My stay at the La Mariposa Hotel was my greatest disappointment of my trip. I stayed at this hotel for 3 nights.

Positives:
1) The view of the beach is spectacular.
2) I saw a few iguanas on the premises
3) The grounds on the premises are very pretty with tropical trees and plants.

Negatives:
1) The rooms are old, worn, and small without any charm
2) There were lizards and a LOT of bugs in my room.
a. The staff brushed off my complaints. (Staff at another hotel responded immediately and resolved the problem)
b. La Mariposa cost over 200 dollars a night. With this inflated cost, I had expectations that were not met.
3) The shower did not work well. Due to water pressure problems, the shower was not usuable.
a. It took the staff 2 days to attempt to fix this problem.
b. While they were fixing this problem, they completely flooded the room.
c. The manager was cold and his first offer of compensation for this disaster was a free glass of wine. He upped the compensation to a free breakfast. Again, this is a 200 dollar a night hotel.
4) The staff was not nearly as friendly as the staff at hotels in Monteverde and Arenal.
a. Most of the staff at this hotel are not even Costa Rican.
b. The staff was overly businesslike and did not have the Tico sweetness I saw everywhere else.
c. The staff did not work hard to resolve problems.

I would never stay at this hotel again.

What has happened to La Mariposa is a terrible shame. It had been the premiere hotel when it was first opened by two North Americans several decades back. We went there mid 90s, by which point one of the two owners was on the premises, interested in selling the hotel but still providing excellent service and good accomodations.

Two years later, our return visit coincided with a takeover by a family whose experience, we were told, had been as owners of a small cafe. We witnessed guests arriving with room confirmations in hand, being turned away. The adult son in the owner's family had erased all reservations due to lack of familiarity with the computer software reservation system.

We have never gone back.

Carol L

I believe the Mariposa is still for sale .... Its been a few years that it has been getting quite a few negative reviews . Too bad , it was great in its heyday !

My room at mango moon was 155 a night and it was fantastic! A great cozy, romantic spot with an unbelievable view and cute, comfortable rooms.

Mango Moon looked INCREDIBLE when we visited in November . Perfect little low-key honeymoon spot !

Without going into the details, I'll suffice to say my stay at La Mariposa 12/04 was equally as disappointing, and that I'll never go back. The staff and room were the issues. If you're in MA, go to La Mariposa for a drink at sunset, enjoy the view, and then go elsewhere! Although pricey, Si Como No was worth every penny.

Hi Chris, I am interested in the details. As posted above, I did not like La Mariposa either.

What happened during your stay?

I am sorry to read that La Mariposa has deteriorated. We were there in the early nineties and stayed in one of the villas. (Kathy Ireland was our neighbor.)

We liked the hotel very much and have fond memories of it. But life marches on......