Villa Romantica is situated at the edge of the dreary, unattractive village of Quepos. It's very near the road that winds 7 km to Manual Antonio Park. But there is virtually no reason to stay in the village - there are few shops, no decent eateries, two banks, a few rental car places, and the inevitable storefronts offering tour packages. And there are dozens of much nicer places to stay along the road to the Park - many with spectacular views of the ocean - and near the entrance to the Park.

The hotel itself is OK. A small step up from a Motel 6 was our first impression. Randy, at the reception desk, was very pleasant and welcoming. There's a small commons area where breakfast is served in the morning, an internet cubby with one desktop (small charge for internet use), and a decent little pool surrounded by tropical vegetation. Drinks (soda, beer, water) are available on an honor system.

Our room was small and a bit skanky feeling. The lighting was dim, and our only window faced a walkway (thus, no privacy with the curtain open) and a stone wall. The bathroom had a vague odor of sewerage, so we kept the door closed and the A/C on in the main room to diffuse it. There was very little water pressure in the shower. The sink had cold water only. Dogs barked nearby through the night. Definitely not what we expected for $100 / night.... as least judging from our stays in LaFortuna, Nosara, etc.

The food available for breakfast (included with the cost of the room) was OK but certainly nothing to write home about... and nowhere near as good as we had in other parts of CR.

Other issues:

When we arrived, we were asked if we were interested in having the hotel arrange for a personal tour in the park the next day. Normally, we are loathe to sign up for any tour, but we had only a couple days in the area, and understood that it would be a personal guided tour. Price tag: $40 each. Our personal tour started just after 7, when a mini-bus picked us up, BUT THEN for the next hour, proceeded to pick up 20 other people at their hotels along the road to the park. Come to find out, Iguana Tours had booked a total of 40 people that day, and even with 4 guides, it felt like anything but a personal tour. This left us fuming...

The secure parking area at VR accomodates 5 or 6 cars, but the cars are jammed into the driveway at night, making an exit impossible if you're on the interior. Our second morning we decided to get up early and drive to the park on our own. We were blocked in. We spoke to the receptionist, and asked her to alert the owner of the car blocking us. She said that she couldn't do that because they were still sleeping! We were furious, but chose to take a taxi to the park entrance (a modest $5 or so) rather than to waste our time insisting that the other car be moved.

When we tried to check out of the hotel, it took a good half hour - and there was only one party in front of us! The receptionist took an eternity trying to calculate what this group of four owed the hotel, breaking several time to answer the phone and converse with callers. When we finally got to the desk, we indicated that we were in a hurry. She started the same slow process, and announced there would be a charge for using the room safe! (The initial receptionist had simply given us a key to the safe and said nothing about a charge.) By this point, we had had it. We refused to pay the extra charge, put the $200 we owed on the desk and walked out.

There's more, but you get the idea: With so many really excellent and charming places to stay much closer to the park (something we didn't know before booking with VR), it makes no sense to stay here.

My boyfriend and I stayed at this wonderful little hotel for a week long holiday. The hotel is located at the bottom of road that winds up a hill. The hill follows up- then down to Manuel Antonio National Park/ beach. You have to have a car especially if you stay at this hotel. The hotel is located back into the jungle/ rainforest in the small fishing town of Quepos. The first night after our long journey from New York we opted to venture out and find a restaurant in Quepos. We found the most amazing pineapple pizza! But our walk back to the hotel at night did not feel very safe so we had the rest of our meals up the hill towards Manuel Antonio. The restaraunts up the hill are amazing! It was nice to get dressed up for the evening after long days at the beach!
Hotel Villa Romantica provides a very large breakfast in the morning (outside and close to the pool) that consists of fresh fruit and fruit juices, eggs, toasts, mushrooms, tomatoes, cereals, avocado, ham, etc. Very fresh and delicious. We did turn on the ceiling fans outside to help keep the mosquitos away while we were eating. They seem to love to come out in the morning. Breakfast is lovely though. You hear sounds of the fountain, birds and monkeys! We would generally leave the hotel for the day exploring the beach and come back in the afternnon to light rain showers in which we would swim in the pool in the warm rain. Just wonderful! By the way- we experienced no extra charge for the pool. Someone wrote that they did.
Across the street from the hotel is a very convenient, inexpensive, little grocery store. Parking is in front of the hotel (on the street). The rooms are small but clean. The shower is large. There was no bathtub. Clean towels, AC, clean rooms and sheets. The garden are well kept and incredibly lush. There were orchid flowers everywhere and banana trees blooming over the pool. Also a friendly small staff. I think we paid $89 for the room a night (not per person). Really cheap and basic. Would go back! Noticed most of the travellers were young couples.

The hotel is conveniently located close to the road from Quepos to Manuel Antonio. It is quit and very clean, has a nice pool, friendly staff and an absolutely fabulous breakfast buffet with whatever you need for a great start into the day. It is close to a little store, where you can get some food and drinks. It seems the German owners take good care of the facility. the only week point we could find was the poor internet connection due to a very old computer and that they charge you for the use of this antique model per hour.

Villa Romantica is conveniently located in the fishing village of Quepos (rather than out on the Manuel Antonio road, where most of the area hotels are), which was ideal for us since we had no car. (Convenient to restaurants, shops, banks.)
The hotel itself is very pleasant (nice pool, lovely tropical gardens where we saw many birds and the occasional monkey!) and the staff is always helpful and pleasant.
This is not a luxury resort, but a very comfortable base from which to explore this fascinating and beautiful area of Costa Rica. High recommended especially due to its dedicated staff.