Surf Ranch Hotel | Tamarindo, Costa Rica

One of the worst places and customer experiences I’ve had. I’m writing this review because the place is non-refundable, and I had to contact Airbnb support and spend 5 days communicating and providing proof and documentation. The situation ruined my travel plans, disrupted my work, and caused a lot of stress. Check-in instructions were sent just a few minutes before the check-in time. They call it “self check-in,” but that’s mainly because there is no one there to help you—you are completely on your own. As soon as I arrived, I realized the hotel does not match the photos or descriptions online. The room had a strong sewage smell, and it was dirty, including the sheets. Internet was the first thing I confirmed with the host because I work remotely and need a stable connection, and he assured me everything was working well. However, there was almost no internet connection in the room, and the signal in the area was extremely poor. When I communicated with the host to report these issues, he first denied all the issues and then stopped answering. There was only one Spanish-speaking staff member there, which made communication and resolving the issues almost impossible. This was my first experience with a host who had no willingness to resolve problems and showed a lack of courtesy and professionalism. It was my mistake not to read reviews from different platforms. After speaking with local people and checking other reviews, I realized there were many informative reviews warning about similar issues that I unfortunately missed.

This hotel was a huge disappointment. There was a strong sewage smell throughout the property, the place felt dirty, and we found a large cockroach in our room. On the sidewalk next to the hotel, there is a broken grill; someone actually fell into it. We reported this to management, but nothing was done. They simply don’t seem to care. There is rarely anyone present on site, communication is slow and often impolite, and overall management is very poor. Breakfast is extremely basic and underwhelming — one egg only — which is unacceptable for the price charged. This place is vastly overpriced. At most, it should cost around $50 per night. There are much better options nearby, such as Marielos or even the cabins located behind it. I strongly recommend staying elsewhere. Tamarindo has many better places — this is not one of them.

Edit: I see your response and I invite you to be out $80 because of bs excuses that are completely out of customers/potential customers hands. Get Priceline to give me a refund and I’ll change my review bc they’re refusing after multiple attempts. Do not book!!!! I booked this place on Priceline. No one was there upon check in. I tried to cancel it and get a refund and they disputed it so I paid for a night there even thought I didn’t receive service. Don’t book this place!!! There’s a cute place around the corner owned by an Italian family and it’s super cute and they have a pool and an amazing Italian restaurant. Eff this place entirely. DO NOT BOOK!!!!