We stayed at Carrillo Club Hotel for three nights last week with our two children. It is in Playa Carrillo, just south of Playa Samara (TripAdvisor lists it under "Nicoya" rather than "Playa Carrillo." Carrillo is in the municipality of Nicoya.) . I have mixed feelings about Carrillo Club. It has several rooms that sleep 4 or 5, so it works well for families with children. Our "apartment" had one bedroom with a kitchenette and table with chairs on an outside patio. The room had air conditioning which was very welcome during March, one of the hottest months in Costa Rica. The views are fabulous! From the breakfast area, you can look down on the sea and beach. The beach is absolutely beautiful, with very few people on it. The small pool is clean and has pretty blue tiles. We were usually the only people using it. However, the property overall is a little run down and not much attention is paid to management details. The place has great potential. There are some lovely flowers and bushes, but the grass was 8 to 14 inches high. There is plenty of parking space in dirt lots, but a large dog feces sat untouched next to our car for the whole three days we were there. We had plenty of towels, but many had long strings hanging from them and large bleach stains. There is a ping pong table in an open air building, but only the owner and his friends can use it. There was tasty fresh fruit for breakfast, but the gallo pinto (rice and beans) tasted a couple days old. And the kitchen staff never came out to wipe down the food service area which was littered with sugar packet wrappers, spilled coffee,etc. Margarine was available rather than butter. It sat in a dish of lukewarm melted water, and we opened a packet to find clots of spoiled margarine floating in liquid. I think the owner(s) just have a very laid back approach to managing the hotel. The owner sat at a table at breakfast smoking cigarettes, but he never greeted guests or instructed kitchen staff. Our room was cleaned daily, but not with much attention. The floor was always cleaned, but the toilet bowl was not washed and we were given only one tiny rectangle of soap for the four of us in our three day visit. It broke into tiny pieces, and still we were not given another. On the other hand, the man who serves as property manager/handyman was excellent. When we arrived, our room was missing a window pane and the overhead light was out of order. He apologized and fixed them immediately. He was friendly and helpful, as well as hard working, throughout our visit.

Guests should know that Carrillo is a very smoker-friendly hotel. All rooms have ash trays, and no area seemed to be off-limits to smokers. At breakfast, two of three table were filled with smokers. A guest sitting next to us had two Coca-Colas and three Marlboros for breakfast at 7:30 am. We would have preferred a smoke-free breakfast. However, some guests are probably seeking such a smoker-friendly hotel.

I have stayed here several times and will stay again. The view from the restaurant the best in the area. I could sit there all day and be happy. Great staff and likely to get Tico experience over less safer, more problematic Playa Samara. But, you get what you pay for and you shouldn't pay more that $50 a night here. If you are doing a trip on a budget...this is great. Internet works most of the time. Food good, and again the staff is great. Nice pool, outdoor kitchens, bunk beds - if required you could sleep 4 people to a room. Be sure to visit the little zoo up the street - they do a great work taking in injured animals.

Stayed here on my birthday and was lovely - sitting in the spa, drinking wine overlooking the beautiful bay. Rooms were simple but clean, spacious and had own cooking facilities. Air conditioner worked well and this is a must in Costa Rica! Breakfast (included) was excellent.
Would be good for families.

We were looking for a place to stay near the beautiful playa Samara and we found this lovely resort. The rooms are wery clean, they have AC and the prices are reasonnable compared to the other places of equal quality.

The serve breakfeast each morning and the staff are really friendly and helpful. The view from the room is great and is is at walking distance from playa Carillo. You can eat at the hotel restaurant, but a car is needed if you want to go to Samara.

I highly recommand this hotel, we stayed for 4 days and it is one of the nicest places we seen in Costa Rica.