This year reminded me why I keep coming back, and my brother and his partner who joined me for the first time were equally impressed. If you are looking for a resort-type vacation, focused on the latest chic decor, don't bother. If you expect a sterilized environment so you can ignore the fact that you are in the coastal tropics, don't bother. If you looking to experience la pura vida, La Mansion embodies it. The rooms are comfortable, the view are incredible, and -- most important -- the staff are incredibly friendly and willing to bend over backwards to help you get the best out of your vacation. And this year, the restaurant has moved up more than a notch.

My husband and I stayed at LMI for 3 nights in January. Upon arrival, we received a tour of the hotel and welcome drinks. They leave you by the pool area where the view is amazing! It felt like paradise! We booked an ocean view room and were not disappointed. It is a bright, spacious, clean room with the most comfortable bed. The bathroom was beautiful and excellent water pressure in the shower. We had our own patio and grassy area with lounge chairs with a gorgeous view. Each day there were towels made into animals with use of fresh flowers and chocolates left on our pillows at night. You felt spoiled there! We enjoyed breakfast each morning. Most of the staff was helpful, except one morning at the reception desk. Bart, the bartender at the Bat Bar,was great company and made my "40th" birthday extra special! When we needed an early start or to pack a lunch, we were accommodated by the kitchen staff. The only down side of this hotel for us was the location. We did not have a car and each time we wanted to leave for a restaurant, it was always a taxi ride away and each way seemed to always cost us $8.00. If you could manage the steep uphill walk to the main street (it took about 10 minutes), there you could catch the bus for 50 cents a person and could go almost anywhere. There were shuttle buses to the beach area and if you booked any excursions, they all seemed to divide transportation. We loved our stay and have no regrets!

My husband and I stayed here for three days during our honeymoon trip in Manuel Antonio.

The good things: the hotel is in a quiet area, most of the staff were friendly or at least accomodating, awesome pool, complete with waterfall, swim up bar, and an AMAZING view.

The bad things: The rooms are dated (think late 80's/90's cheesy - but they were clean) and the hallways smell a bit musty. (Even not near the super-stinky bat cave bar). When we got to our room- our shower head was broken and we needed to call twice to get it repaired. Many of the staff were new and the seasoned ones were a bit reticent. We felt so completely welcome everywhere else in Costa Rica, it honestly made me wonder if they are treated well or if this is a high-staff turnover sort of place. Out of the three places we stayed at I have to say this was our least favorite. While it was clean and we certainly didn't have a terrible experience, we sincerely think travelers can get a lot more bang for your buck elsewhere in MA.

Just returned from a great stay at La Mansion. It was a fabulous hotel with everything you could ask for. This trip was a little different than most in that it was my 2 brother in laws and my father with me. We were there to fish and that we did.
We had the standerd room, but it was great. The view from the room was amazing looking over the Pacific. It was also great for just watching the monkeys in the trees.
The service was exceptional! Anything you need just ask and the will do everything they can to accomadate. Since we fished everyday we were there we had to leave before breakfast started. No worries! Breakfast awaited us each morning packed and ready to go. They even cooked our fish we caught for dinner and it was great.
The pool area was also very nice. We spent the late afternoons here to watch the sunset and just relax.
I would defenatly reccomend this hotel to anyone. Expecially those who like the smaller more personnal hotels with great service. I would love to return here and you should try it out.