Fodor's Expert Review Hotel Tioga

This grande dame of Puntarenas hotels facing the beach is showing its age, but it still evokes the bygone era of the 1950s when Puntarenas was the major destination on the Central Pacific coast. Face-lifts over the years have helped modernize the place, and it still has the advantage of sitting across the street from a tree-filled park and the prettiest part of the city’s beach. Glimpses of the past hang in the hallways on the first to third floors with black-and-white photographs of Puntarenas in the early 1900s. The 11 “executive” guest rooms upstairs have been brightened up recently, and they have balconies overlooking the gulf. The second-floor restaurant, where an excellent breakfast (included in the rate) is served, is open to cool breezes off the gulf and overlooks the beach action.