Estrella Mar is a little oasis in the heart of Jaco, stayed three nights in August while visiting a friend. Choose to stay in one of the Casita's (number #2) over the Standard Room, this was a good choice and worth the extra $. Room was clean, spacious, and private. Remember it is a budget hotel, so furniture a bit dated, but clean and comfortable. Grounds are well maintained. Nice pool area next to Mojito's bar and restaurant where you will have complimentary full breakfast off the menu and reasonably priced drinks at night. Very friendly staff. Internet access in front office for small fee. Would stay again.

I originally booked a two week vacation with Nolitours and booked this hotel as part of the package. I did not expect it would be a great hotel due in part to the cost of the trip and reviews I had read. I had the option of booking a villa but opted for a room because two meals were included. If I were twenty years old and single I guess I could have dealt with the room but I was there for two weeks and my wife was with me, the room was not what I expected. The beds were comfortable but thats about where the good things ended. The rooms were old and the washrooms were small and really old. The air- conditioner was extremely old , loud and didn't throw much cold air. The grounds were nice but the pool was dirty. I suggested to the manager that we would like to move to a Villas but nothing was available. In truth he promised lots of people who complained they could move next week, next day etc, but never kept his promise. He always had a new excuse when the time came. I advised the Nolitour rep to find us another hotel. We moved to the Balcon Del Mar on the beach but it cost me an additional 500.00 which I gladly paid. So if you don't mind old and cramped and a dirty swimming pool stay in a room at Villas otherwise book a Villa. By the way the food was quite good.

I stayed 3 nights at the beginning of February.

Positive points:

Near the beach (5 mins walk)
Easy access to everything in town (restaurants and shops)
Lovely garden and swimming pool.
Balcony
They have a cute restaurant/bar

Negative points:

The air conditioning is very very loud (sounded like a plane). It was hard to sleep with such a loud noise.
The bar next door play loud music late into the night.
Lighting in the room is depressing
Beds are not particularly comfortable
The room is weirdly setup.
Tons of kids

This hotel is packed with French Canadians. $45 a night would be enough.
I paid about $80. I should have paid a bit more and go to the Best Western.

Location wise this is great, nice to have iguanas walking around, but there are a lot of downsides. I had a villa with a kitchen, but it just felt very dusty and was always covered with ants, and i didnt want to cook in it. I found bugs in the bed, and dirt kept appearing from nowhere onto the bed, and when i asked about it no one came to see it even though the hotel was nearly empty so they were not too busy. I also found that when i enquired about tours at the desk as i wanted to book some i had to keep asking, they never got back to me, and I stopped bothering. I was really surprised that the owners who you see a lot didnt ever ask if everything was ok given the lack of people there and taking the time wouldnt have been that hard. Would completely not recommend this at all.