What a relaxing place to stay in the heart of Tamarindo. Steps from the beach and the center of town..... A quiet and inviting pool is perfect for post-surf. Richard, the owner is friendly and will go out of his way to make your stay comfortable. The food is the best in all of Tamarindo, seriously. All for a very reasonable rate. Oh, and the bathrooms were just remodeled and the water pressure is great. I will stay here if I return to Tamarindo. no doubt.

As others have mentioned this hotel has a very nice owner and a bit of a B&B feeling - good in the sense that Richard (the owner) is very kind and friendly but if you expect hotel service with a reception and restaurant open all day it is not for you. I think the receptionist had just left her job, so that might have added to the B&B feeling during our visit, but never the less it was how we felt.
However - the rooms are nice and kept very clean. The breakfast is OK, but we were actually expecting some kind of small buffet which is not the case. You will get a toast, some cereals with milk, fresh fruit, juice and coffee...all what you really need - but not more :-)
The pool is nice and clean and you can borrow beach towels.
The hotel is a short walk from the town center (5 min) and 10 min from the beach. There is a gym quit close (2-3 min) which is only 5 dollars pr day.
We had dinner once at the restaurant which is owned and operated by another guy. It was OK, but what we got was nothing special which were a bit surprising as it has gotten rave reviews - maybe we were unlucky.
All in all we would recommend this place and had a great time - helped by the very friendly and helpful owner

I loved loved loved Hotel Arco Iris. I heard about it on Tripadvisor.com and it was everything I was hoping for and more. Richard the owner was awesome, he hooked us up with Junior the cab driver to take us to Playa Avellanas one day. We had the cutest room, the pool is small but relaxing and a perfect size for the hotel. The breakfast was delicious every morning and dinner at Seasons is phenomenal. I would recommend this hotel to ANYONE and I can't wait to go back. Stayed in December 2010, but just remembered to write reviews.

Unfortunately we only stayed two nights at this great little place in Tamarindo. Richard the owner, a retired Los Angeles psychologist, took over the property 4 years ago and completely renovated the place. There are two types of rooms--bungalows (which we reserved but was unavailable upon our arrival) and larger more traditional rooms with a queen-size bed, loveseat, fridge, in room safe and TV. The renovations resulted in sparsely decorated modern rooms with great bathrooms with black tiled showers and rainforest shower heads.

There is a small pool right next to the restaurant. Richard provides a simple breakfast of toast, juice, coffee, granola and fruit. At night the restaurant is managed by another person and is one of the more popular restaurants in town for higher end meals. Despite the close proximity to the rooms, the dinner guests and music on some nights ends early enough that it is not a disturbance at all.

The hotel is on a side street about a 5 minute, safe walk to the great beach. You can rent two lounge chairs from a guy on the beach for $10 for the day. Richard has beach towels if you ask. A perfect day! Tamarindo is a busy little beach town with lots of restaurants and typical beach town shopping.

Richard is a great host. He makes the rounds at breakfast to see if all is well with your stay, let's you use his computer to print out boarding passes and has info on all types of excursions if you are so inclined. His staff is friendly and clearly enjoy working with him. The place just has a warm, family run feel even though it is a one man show. I recommend a stay here without hesitation.