Shana By The Beach

We LOVED our stay at Shana By the Beach! We stayed in a Royal Ocean View suite, which was spacious with amazing views. We even received monkey visitors directly on the balcony during our stay. (Note on the monkeys: don’t bring food outside on the balcony. We didn’t have any food, but nevertheless one of the monkeys came up and stuck his little paws directly into my back pockets, presumably looking for food. He was on his way once he realized I didn’t have anything, but our neighbors told us that one of the monkeys got a bit aggressive when they tried to feed it some fruit, so be careful!) The hotel itself was also very nice. Everything is situated on a pretty steep hill. We didn’t need them, but there were golf carts available to transport you up the hill if needed. The pools were well-maintained, and the pool bar staff were accommodating and served up delicious (albeit pricy) food and drinks. The included breakfast was a highlight for us. The offered breakfast hours were generous (available whether you were up early or slept in) with a buffet of hot food offerings, pastries, fruit, cereal, juices, coffee, etc. We even noticed one day that a guest asked about gluten free options, and the next morning the gluten free pastry options were more clearly marked. It was a nice touch showing they were listening and constantly aimed to make your experience a good one. The walk to the nearby beach was well marked and easy to navigate. Though not affiliated with the hotel, there were people there offering chair rentals, food, and drinks, which made for a nice day without having to drive anywhere. For driving, we did have a car on property. We never had any trouble finding parking and it was easy to leave / enter. The property is a bit tucked away from the main stretch of Manuel Antonio, but the drive isn’t long or super difficult. Local tours that included transport also didn’t have any trouble finding the property, which pick up conveniently at the reception building. The only downside we had was that the water in our room never actually got hot. At best, it was only ever lukewarm, but some mornings it was downright freezing for showers. Our experience in other hotels throughout CR makes me think this may be relatively normal here, but it was a bit uncomfortable as an American who likes very hot showers. We didn’t utilize the tour concierge (we booked everything independently) or spa services, but both services were available. Overall, we were super happy with our stay here, and would come back in a heartbeat. Our only regret is that we didn’t book an extra night or two.