Tamarindo Diria
 

I am planning a trip to Costa Rica at the end of April. I was originally planning on staying at the Sugar Beach Hotel but they are booked for a wedding. I have been doing some research and I am wondering why the Tamarindo Diria Hotel is not recommended in the 2007 Fodor's Costa Rica guide. Any comments on the hotel? We are looking for a place to stay that is under $130 a night and I have seen fairly good reviews of the hotel on other sites. We want to be on a nice beach and be at a place that has a nice pool. The hotel amentities other than that are not a big deal to us and long as it is clean and safe.

This hotel seems to be a 'love it or hate it' kind of place. I tend toward the latter.

We have friends who live very near Tam and their comments along with my personal experiences make it a place I would avoid.

I don't think any part of Tamarindo could be called a 'nice beach' these days but several nearly beaches [we loved Playa Grande] are very nice.

cheers

Jerry [ in damp, cold Toronto]

I agree completely with gannetmusic. No way could the Diria, right in the middle of Tamarindo with all the noise and traffic compare with the seclusion of Sugar Beach. I think it would be a very poor substitute.

If your only requirements are as your post says (price, beachside, pool, clean, safe), then the Diria will work out. My girlfriend and I just returned last night from a week in CR, including 4 nights in Tamarindo. We stayed at La Laguna del Cocodrilo (charming small beachside hotel, but no pool), and walked through El Diria -- and had a drink there -- out of curiosity. The Diria is the only "resort"-ish property on the main drag of Tamarindo (the main drag being that stretch of road paralleling the beach from the Rotunda up north to around Witch's Rock Surf Camp). The hotel reminded me of a Mariott -- which in my opinion defeats the purpose of traveling abroad and escaping America/Canada for a spell. It cetainly looked clean, with a closely manacured lawn/garden. It certainly looked safe, with guards posted at the entrances to both the street and the beach. Perhaps this is in response to the hotel's proximity to the town's nightlife. It definitely has a nice big pool with a big deck surrounding. Next to the pool is a large bar under a thatch-covered roof (complete with big TV), and next to that is the restaurant area. Maybe the biggest drawback for your requirements is the location on the beach: the Diria is in front of a big outcropping of rocks in the ocean, so you'll have to walk about 100 yards/meters to the north to swim/surf the sandy bottom. But the rocks are very nice to sit on during sunset. Another drawback might be the potential for more noise and hustle & bustle since the hotel is located right in the heart of the action. In all, the Diria was very nice by North American standards, but hardly an adventure. You might want to look into Cala Luna, which is a beautiful place, also has a pool, and is located about 1 or 2 miles south of the main drag in Langosta, which is much more peaceful. I don't know anything about Langosta's beach, but while dining at the sushi restaurant there (delicious) we spoke with some Cala Luna guests who said that the hotel is really close to the ocean.

Dont swim in front of the Diria. They pump sewage out onto the beach in front of the hotel.
the best hotel in Tamarindo is Capt Suzio:

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/tamari...ndo/index.html

We stayed (an 8 minute beach walk south of Tamarindo) at Hotel Capitan Suizo. Here the bar/pool/restaraunt are on the beach but a glass "fence" surrounds it - with a glass door, of course! You can sit on the beach in wooden lawn chairs, you can swim at this beach. It is awesome. www.hotelcapitansuizo.com is their website I think. Or go to www.visittamarindo.com click on lodging/accomadations and it is there, along with most of the local hotels. Two yrs. ago the bungelow was $165 a night but tax is an additional $35.00.

We used to send customers to the Diria. But we had too many instances where our customer would be booked into one type of accommodation, and switched to another at check in. These were reservations that were paid in advance.

The last time this happened, our guests refused to stay and left the hotel. The hotel promised a refund, so we refunded the customer. After months of faxes, we finally gave up on our attempts to claim our refund. Haven't worked with the since.

I agree with the posts about Capitan Suizo. If you must go to Tamarindo, this is the spot. Just don't body surf in front of the hotel. I did this several years ago, and had a ball. When low tide came, I saw that there were numerous large rocks embedded in the sand. I could have broken my neck! Somehow, I missed them.

I am not a great fan the Cala Luna. We did a site inspection a few years ago. They are not on the beach, but across the street. Their web site would lead you to believe otherwise.

They have beach access through a narrow lane between the beachfront houses. This is Playa Langosta. A pretty beach, but rocky and not very swimmer friendly. The development felt very much like a suburban subdivision. No charm whatsoever.

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can offer more advice.

Warm Regards,

Pat Hewitt
(Travel professional)