I would echo the sentiment of many of the other reviewers on this site. This hotel, when originally built, would surely have been a nice hotel in a great location. However it has not been cleaned or maintained in a considerable period of time. We only stayed one night but the room we stayed in had huge crack across the bath which resulted in water leaking directly through the wall into the bedroom. The bathroom was full of ants (which we could live with for one night) but finding an entire nest (complete with eggs) of large ants under the pillow in our room was a clear indication that the room had not been checked in days. The only redeeming feature of the hotel was the young personable son of the owner/manager who dealt with moving rooms for us. Having stayed in some "unique" and "rustic" hotels/hostels in my life I would say that there is a clear distinction between "back to nature" and dirty/uncared for. This hotel certainly falls in the latter category.

We stayed at Hotel Tilawa for 4 days. Originally we were only planning on staying two nights, but we loved it so much we decided to stay longer. The hotel is well off the beaten trail and if you are expecting to be pampered by employees, go somewhere else, like tamarindo.... That said though, the manager and his team was very helpful and provided a very mellow, yet enjoyable stay. There are so many activities, and so many things to see that we should have stayed longer....

Thanks TILAWA! we will surely visit again!
p.s. Their micro-brewed beer is some of the best beer i've ever had! Nice going.

This place may have been something nice in its early days. Now its neglected, dirty and just young people sitting around drinking beer. Looked like it hadn't been swept in years. Room was musty, dingy and seemed very unkept. The owner who says he built it himself takes alot of pride in it, but its a shame he doesn't see how this beautiful property is in bad need of updating. Just seemed like a place for young people to party.

We spent 2 nights at hotel Tilawa in December 2009 and we were looking forward to the cozy place with excellent service as it is promoted on the web site: www.hotel-tilawa.com.

Unfortunatelly, when we arrived, we looked for any reception, but there is no any in these days, hotel has almost no staff (or it looks like that), no restaurant, no spa, it seems that the time stopped there ten years ago....

Nobody had known about our reservation and luckily we had a printed confirmation with us.

The hotel lives its own "life" with no human touch.... the swimming pools (except the outdoor one) and spa are abandoned and in desolate state. Only the garden is really nice - probably the gardener is the last employee of the hotel :-)

The room was dirty and the bathroom and toilets were awful. We can accept some insect if we are accomodated close to the nature, but the dirt is unacceptable.

When we wanted dinner, the owner told us to go to the kitchen and ask the cook for some meal.... there is no restaurant with specialities as advertised....

Inspite hotel Tilawa was one of the most expensive accomodation during our trip, the quality and service were the worst. It seems that the hotel is just home for the owner and his friends and it has no ambitions to become a place where you would like to return...

If you are a windsurfer and you are thinking about renting the equipment, don´t rely on the Tilawa windsurfing..... the "gold ages" are definitely over and except the nice guy Tom, you´ll find only few old boards and sails there.... :-( Tom is ready to help you and provides the perfect instructor´s service, even if he is limited by the equipment.