If the above description suits you, Byblos is the place for you. The bungalow is roomy, but not all are private. Ours faced the pool area. However, this did not stop our next door neighbor (who banged on the wall after we couldn't wake up to our alarm) from going "all natural" on the porch. Yikes! However, the breakfast is good and the staff is friendly. The price was also right for us, given the astronomical cost of most other hotels in Manuel Antonio.

We arrived later on a Sunday evening after a long back road drive from San Jose. When we b Elias greeted us and gave us a few tips on dining and later helped us book an amazing guide in the park -Dago. Melissa at the desk was also helpful, pointing out monkeys and gave us other recommendations.
My husband and I are in our mid thirties and enjoy the nightlife which can only be found after 10pm and the only at Byblos.....otherwise the town is pretty dark for drinks & fun. So luckily we just headed back to Byblos. Diago & Renzo (from the sports bar) were super friendly, social, and great and made us feel welcome everytime we saw them......basically ever night.
The groundskeeper and pool bartender on two occasions both randomly brought us ice. Without asking, just cause.
Last thing my husband wanted me to add was monkeys, monkeys, monkeys.....they were running around the rooftops playing, throwing rocks at each other ( we found it funny) swinging from the trees....we definitely saw monkeys at Byblos. I loved the agouti we saw everywhere they were cute....reminded me of big guinea pigs.
Loved the bungalows.....a bit dated but worth the money.

Byblos was in a good location and had a lot of perks(casino & bar) but it was out dated and rough around the edges. We first stayed in the main hotel and later upgraded to a bungalow. If you are a couple I suggest the bungalow because its more private. The rooms are clean and do the job but I was hoping for a little more. We went to the casino and bar at night, played some pool and then called it a night. The staff is friendly and helpful. Their breakfast was a bit limiting. One great thing if you want to see monkeys, they are all over the place. Only thing my wife wanted to do was see monkeys and before we even got our luggage out the car there were monkeys to be seen. There's free wifi here but it was spotty at best. I think there's better options there for the money.

The best feature hands down are the monkeys. They came out to play in the trees around 4pm. We stayed in one of the private bungalows (room 5) and were able watch the monkeys from the comfort of our own balcony.

The bungalow rooms have an amazing rustic feel, overlooking a creek that flows through the resort. The rooms include free wi-fi, a fridge, an electronic safe, a television and ceiling fan.

On the downside, there wasn't much natural light in the room. This caused me to sleep in longer than desired and made me feel like I was missing out on the day.

If you're a light sleeper like me, then bring ear plugs as the howler monkeys may growl in the middle of the night. The Billfish bar could get noisy with people on busy nights, though that was never a distraction from the room.

The location is ideal. It's a short bus ride to the beach and national park, and an relatively short walk great restaurants (Salsipuedes, Kapi Kapi, Cafe Milagro, etc.) and the grocery market (Josephs) nearby. All the staff was friendly and helpful.

This is a great place to stay for a couple nights, but for longer visits I would recommend staying somewhere else that gets more natural light and with a better view.