and its nightlife. Juan Santamaria International Airport is a 90 minutes' drive away
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Budget
Family
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Location
Palo Seco Beach, Parrita, 1 Miles East From the School, Parrita 60901 Costa Rica
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
This hotel is on a very remote beach in Paleo Seco, Costa Rica. I found the hotel to be very clean and safe, although it is an older dated resort, it fits its location perfectly. I would even say it's the place to go when you want to totally "unplug yourself". The ocean beach in front of the hotel is a beautiful beach. There are hammocks hanging in a forest of Palm trees, that surround this resort. The food was amazing, each meal was better than the next. There are no TV's in the rooms, no phones in the rooms, and very basic amenities, this is exactly what I was looking for. There is a security guard on the grounds at night, and never felt insecure on that remote stretch of beach. There is a pool for sunning, and plenty of shade when you've had enough! Each morning I was greeted by families of iguanas that live there, along with families of monkeys. The ground keeper fed the monkeys for us, so that we could get a close up view of the monkeys, he also would go up into the trees each morning and fetch us some pure, fresh coconut water right out of the coconut. The hotel staff is quaint, the manager Sally is most helpful, and speaks amazing English. She helped us with every detail with getting there. She helped arrange a 20 minute flight from San Jose to Quepos, which I totally recommend that you do, saves so much down time driving. While there, we took day trips to have lunch in Quepos, we went to the park in Manuel Antiono. It was close to the Rainforest, and to Zip line. I think you need 3 nights there to visit all around there. I wasn't looking for luxury, I was looking for a place to unplug, and this place is perfect for it, and when, and if you need to plug back in, their bar has wireless internet service and you can be in touch with anyone in 5 minutes. I was able to Facetime with my family in a matter of seconds, catch up on my emails and quickly unplug and relax again. I saw pictures of weddings that the hotel has done on the beach and they looked spectacular! Again, remote, clean, unplugged, and relaxing, on an amazing stretch of beach!
Read more
Date of stay: March 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
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 travelled many times in Costa Rica. Although CR is a tourist destination, most of the country is simple and old-fashioned. If you go to La Isla (and most small, locally-owned hotels in the country), you need to understand that this is the "tico" way. If you keep this in mind, you will find that La Isla is simple but charming. I was fortunate to stay there two times on different EF Tours (be warned if you are a paying guest that EF Tours uses this hotel for student trips!) The rooms are clean, air-conditioned and very humble. The food is good, but not fancy. The grounds are tropical, and wonderful to wander and view a variety of animals. I and my students saw geckos, iguanas, monkeys, parrots, frogs and tons of crabs. It's a great place to travel with kids/students. The beach across the road is lovely, but too dangerous for swimming. *Just a note: when I travel to other countries, I always bring my own small bath towel. Something for you to consider.
Read more
Date of stay: June 2016
Rooms
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:Some rooms have kitchens. Mine did not, but I had no need for one.
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.
Our troop from Colorado stayed here as part of a trip planned by EF Tours. There were 42 people in our group (17 from our troop), mostly girls aged 13-18 and a handful of adults. The rooms are divided up into little cabins, which the girls thought were cute. Our scouts don't stay in hotels often, so to them the ideal was quite novel .
As with many places outside of the US, you get one room key and it is best to turn it in at the front desk when you are leaving the hotel grounds. This was a great experience for our girls as they locked their keys in their room by accident and we had them approach the front desk to resolve the issue themselves. Good problem solving and responsibility lessons!
Another thing that was new for our US girls is not flushing toilet paper. This is very important in Costa Rica because the whole country is very environmentally aware and they try to save resources.
Some of the rooms we used have 2 double beds and a bathroom or 2 rooms with 2 sets of bunk beds in one room and two twin beds in the other room, and also a kitchenette with a large refrigerator, microwave, dishes, sink etc. Neither style room had super comfy furniture to sit and watch TV in, which is fine because the only English language channel was BBC News (and the scouts were not very interested in watching the news). There is a beach shower outside each room for sand management, and since there is no carpeting we had the girls leave their shoes outside so they wouldn't have a sandy floor.
The girls swam in the pool which was very clean. Other reviews perhaps prompted a clean up of the pool, but it was very nice and the girls loved it. The only bad part about the pool was the little black bugs that are like teenie tiny gnats. They pinch a bit, but don't leave a mark, and they could care less if you have mosquito repellant.
We loved the food! The staff was very nice and everyone loved the food. They have a great pool table and the bar area is very cozy. One of the favorite parts for the girls was a kitten that visited and a puppy that was owned by one of the staff. Personally I liked seeing the iguanas lounging about like bunnies from home.
We didn't get hot showers, and you have to use your own towels at the pool (take a microfiber towel so it will dry), and the beach is great for watching waves, birds and stars.
