Hotel El Bambú

Lovely property, spacious clean rooms in a jungle setting. Dinner at the hotel restaurant was excellent

It's a basic but nice hotel. We stayed for 3 nights to explore the area. The rooms in the back are right in the forest. There is not much in the room. A chair and a shelf in the bathroom would have been nice. We visited the Braulio Carrillo National Park, a 40-minute drive from the hotel. It was very quiet (Dec. 27th). It is a great park with an aerial tram and two short walks. We saw a lot of animals. The hotel booked a private boat tour for us (six adults) for around $100. The dock is a 5-minute walk from the hotel, and again, it was very quiet. We saw many monkeys, alligators, and other animals. The pool was under renovation, so that was a disappointment. The staff was friendly, the breakfast was a buffet, and we had enough choices. If you want to explore a beautiful area in Costa Rica that is quieter than some other parts of the country, I recommend staying a few nights at Hotel El Bambu.

The property is located in a busy area of town, which makes it convenient to explore and has many local dining options. It also adjoins unspoiled land where we were able to see and hear many wild animals from our room. The hotel is a bit dated but very clean and comfortable. Our bathroom door would drag on the floor and get stuck. And we noticed a few outside doors of other rooms with large gaps in the framing, which let bugs and heat in the room. The ac gets wonderfully cold, and the balcony is spacious with chairs and a table. All of the staff is accomdating and friendly. They were even willing to help us place a food order for delivery to the hotel despite having their own restaurant. Breakfast is included and gives 6 options to choose from, which is nice since it is green season and not busy enough to offer the buffet. The only things I did not care for about the accommodation is the noisy creaking wood flooring in the room which makes it impossible to not disturb your companion, no mini fridge to keep cold water or beverages, and despite having a coffee maker in the room, they only provide 2 pods for your entire stay (there were 2 of us staying 3 nights) so you had to go to the restaurant for your morning coffee. When we asked about additional pods, we were told we would have to pay extra, and housekeeping doesn't replenish them when servicing your room. Overall, a nice and comfortable property for a short stay.