The Costa Coral is a jewel! The service is extraordinary. This doesn't happen without a dedicated team. Congratulations!

The rooms were clean and fresh. The food was marvelous. The pool and relaxation area was wonderful.

All of the staff made us feel special, as well as right-at-home.

It was a remarkable experience.

Costa Coral is a wonderful little hotel with spacious rooms that have an apartment-like style. In our room there was an entry area/sitting room/mini kitchen room, a beautifully tiled open-shower bathroom, and a bedroom with lots of closet shelving and a nice--and comfortable--queen sized bed.

The kitchen area includes a mini-bar/fridge stocked with bottled water and glass-bottled Coke (NOT complimentary :)), coffee maker and coffee, and cabinetry/counter space for food and drink prep if you choose to eat in rather than frequent the local restaurants. The bathroom was great--the tiling was truly a work of art, and I loved the open shower (which had heated water, not always a given when traveling in Costa Rica)--it had a very handy feature, too, which was a clothes line/rope that could be stretched across the shower (when not in use, of course) so that wet clothes and towels could be draped up to dry without dripping on the rest of the bathroom floor. The bedroom and bed was the best we slept in during our entire multi-city two week Costa Rican adventure. Very comfortable, air conditioned, great natural light, and a good mattress. It was all very clean, too.

A feature we appreciated, but didn't use as much as we thought we would, was the lovely patio/balcony outside our room--it had a patio table and chairs, and looked over their pool area. Speaking of the pool, we spent a lot of time in it, as it is definitely a hot climate in the entire Nicoya Peninsula region. It was a GREAT pool area, not only the pool itself (which was on the smaller side, but very well maintained and the perfect temperature... nice and deep, too) but also the sitting area around the pool--lots of lounge chairs and patio tables/chairs--and a stone wall that blocked the pool area from the road view. Lots of beautiful trees and plants, and a lovely & tall rock waterfall fountain that empties into the pool.'

The hotel restaurant was good, too--a bit spendier than a couple of the other restaurants we tried in Tambor, but definitely a convenient and delicious option if one doesn't want to walk/drive into town in search of other places. The hotel is on the Northeastern edge of the town, but Tambor is so little that we were able to walk less than 20 minutes to the other end of the town to try another restaurant.

The owners are Canadian "transplants", and were around the main desk and hotel restaurant frequently. They werre very friendly and helpful, as were all of the other staff members we met.

The only slight drawback was the location... if you're looking for a beachside hotel, this is not exactly that... you can access the beach by walking about a quarter of a mile down a dirt road next to the hotel, which is a nice walk within itself. The beaches are almost devoid of people, which is very unusual (and nice!) in comparison to the other beaches we visited around the Nicoya Peninsula. They also aren't quite as idyllic, having a bit coarser, darker (and slightly siltier) sand than the white sand beaches that can be found in other locales. But they are still beautiful, and very quiet. Good beachcombing, too.

Tambor is a great place to visit for those who want to get away from the flocks of tourists that frequent other hot spots on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. It is truly small--we only found one grocery store and a handful of restaraunts, but it was a nice change from the larger and more crowded towns we'd been visiting during the first week of our trip. The Costa Coral hotel is only about 20 Kilometers from the wonderful nature preserve, Refugio de Vida Silvestre Curú (Curu Wildlife Reserve), which is well worth a day-trip (and, if you have time, a snorkeling/scuba diving expedition that leaves from the beaches of the Reserve and takes you to the Islas de las Tortugas (Turtle Islands), which is a fantastic experience--the islands are a must-see).

You can't tell from the old street sign that this is such a nice little hotel. Great room amenities - especially for Costa Rica, everything spotless - my only reason for lower rating is that our room was VERY smoky and too saturated to air out. They should have non-smoking rooms. Loved the restaurant - a good value for a hotel place. The staff and service was excellent. The pool area very nice (although small) and the "jacuzzi" is NOT what we think of - but that seems to be the case in most of Costa Rica. It was an in-between stop for us - I'm not sure what you would do around Tambor. We tried Silvestre Curu and it was a VERY disappointing experience despite all the signs luring tourists in there for activities that they are totally unprepared to provide.

Costa Coral is the best thing about Tambor. In an area known for resorts, my husband and I wanted to steer clear of anything too exclusive. Costa Coral has the ambiance and service-oriented staff you'd expect at an all-inclusive place, but none of the attitude.

Each room has either a private patio or balcony, a sitting room and separate bedroom and spacious bathroom, all overlooking a beautiful pool. Both the air conditioning and hot water worked very efficiently. We had a little frog visit us in the bedroom, but other than that, the room was spotless! Parking isn't great here, though there is a small designated spot. Just be wary if your vehicle is bigger than a Corolla. There is also a little souvenir shop next door that also operates as an internet cafe. It's worth a visit here, if only for the bizarrely humorous (though slightly treacherous) stairs to the second floor....

Previous reviewers are right that the real highlight of this place is the restaurant and its staff. Tambor as a town is not much to speak of, and in the rainy season the local beach offers a great view but not much in the way of swimming. And it's true that Montezuma is a short drive away with good eateries and better swimming, but for the value, Costa Coral is the best lodging. We had planned to spend a night in Montezuma but after shopping around for a room, we ended up spending a fun-filled day there and returning to Costa Coral! We also found ourselves happily returning to the restaurant every night for dinner, since the food was great and the servers even better. Make sure to order the guacamole with homemade tortilla chips and the bananas foster for dessert.

I'd also recommend the Curu wildlife reserve, which is about 15-20 km from the hotel on the way to Paquera. If you're up for a moderate hike, you will be rewarded with the most stunning white sand private beach. There are also many capuchin monkeys and large iguanas in the reserve that you can see up close. And a final word of caution: don't try to drive to Mal Pais without a 4WD!!