Marea Brava Villas

I would NOT stay at Marea Brava Condominiums, Playa Hermosa, 61101 Jacó, Costa Rica again. The first red flag was that the property owner, Jamey Harmon, demanded payment in full, upfront, and in cash. My friends tried 3 different rooms before taking a loss and checking into another hotel next door. The first room had a faulty toilet. The second room had no air conditioning, and the third room had physically seen rats, feces, bats, and lizards. The night of the third room, my friends didn’t unpack and moved to the other hotel. This location is not pet, child, and elderly friendly or anything else for that matter. I helped my friends get settled in their first third-floor room. There were no lights or railings, and I missed a couple of steps and threw my back out. I have taken many pictures. One is the exterior of my room entry door. From the inside, the outside can be seen between the slats. The entire facility is in disrepair. The pictures posted by Jamey Harmon seem to be decades old. My friends and I asked for a refund of the nights not used, but the owner refused. Value for the money? No. Check out Los Suenos and VRBO for amazing facilities at not much more of a cost. Dining Options? Not at this location. Staff and service? The general manager and cleaning staff tried their hardest but lack training and resources.

The location is great and lots of space. We stayed in the two bedroom seaside condo/villa. The hotel is dated but Javier the manager was very friendly and helpful and addressed any issues we had. The kitchen was great with a huge refrigerator so we could buy groceries and cook. It was the off-season and we felt like we had the place to ourselves. Also the installed a new Starlink wifi our third day in and the wifi was great after that.

The service is excellent, we had all the good treats without expensive bills. They have a beautiful view of the beach, and nice condos. They provide a secure experience, in a place that is nearby the City of San Jose, and all the beautiful beaches in Puntarenas.

We stayed in the privet rooms advised by Karla as a privet house. It is a motel!!!! Molded mattresses, stains on the walls, rusted sinks, rusted mini fridge, cabinets falling apart, not a hanger or a closet in any of the rooms, outdoor tables infested with ants, outdoor chairs kept together by tape, awful smell in the rooms, internet non existent inside the rooms. When we saw the property with our own eyes we asked Karla to refund us so we can go any other place. She refused. Costa Rica is a beautiful country, but this motel should be taken out of commission just so it doesn’t ruin the experience for anyone else.

Save your money, do not stay at Marea Brava! We were welcomed by a mountain of rotting, smelly, black bags of trash sitting in the hot sun under the Marea Brava sign. Next we were told that we had to pay cash, in US dollars, because their credit card machine was not working. They refused to take Colones. The manager told us that we had to go the ATM, in Jaco, which is approximately 6 miles away to get dollars. She gave us until 6pm. All of the ATMs were out of dollars. Our Uber driver took us to every ATM, including the ******. Luckily, our friends and family helped us by pooling together the cash. We learned later that this practice is illegal to demand US dollars in Costa Rica. Funny, the small little restaurant and roadside souvenir shop just a short walk away; their machines worked just fine. They had our reservation wrong as well. They tried to short us one night. Luckily I had my email receipt that clearly showed our length of stay. We were told that they did not have a room for us. In the end it did work out. Our room was okay. The windows did not close or come together, at least an inch gap. Our toilet leaked. The only good thing I can say about this place is the housekeeping staff are amazing and the pool was nice. The pictures online of Marea Brava are probably 15-20 years old.

Started out bad when we showed up and we were informed the credit card machine wasn't working and that we would have to pre-pay in cash (US dollars only). Machine had been broken for some time, or at least enough so that hotel administration could have informed us, but they didn't. Also, no option for PayPal, Venmo, etc. Nearest ATM in Jaco, about 10km away. Trying to get cash (especially USD) on a Friday afternoon from an ATM in Jaco impossible. Simply unacceptable behavior from a hospitality business. Things didn't get any better. Toilet leaked (pic). Door on balcony didn't have locks (pic). Only hot water was in shower from on-demand unit (pic). Apparently, there are no trash dumpsters in Playa Hermosa, so trash just accumulates out front (pic) until it's picked up (once a week, I assume?). There's a restaurant/bar adjacent to the pool that doesn't look like it's been used in years (COVID casualty, I assume). Other family and friends stayed in other units and had similar experiences. One had only screens on a window (ground floor unit!). Another had a toilet that leaked worse than ours. In case you haven't guessed already, I'd never stay at this place again and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. As for Playa Hermosa, if you like to surf, you'll be very happy. If you don't and you want to get in the water, better have on a rash guard and a life jacket.