The locaywas good and the breakfast was very good. There was a lot of communication from the facilities and Nacho (on site) was very helpful and friendly. The kitchen had everything we needed. The a/c cooled the room completely and quickly.

The room was so small that we had to keep our suitcases in the car. There was absolutely no room for them in the container (we were in the container cabina). The bathroom was outside and the room had only sheer curtains. Here's the issue, if you needed to use the bathroom at night, turning on the light outside would wake up my husband. Also there are many nocturnal ants who also enjoy the bathroom at night. Speaking of the sheer curtains, the container is right next to the chain link fence that separates the container from the road so at night when you turn on the light you can be seen from the road even with the curtains closed. Next issue. We went across the street to use the pool. The bartender approached us and told us that since we were staying at the Iluminar, we had to buy something from the bar to use the pool. What! We continued to use the pool and didn't buy anything.

good breakfast

separate bathroom outside of room and full of mosquitoes and not air-conditioned

liked the use of pool at hotel next door. beach relatively close. the gardens and yoga area nice. staff very sweet and helpful

our particular room nwas a container wedged between a building site (albeit temporary) and a car park- perhaps I mis judged their photos for this room?? you had to exit the room to use the bathroom. terrace for this room was not somewhere you could sit and relax as it was facing a car park? curtains were transparent especially at night- lack of privacy ! for the price this room needs to be upgraded or advertised accordingly. I must stress that I relate only to this room - the surf shack. cannot comment on other rooms here but they looked nice. breakfast was off site and they only offered one meal which was breakfast tipico? no choice as to what you have

Breakfast was great and the location was perfect. Most importantly I ran into a bit of a jam w/ a check out time in the place I was staying previously vs check in at the iluminar. I had my 2 year old daughter w/ me. I asked if it was possible if we could check in a few hours early, and they went above and beyond to help me. They didn’t have to, but they did. I will always be grateful for their help.

I don’t have any negative feedback.

Close proximity to the beach

There’s a lot of construction noise next door and there was no pool.

There was construction but the noise was not to bad

The construction

This was my second time at Iluminar. It's small, there is no reception, you get a code to get into your room. The rooms are really specious, with a nice outdoor area with a hammock.

improvements yoga shala garden

construction is finishing up next door, lil behind schedule, imagine this.

Basic breakfast

The offsite breakfast restaurant was closed one day.

External shower is amazing and the location is unbeatable, with direct access to the beach.

There was a construction site next door and the hotel didn't tell us until we were there, terrible noise from 6 to 6; they were evan making noise inside the hotel. Hot water was unavailable during the whole length of our stay. Too strict checkout policy at 11, they only allowed us to stay 45 minutes longer. First day they didn't clean our room arguing that they thought we were asleep, but we were not even in the room. Wouldn't return to stay here.

Gorgeous, well-appointed boutique hotel nestled on the north end of Playa Guiones, Illuminar is perfectly situated and you can’t beat the private walk to the beach.

RUN AWAY - Check out their Google Review for videos of what's going on over there. Utterly appalled by the lack of professionalism of this place. Now, this place doesn't have a pool. It doesn't have breakfast either. You need to walk to other places for each of them. Why don't you disclose that information ? I don't pay $150 a night to have to walk around a destroyed area to get the services you "offer" but don't provide. There is no reception, we were left at the door without any indication since I never received the instructions that the agency said they so nicely sent through iMessage. Why would you assume someone has an iPhone ? Why wouldn't you use e-mails as a better way of communicating with travelers that most likely won't have phone reception in a foreign country ? We used my boyfriend's treasured iPhone to finally be able to communicate and were told check-in doesn't start until 4pm. Booking.com, where we made the booking, clearly displays 3pm. We were then told we shouldn't leave the hotel premises until someone came to properly "welcome" us. We were handed an iPad to tick off boxes that were mostly irrelevant and given no additional info. We travelled to Nosara to be able to spot the turtles but didn't hire a car, since the location is remote from everything, we were looking for a way of getting around and booking a tour. The PDF they send you informs the guests they can contact the managing agency for any needs they might have, so we did, but never received an answer after asking to book the tour, besides a quote for 3 times what we end up booking on our own (Contact Gilbert, a true turtle passionate +506 6123 9003, for only $30 pp).

