We wanted a place to stay for our 40th wedding anniversary that was fun, friendly, and clean. The Banana Azul met all these requirements for us, and more. As out last stop in C. R., it was also one of the best. We loved the people who owned and worked at the hotel. We met wonderful people from all over the world in a relaxed atmosphere. This is the place for quiet peaceful fun, not for wild night life. Perfect.

I stayed at the Banana Azul with my family of six. Even though it rained the whole time we were there, we still had a wonderful time. We had rooms 7 and 8 which were great for a group because the divider on the balcony can be opened up to connect both rooms. We also had a good view of the ocean. The staff here are great and they arranged things for us to do even though it was raining. They take a lot of time to help with anything that you need.

We liked the restaurant and we ended up eating there some nights and once for lunch. The menu for the evening is posted every morning so you can decide early if you want to eat there. Breakfast each morning is always good and I usually ate too much for my diet. I get up early and I would go down to the restaurant each morning about 6:00 AM and the coffee was already made. I enjoyed taking the coffee up to my room balcony and relaxing early in the mornings.

I liked having a bar there at the hotel and I was a regular for wine and beer.

Because we had six people in our group, we could not all get in a single taxi so they arranged for us to get picked up by a great driver by the name of Rubier. He has a large van and his number is 8897-1491. If it was raining and we did not want to walk then we would call him from where ever we were and he would come and pick us up. He speaks English too.

This is not listed as a tourist attraction but if you like animals then go to La Casa de Serpiente. Ask Nina to make you a reservation because they only take small groups but they have all kinds of animals which they rescue and you get to hold many of them. Nina arranged this for us one day as a good place to visit when its raining.

Our favorite place to eat was Jungle Love but its small and you have to get the hotel staff to make a reservation for you the day before. The second best place to eat was De Paso where you can go most any time.

I am including a few photos of our experience. The Banana Azul is a great place to stay with a group even when it rains. I can't wait to return.

Thanks Colin, Roberto and staff.

Dan

What a great destination! My wife and I stayed here during the last week in Jan 2009. We were very please with our entire stay. We just wish we had more time there. A quick review of some important features:

Beach: Looks more like a beach from "Lost" as opposed to a more wide, expansive beach. Lush jungle greets the coast line with tons of privacy and great little nooks to get some sun and relaxation. The water temp is great. As others have mentioned, the water is not the aqua blue "Aruba" type water, but it's clean and has some great waves that are fun to get in- not dangerous.

Room: We stayed in the sloth cabina. The room was a touch small, but had a nice bathroom. When combined with the nice deck with hammocks and shared kitchen w/ fridge, it felt much larger and open. We always had a 2 Liter of Cola and a few beers in the fridge.

Staff: Very friendly and helpful. Nina, Colin, Roberto and the rest of the staff could help with anything from Laundry, room requests, to excursion planning. They were extremely helpful here as they planned and booked our excursions to the many things that we did. Recommended tours: white water rafting and zip line tours. Nina went so far as to plan our last 3 days in Costa Rica, including ride to La Fortuna/Arenal with white water rafting along the water, hotel room in LaFortuna, horse back/jungle hike and volcano hike with Tabacon Hot water springs. All of these features were included in the final itemized Banana Azul bill, which was very organized and convenient.

Town:We walked into town almost every day. it's a 20-25 min walk down the beach. There are plenty of shops and restaurants worth seeing and grabbing some cheap eats. We highly recommend Loco Natural- great seafood, eclectic fresh dishes, and good prices. Take a taxi home during the evening- i think because of the possibility of getting hit by oncoming traffic. No sidewalks, just plenty of dirt road. Barter for your cab fare before he takes off- don't accept anything over $4 from Puerto Viejo to BA.

Things to do: virtually unlimited. It's Costa Rica- eco-tourism is the greatest asset here. Beautiful scenery and culture to enjoy.

Hotel Features: Have Franklin make you one of his stellar Mojitos at the bar. He make everything from scratch- fresh squeezed limes the size of baseballs to make a margarita. Internet is readily available. They are building a pool- it was not an annoyance at all. The included breakfasts were amazing. Homemade pancakes, omelets, bacon eggs and toast were some of the great meal we had...included with price of the room.

You will feel welcome and relaxed here. Enjoy!

We had a wonderful seven night stay. We enjoyed staying here because it was first of all very clean, the staff is friendly and very well trained, and the price is so reasonable. The owners genuinely want to make this a good vacation experience. Roberto, Colin and Nina were very helpful with recommending good restaurants and tours. If you’re looking for something that is not too commercial and located right on the Caribbean , this is the place for you. Breakfast is included in the price and was always very tasty. They also offer a very reasonably priced lunch and dinner menu if you don’t want to go out. I think it is nice to have this option available, but, I will say, we found our better meals in town. We walked or used bikes to go to town during the day. In the evenings we usually took a cab ($4.00 each way) because the roads are very dark at night. It is the rainforest so make sure, if you don’t want a lot of rain, to go during the dry season. I think Colin said the dry season (in that part of Costa Rica ) is in September and October, but you may want to check. Banana Azul is adding an outdoor pool too! This is something we didn’t see very often in this part of Costa Rica . Franklin, thanks for the great Mojitos! As for transportation to and from Puerto Viejo from San Jose , I highly recommend the Interbus or doing a tour where you are dropped at your hotel. We met someone who had their bag stolen out of the luggage compartment in the public bus. The public bus is cheaper, but you will save time and arrive with your luggage on the Interbus.
The only down side is that I have to agree with " YouHaveToBeKidding, Alberta" when it comes to the beds.