Hotel Zima

The hotel provides a well-maintained pool area, spacious rooms with amenities, and a delicious breakfast. Its central location allows easy exploration. Guests appreciate the friendly and attentive staff.

I had a very disappointing experience at this hotel. Despite having a reservation, I was turned away at 11 PM with two toddlers. The attendant was rude and unhelpful, and the owner was unreachable. They claimed they forgot to turn off their reservation system before a holiday, which seems like a poor excuse. This was one of many excuses given, making the situation even more frustrating. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone and will definitely not be staying here again.

1. Finding the hotel isn’t very easy since there is no sign on HWY 2. First find the McDonalds. Then look up the street and see a rectangular whitish sign that says “Baterias” or something similar for a battery repair place on the right. Hotel ZIMA is down a small street beside that sign. 2. The front desk is open-air, and you can’t miss it. There is just enough parking for the hotel, no more. FYI, it would be nearly impossible to bring a guest from a bar, etc. to your room without being noticed by someone at the front desk since you have to walk by it (there is only one way in). I was told that they close the only gate late at night, so if you are going to be returning after, say, 2 AM you might want to discuss it with the desk personnel first. 3. The personnel (Jesus and Adrian) were very friendly, professional and helpful, and didn’t seem to have their hands out for tips (though they did graciously accept tips when I offered). I was told that they can’t exchange Dollars for Colones, at least no more than about $20 worth, at the reception desk. The nearest ATM is at the bank beside Central Park. Adrian helped me reprogram the air conditioner remote after I dropped it, and Jesus helped me set up a new SIM card for my phone since I do not speak Spanish. Jesus also had my sink repaired when it started leaking. They did not seem to have any day trips available that they could schedule for me at the desk; I had to schedule my day trips myself after driving to Playa Dominical each time I wanted to do something. 4. The grounds were nearly immaculate and well-tended. The atmosphere was what I would call Costa Rica Zen-influenced. The pool looked very clean, though it is smaller than the ads make it look like it is. There was a pool guy thee three days in a row who seemed to be trying to get the chemistry just right. I never swam in it though since I was driving to the beach each day to swim in the ocean. 5. They have bird feeders which they keep stocked with bananas. I saw more colorful birds at their feeders than I did on my trips to Corcovado National Park and Los Cusingos Reserve. On one occasion there was a flock of parrots in the tree adjacent to the reception desk. 6. The room itself was overall clean and large. The floor, just like the walls, however seemed thin. It felt squishy under my feet as if it was only thin plywood and a single layer of thin laminate flooring. The flooring was new, though. There was no bathtub in my room, but the shower stall was quite large with a nice rain-shower shower head. Alas, there was little to no hot water. I had time to say “Ahhhh” once before the heat tapered off to lukewarm for the rest of the shower. This never varied no matter when I took my shower. The bed was a mattress on slats. The slats had boards nailed to them to hold them level off the floor. No box spring. It seemed to need a couple more slats, also. Two small squarish couch-type pillows were provided in addition to the two white bed pillows. On