As part of our tour we worked on a mangrove project which was very nearby the hotel. It was an amazing project for the girls to work on and the loved it.
Read more
Date of stay: June 2016
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled 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.
I took a group of teenage students to Costa Rica with a world-renowned travel company. All of the hotels we stayed in were fine, except for this one. On the second night at this hotel, someone broke into my girls' room and stole all of their luggage. The scary thing is that the girls were sleeping in the room when it happened. Thankfully they weren't touched. The lock on the door was messed up and we had reported it to the manager earlier in the day. He did nothing about it. The hotel is creepy; it's very dark, poorly lit, and in a very remote, albeit beautiful, locaton. There is a rough group of Nicaraguan migrants that stay nearby and hang out at the hotel bar at night. We traveled in July, which is the rainy season in Costa Rica, and the hotel grounds were pure mud. Find a safer place to stay!
Read more
Date of stay: July 2010
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
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 food is the best I've ever had. I specially recommend the fish with shrimp. The rooms and the hotel were really clean the beach is in front and had amazing sunsets. Is near Manuel Antonio if you would like a more calm beach.
Read more
Date of stay: January 2017
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.
My wife and I first stayed at Hotel la Isla September of 2004. We have since been there many times and visited the bar and restaurant many times as well. We found the Owner/Hostess "Sally" and her staff to be wonderful. Sally speaks excellent English which is not common on this mostly Tico Island Beach. Also her new Chef "David" is excellent. He also speaks very good English and enjoys creating wonderful meals for appreciative guests. I would highly recommend Hotel la Isla and the restaurant and bar. Very warm friendly people.
Read more
Date of stay: September 2004
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Check-in / front desk
Service
Business service (e.g., internet access)
Trip type: Travelled on business
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 nicest thing I can say about this hotel is that the wifi in the lobby is good. I took a group of 45 to Costa Rica through a student travel company, so I had no choice in the matter staying here. First of all, the rooms look like they haven't had any updating since the 1970s. The bedspread (which I'm fairly certain was actually a bed SKIRT) was all pilled, and the sheets were basically translucent. The bathroom mat looked like it hadn't been washed in years, and the "furniture" in the rooms were lawn chairs made out of glorified PVC pipe. The staff rations towels (which have HOLES IN THEM, by the way), and upon departure if you don't turn in the number of towels they give you (one per person), they charge you $20 per towel. FOR TOWELS WITH HOLES IN THEM. $20. Let that sink in. When we checked in, we were shorted one towel for a room of 4, and when we kindly asked in Spanish for another towel, the clerk replied "What for?!" Wow, how welcoming. What my students did love about this place was that the lobby and pool stayed open until midnight. So there was that.
Read more
Date of stay: June 2016
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
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 with a group of students stayed at this hotel and it was the worse stay ever. It is unclean and we suffered from bug bites that were said to be termites but not sure really what they were. Food awful. Staff rude and mad when we left early. Stay here ruined my Costa Rica experience. I would never recommend this place ever.
Read more
Date of stay: June 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
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 have stayed here for two night with our EF Tours group. The location is literally off the beaten path, truly a way to disconnect and unplug (if only no wi fi, then Pure Perfection!) It is located across the dirt road from a stunning black beach! (Unable to swim due to trip regulations and wicked rip tides). Anna was our server/bartender, she is EXCELLENT! Chef David made meals that we perfection! (I am a vegetarian, so he customized them for me…best meals of the trip!) We will be back!
Read more
Date of stay: June 2012
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
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.
This hotel will challenge your ability to adjust. It is very remote. It is really in poor condition and the rooms leave a lot to be desired. If you are in the mood for adventure, then try this one. The grounds are not well kept, extremely muddy in places and populated by large iguanas (which were actually one part of the location that we loved). The bottom of the pool was loaded with dead crabs and the water was very cloudy. Needless to say, we bagged swimming. The room had the famous Costa Rican "electrocution shower" and you will see why the name fits the shower when you arrive. One more thing, the place was loaded with mosquitos and when we asked the clerk at the front desk if he had any repellent, his reply was "yes, but not for the guests". That necessitated a 5 mile trip back down the dirt road to a little store where they indeed did a bang up business on repellent. The total atmosphere of the place is eerie. We actually stated all singing "Hotel California" on the way there. One plus, you can walk to the beach and Costa Rican beaches are beautiful. We did have breakfast at the outside dining area and it was ok. Service was good and cordial. Not the cleanest dining area but by breakfast time, we were not shocked. Would I stay here again, absolutely not. I do not recommend it unless you are in for some of the above challenges, if not more. Good luck.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2010
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
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 Parrita area.
PRICE RANGE
$227 - $246 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
Costa RicaProvince of PuntarenasParrita
NUMBER OF ROOMS
32
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect total costs of the stay, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
