We stayed here for 3 nights in June, booked via email w/Elina staff. This is overall a nice property, with a few minor flaws that weren't dealbreakers. We had a large room with a large balcony to go out and sit on, plus a separate bathroom ("WC") with tub and shower. The place seemed fairly new and the staff was nice; the female manager, Anita, spoke fairly good English and was helpful. We paid 35 LATs/night for our room (about $60 USD/night)

Room was nonsmoking as requested. Hot water wasn't really that hot, but it was very warm outside so that was fine. Water quality isn't the best, but that's the case over most of Latvia. No shower curtain on the tub, which has a spray shower on a cord so you might spray water all over the bathroom if you aren't careful. Our bed was an oversized double, but it had a depression on one end, and upon looking underneath we discoverd t he boards were broken. Didn't affect our sleep though. No air-conditioning, but the windows opened up and we had nice breezes.

We had one snafu due to our very late arrival around midnight. We got there and the office was closed, despite being assured by email there would be a night administrator on duty. We rang the buzzer on the front door but couldn't get anyone. We finally knocked on another guests' door, a family from Finland that was still up. They called some cell phone and got a hold of the manager, who did finally come and showed us to our room. If you have a late arrival, I recommed you be very clear with them about it and know what to do/who to call if you come that late--the Finnish family said they had a similar issue. But that was relatively minor.

You walk down the street about 2 minutes to the pedestrian-only Jurmas iela, which is many blocks long filled with lots of good restaurants and some shops. Great choice in cuisine and Latvia is very cheap (compared to US) for eating out. Many bars too. The beach is maybe 10 minutes at most walk away. The beach is great for walking and playing sports, sunbathing, etc, but the water we wouldn't dare go into--there's no waves just still water and there was about a 5-foot layer of slime the entire length of the beach at the water's edge. Some people were going in, but I wouldn't chance it. Still, the sunsets were incredible and you could walk or bike on the beach for miles.

The wooden architecture is really fabulous, and the area is a real study in contrasts--fancy newer homes, older nicely-kept historice ones, and some that were long since abandoned back in the Soviet days. Great tree-lined streets that were a joy to stroll on. Jurmala is very safe and we felt comfortable out walking even late at night.

The train station is about 10 minutes walk (Majori station) and trains run regularly into Riga and then out to Tukums; fare to Riga as 55 cents for adult. Buses and smaller microbuses run constantly. Public transport was clean and always on-time. Jurmala is a good spot to stay at--very lively, great people watching, lots to do (in summer at least)--and you will save money vs staying in Riga where you wouldn't get this quality of accommodation at this price. OVerall, a give a strong recommendations to Elina Guesthouse. There's also a small store and a restaurant/bar on the premises.

We stayed three days there and I can recommend to anyone. Room was clean and there were many bistros,restaurants and shops nearby. Parking area was safe.It took about ten minutes to walk to the beach.