At a glance:

The Santarena Hotel at Las Catalinas is the only hotel centrally located in the town of Las Catalinas. Operating as a small boutique hotel, the Santarena Hotel is a confused concept because they seem to be striving more towards being a European city hotel, instead of a beach hotel.

What it actually is: A missed opportunity in the picturesque and paid-back town of Las Catalinas. The Santarena Hotel has lofty aspirations, but falls flat due to strange design choices, a confused concept, and disjointed service.

What it is not: A beach resort. A hotel where you can access outdoor space easily, despite how it markets itself. **Spoiler: there are not really any balcony rooms.

Rooms: Ocean view suite and Danta Standard room (booked a Plaza Balcony room)

Time of year: winter (Holiday season)

Scores:

Hotel Design: 65 –  While esthetically pleasing, the hotel design seemed better suited for an urban environment than a hotel at a beachfront destination. The exterior and interior look very beautiful, but the actual design is just strange and problematic.

Location: 88 – Las Catalinas is a resort-community that offers a somewhat Disneyfied Costa Rica experience, but it’s hard not to like its picturesque surroundings, beautiful beaches, and quaint village atmosphere.  

Sleep: 83 – Good. No noise issues were noticed, and the bed was fine.

Service:  59 – While well-intentioned, everything seemed to go sideways here. From the valet’s yelling at us on arrival, to our reservation getting lost, to our billing not being correct….things just did not go smoothly.

Room Design:

• Ocean View Suite: 86 – A massive top floor space, this room was bright and airy with more space than we could possibly have needed. A true balcony was still missing, but we managed to squeeze some room furniture outside to try and enjoy the outdoors.

• Danta Standard: 72 – As the title suggests, this room was pretty standard. The washroom was the highlight with its pained glass dividers, but the space overall generally felt dark and very un-beachy.

Room Amenities: 70 –  Average. Whoever thought fingerprint-activated in-room safes were a good choice has never been to the beach.

Hotel Amenities: 62 – Not many amenities here, and those that exist (such as the rooftop pool) are very small and get crowded quickly. There is also no gym, and a space adjacent to the rooftop that seems like it may be something someday, but for now, it looks like a parking spot with bare concrete. The bar also closes at 9:00pm on the dot, and it is very difficult to get a reservation at the restaurant for dinner.

Vibe: 67 – Confused.

Cleanliness / Maintenance: 55 – Pretty rough around the edges for a fairly new hotel. There were cobwebs in our room, the pool water was cloudy, and the wood flooring with large gaps was not a good choice for this hotel.

Value / Extras & Perks: 60 – Not really any “extras” here. You are paying for the location.

OVERALL:

• Ocean View Suite: 69.0             
• Danta Standard: 67.6

Would we stay again? No