When confronted about it the next day, we were first told that we were lying and that they did respond, to then simply apologizing, realizing they had, indeed, not responded. The construction starts at 5.30 every morning, it isn't just the building next door, it's the whole street. The Yoga Shala is closed and also under renovation which creates dust and more noise. That doesn't fall under "the construction next door"; it is your own property and you should disclose that. There is no direct beachfront access, again, it is a walk on a dirt path that's not kept and dangerous at night. There is even a tip box inside the room. If that fact alone doesn't shock you, let me ask, FOR WHAT ? There's 0 service nor cleaning done during your stay. By this time, all of you reading might think I'm just another Karen that's never satisfied and complains about everything but let me assure you, that is not the case. I have traveled all around the world and never have experienced this level of unprofessionalism. The whole area is a complete dirt hole with developments and new businesses popping out of the ground but the streets are completely unsafe with potholes everywhere. Our driver got his car stuck right in front of Iluminar when we were dropped off. All that foreign investors money couldn't save Nosara, as most businesses are closed anyway. We walked past a good 10 shops before being able to buy 2 coffees, all of them closed, out of business already or with technical issues. Past 9pm nothing - at all - is open, so if you are returning from a night walk to spot the turtles you will be left with no other option than going to bed starving, since again, there is 0 service at the "hotel". I urge you to spend your hard earned $$ somewhere else and for the Booking team to come down and enquire about who runs this place.

Great room and amazing indoor/outdoor shower.

The owner of this property needs to disclose the truth about what to expect while staying there. The pool is not on site, there is no breakfast included, and the construction noise immediately next to the property is insane. All day and every day, including Sunday.

clean

no pool or restaurant on premise

Location so close to the beach was amazing - and in the quiet part of Nosara (not “downtown”) though Nosara is so quiet regardless! Loved the little porch and outdoor area especially as I had my dog with me and not many places are dog friendly in Nosara!

Construction next door from 6AM to 5PM. They do warn you.

Staff were wonderful! Room was very clean. Hammocks are not with every room. Really recommend getting one with, it was very comfy! Loved the little 'tree house' on the upper rooms.There are plenty of places around to eat and small grocery. The quick walk to the beach was great. Do bring a flashlight there were not lights on the path.

The pictures are not all from the property. The pictures of yoga, pool, bar are across the street. One description of the property said it included a morning yoga session. The back of the property is under construction. There was no yoga. Yoga is across the street for a fee. The description also said it was a yoga hotel. It is not a hotel. There is no lobby, sraff on site, food, drinks etc.

Spacious nice rooms with everything you need. Access to beach path directly from the property.

Nosiy hotel construction nearby September 22’

the owners!

construction

The suites are beautifully decorated and designed, they have a great outdoor shower which we loved. The location is amazing, just a short walk to the beach and close to restaurants and shops. The owners were very welcoming and helpful. We would love to stay there again in the future.

This place was fantastic. The rooms are super clean and cozy. With 3 adults in one room, we felt we had plenty of space because of how large the room was. I surfed twice a day it takes only a minute or two to get to the sand. Then you have a 5 to 10 minute walk down the sand to the best place to paddle out. The property is conveniently located close to several restaurants, a surf shop, grocery, and laundry. It also felt very safe.

The only thing I didn't love was that the shower water doesn't get super hot. It gets warm enough for a long, comfortable shower, but I like super hot showers after surfing and it just isn't very hot.

location. aesthetics

noise construction from next door in the morning

very close to the beach & restaurants

lot of construction noise whilst we we were staying..