Top 5 Hotels in Guanacaste

Update, November 2026: We rechecked all 5 hotels. Lodge Las Ranas now trades as Colina del Mar Boutique Hotel. Hotel Cantarana has a working website again, and The Hideaway is still listed on booking sites with recent reviews. Los Altos de Eros and Luna Azul have their own working websites.

These are the 5 hotels from our original 2012 list, in the same order, not a ranking. They're all small places on Guanacaste's Pacific coast, between Tamarindo in the north and Sámara in the south. Check each website for current rates.

Los Altos de Eros

Los Altos de Eros is a small luxury hotel and spa on a hilltop about 15 minutes from Tamarindo, with views over forested hills toward the sea. Its website lists poolside rooms, the Eros Suite, a detached suite and 2 villas, Casa Bella and Villa Blanca. Its Spa de Eros offers massages, facials and body treatments, and yoga is part of its wellness program. Liberia airport is about an hour's drive away. For more, see our Los Altos de Eros profile.

Luna Azul

Luna Azul is a small boutique hotel on a hill above the bay at Ostional, north of Nosara. Its website lists an apartment for families, 2 rooms and a bungalow, an infinity pool and Jacuzzi, and a restaurant and bar that's also open to non-guests.

Ostional is known for its arribadas, mass nestings of olive ridley sea turtles that happen several times a year in the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge. If you want to see one, staying close by makes it easier to go when the turtles arrive. Nosara's yoga studios and retreat centers are a short drive south; see our guide to where to do yoga in Costa Rica.

The Hideaway Hotel

The Hideaway is a small boutique hotel on the road between Sámara and Playa Carrillo, a short walk from Sámara beach. Booking sites list an outdoor pool, a restaurant, breakfast and an airport shuttle, and it has high guest ratings. Sámara's bay is known for gentler water than many Guanacaste beaches, and local operators run dolphin, kayak and zipline tours.

Colina del Mar (formerly Lodge Las Ranas)

The hotel we first listed as Lodge Las Ranas is now Colina del Mar Boutique Hotel. It sits on a hilltop outside Sámara with views of the sea and the mountains, about 10 rooms, a pool and a tiki bar where guests watch the sunset. Booking sites say guests must be 12 or older, so it suits couples and adults looking for quiet.

Hotel Cantarana

Cantarana is a small boutique hotel at Playa Grande, beside Las Baulas National Marine Park, a 2-minute walk down a private jungle trail to the beach. Its website lists double rooms with a balcony or terrace and a one-bedroom villa, and its restaurant, Bistro Cantarana, serves breakfast, cocktails and local food. Playa Grande is a long, quiet surf beach just across the estuary from Tamarindo, and the park protects one of the leatherback turtle's nesting beaches.

Yoga in Guanacaste

Most of Guanacaste's yoga is in Nosara, with more around Tamarindo and Playa Negra. Our guide to where to do yoga in Costa Rica explains the region, and our guide to choosing a yoga retreat in Costa Rica helps if you'd rather book a full retreat.

Frequently asked questions

Is Lodge Las Ranas in Sámara still open?

It now trades as Colina del Mar Boutique Hotel, on the same hilltop outside Sámara.

Which of these hotels is near Tamarindo?

Los Altos de Eros, about 15 minutes from Tamarindo, and Cantarana at Playa Grande, just across the estuary from Tamarindo.

Where can I see turtles nesting in Guanacaste?

Ostional, north of Nosara, is famous for its mass nestings of olive ridley turtles, and Las Baulas National Marine Park at Playa Grande protects a leatherback nesting beach. Visits are controlled, so go with an authorized local guide.

[Updated on: 4 November 2026]