We traveled for 3 weeks in Costa Rica and stayed at a variety of locations and establishments. I have to say that for the money, Don Taco gets a high five. The very friendly, helpful and bilingual staff, really give this place an extra star. From the moment that we arrived until we left, we were treated like honored guests. The rooms are basic but very clean and roomy. The shower is awesome - meaning in Costa Rica - it has REALLY warm water (if you've traveled in Costa Rica, you know what I'm talking about!!). This was a real treat after 10 days of cold showers!! Another bonus: breakfast included AND dirty clothes laundered at a reasonable price.

We stayed here for 1 night when we arrived late and didn't have a booking, we chose this place based on the LP review. Bad idea. The room was clean. The water was hot. Free wifi. About a 5 minute walk to central Santa Elena. $45/night. The bedspread was dirty and was quickly removed from the bed. Even though our room was on the 2nd floor, our back window was about 1 meter from the main road, making it loud all night with cars and motorbikes. The walls are paper thin and you can hear everybody coming and going. And when they peed and sneezed too. The main noise started up around 6:30am when the hotel decided it was the perfect time to restring some electrical wire outside of our bedroom. And what a perfect place to put a ladder but right by our window. After a good 5 minutes of them yelling and screaming and trying to fix the wires, I finally said something and they realized their timing wasn't great to do such maintenance tasks. We are going to find something a little more remote and surrounded by nature. After all, aren't we in a cloud forest?

We stayed one night with a small tour group. Rooms were nice, the view from the 2nd floor patio is lovely and relaxing. I really appreciated all the help the staff were to us, getting us bus tickets, calling a taxi and meeting us in town, allowing us to store luggage after checkout, and generally accomodating our multiple requests with a smile. Thanks for a great stay! Would return again next time.

Room #15 was roomy, large deck with great view, large bathroom with plenty of hot water. Cute decor, satellite TV and minifridge. Quiet location, up the hill from Santa Elena, good breakfast, for $30 bucks a night (cash price). Friendly staff. (Walk up the hill from Santa Elena may be a little steep for some).