I am really interested in spending some time here on our trip to CR next March. Can anyone recommend places that they have stayed and enjoyed that were reasonably priced (under $80.00 a night if possible). Would love some feedback. And is it possible to bus here from Quepos?

We stayed at Hotel Las Brisas del Pacifico and loved it. It was $88 per night for a double, and that included breakfast. They also had cheaper rooms, but for 88 bucks we could splurge. Here's their website: http://www.brisas.net
Playa Samara has one of the nicest beaches in the area and attracts more Costa Rican tourists than places like Tamarindo.

Thanks rbrazill
Did you stay in the bungalows or the Jr suites and can you tell me what the difference are? Anyone else have any info on accomodation?

We stayed inthe "Sky Rooms" on the second floor. The bungalows are on the beach level but because of the vegetation you have a somewhat obscured view of the water. The Sky Rooms are in a more traditional motel building behind and above the bungalows. From the balcony of the second and third rooms you are above the treetops and have a great view of the water below. But the walk up from the beach to the rooms is a lot of stairs and, although we didn't mind, I heard others complain. The bungalows were all occupied when we got there, so I didn't get to see one inside. I read on this board that they were a little small. The Sky Rooms are large enough, but as someone said, "spartanly" furnished.

We stayed at Las Brisas in Feb. '03 and stayed in a beach bungalow for $70/night with no breakfast. We really loved Samara and enjoyed Las Brisas. We are going back to CR in June with our 4 and 6 year old and wanted to stay at Las Brisas but they are probably going to be closed for renovation or a new roof? From what we have seen, it is the best place to stay. We are not sure now if we are going to go or not because we can't figure out where to stay!

The bungalows are small and dark but very clean and they have very comfortable beds. There are louvered(?) doors so as I remember, you really couldn't see out of the doors; however, you could hear the ocean and night and there was a really nice breeze so ac was not needed. We heard howler monkeys quite a bit and a rooster woke us up every morning. We loved it although I could have slept a little longer.

Barbara is wonderful at answering e-mail. I think we got a 15% discount for paying with cash/travelers checks and they will cash them there for you which is a good thing in Samara because I am not sure where else you can do that.

Hotel Giada is not on the beach but it seemed really clean and I heard good things about it.

Hotel Fenix was on the beach but we never went inside. From the outside, it seemed pretty rustic. I wish we had checked it out--the location is great.

There are some small, pretty rustic bungalows that I think are now called Laz Divas that were very basic and quaint. They reminded me a little of summer camp. There were chickens running around.

We love Samara but, unfortunately, there aren't a lot of options but then again, maybe that is why we like it so much. Let me know if you need more info.

Have a great trip!

Thanks so much to you both for the info. We will probably check out Las Brisas it sounds perfect! We love quiet little towns so I think this will suit us fine! Do any of the rooms have kitchens?? Also would it be a fairly straight forward drive from Manuel Antonio? We may bus but want to keep the car rental option open!!

Driving to Samara from Manuel Antonio is simple. I think if you bus you would need to change buses a couple of times. The route would involved these legs:
Manuel Antonio-Puntarenas

Puntarenas-turn off for Friendship Bridge (bridge on highway 18, I believe)and on to town of Nicoya

Nicoya-Samara

Total probably around 5 hours