Caution: You May Feel Trapped Here
Reviewed by
sonora, 2008-08-07
In July, four of us stayed at this hotel and ended up feeling like prisoners because it was very difficult to get a taxi to or from this place because the closest road to Samara is washed out in the summer and taxi drivers need a truck and it will cost about thirty bucks and take close to an hour. I had specifically asked the owner if the beach was good for swimming, and in an e-mail, he had said there was a trail from the hotel to the beach and it was about 300 km and the water was good for swimming. When I arrived, he said the trail wasn't safe to walk because of crocodiles and to not go in water above our waists because the water is so rough. We had to walk on a muddy road about 900 km, cross one river with crocodiles, and then discovered the beautiful beach was probably so secluded because it's so far from anywhere and the rip tides were endless.
The owner doesn't want guests to use the phone or internet so you're basically trapped since it is so far and difficult to get to town. We walked to Samara and ended up crossing three rivers, one up to our neck, all filled with crocodiles (and maybe sewage). When we wanted to cancel our reservation three days earlier, he not only insisted that we pay cash for the entire stay (ignore his credit card friendly statement on his website and lack of posting his cancellation policies anywhere on the website or at the hotel), but threatened to call tourist police if we didn't pay for the three nights we were not interested in staying there since
we came for the beach. The owner is not fair or honest.
Costa Rica Directory 
