Surf Ranch Tamarindo

Costa Rica , Pacific North Coast / Guanacaste
TAMARINDO, Main Strip Between Sprout Restaurant And Economy R
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50 reviews shown

8/10

Excellent

26 Feb 2026

Julie

Proximité de la plage, de la ville.
Petit endroit simple et agréable

2/10

Poor

07 Feb 2026

mehran

The check on was easy and painless even when there is no reception.
There was Sewage smell hallway which was very strange. We got in the room and there was smell of mold

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Feb 2026

James

I don’t usually write reviews, but I felt compelled to share my experience because there are so many unfairly negative ones out there.

I paid roughly $40 a night, and for that price, this place exceeded my expectations. The rooms were clean and sanitary, and the location is hard to beat—literally right across the street from the beach.

Breakfast was included and was a traditional Costa Rican gallo pinto with a cup of excellent coffee, which was a great way to start the day. Nothing fancy, just authentic and satisfying.

This is not a luxury resort, but it’s also not trying to be. If you’re looking for an inexpensive, straightforward place near the beach, this is a solid option. Based on my stay, it absolutely deserves 5 stars for value.

Leisure Self

2/10

Poor

30 Jan 2026

martin

This hotel was a huge disappointment. There was a strong sewage smell throughout the property, the place felt dirty, and we found a large cockroach in our room. On the sidewalk next to the hotel, there is a broken grill; someone actually fell into it. We reported this to management, but nothing was done. They simply don’t seem to care.

There is rarely anyone present on site, communication is slow and often impolite, and overall management is very poor. Breakfast is extremely basic and underwhelming — one egg only — which is unacceptable for the price charged.

This place is vastly overpriced. At most, it should cost around $50 per night. There are much better options nearby, such as Marielos or even the cabins located behind it.

I strongly recommend staying elsewhere. Tamarindo has many better places — this is not one of them.

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

24 Jan 2026

SEAN

Staff was very courteous, the place was really clean. Only improvement, the front door key to the building went missing, they should include the front door key with every unit. Lastly, the wifi went down the last two days, with no assitance of putting it back on

2/10

Poor

23 Jan 2026

Jennifer

This place scammed me! I initially booked a room with two twin beds, but had to change to two queen beds. The property agreed and accepted additional payment for a room with two queen beds. When I arrived the building was dirty. There was a strong stench of sewage throughout the property. To my surprise my room had two twin beds. Management was called and they informed us that the hotel was full and they could not fix their error. The company is refusing to return my money because they have a ‘100% no refund policy’. This company did not deliver services promised. Do not go here!!!!!!

They are stating that they refunded me because they over charged me for my upgrade. So technically they refunded me for what they over charged me. Surf ranch claim the room with their beds and queen beds is the same price which is a lie. Master scammers.

Leisure Friends

2/10

Poor

07 Jan 2026

lara silvia

bad room

4/10

Poor

06 Jan 2026

Guylaine

Breakfast is traditional Costa Rican..near the beach which was nice. Rooms are without office and you may have to wait for a code.. we were lucky to have help from some regular guests that were familiar with the process. Door was hard to open and rooms are very small. Wifi dont work in the rooms just in the common area. A step up from a hostel.

Leisure Family

4/10

Poor

04 Jan 2026

Clinton

Rooms were neglected, didnt recieve check in email, A/C remote was missing, breakfast was bad, the room smelled horribly. The hotel's location was its only redeeming feature.

4/10

Poor

02 Jan 2026

Rachid

Not very good the breakfast was really bad

Leisure Family

2/10

Poor

24 Dec 2025

Pete

This place was so bad when we arrived just after midnight I had to spend the next 2 hours dealing with Expedia trying to get someone to fix our room. One of the beds had blood stains and other stains on the sheets. There was black mold coming from around the ceiling light and the shower tile was all busted up in the shower. There was no baseboard and there were huge cracks between the wall and floor. There was a cockroach in the room and it smelled like mold. I sent a message via WhatsApp to person overseeing the property and they responded way late. There was supposed to be an included breakfast in the mornings so I walked down to talk with that person to try and resolve the issue. No one was there. I recontacted Expedia and they were not able to get a hold of anyone from the property. Luckily I was able to book somewhere right in that area that was much better for me and my family. Stay away. This place has lots of potential but looks like the owners have let it turn into an absolute dump.

Business_and_leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

14 Dec 2025

Razvan

Rooom was ok, fridge no tv.
Staff was ok.
Communication before checkin was poor. Many guests did not receive room and door codes before arriving.
After you manage to get in your room things are ok. Breakfast is the same every morning.

10/10

Exceptional

09 Dec 2025

MARCOS

Surf Ranch Tamarindo was an amazing experience. The attention from the ladies who take care of the cleaning and breakfast is truly unique — their dedication and willingness to help with anything you need is surprising in the best way, something you don’t see very often. The manager was also very kind, and the explanation of the check-in process was clear and perfect.

Breakfast time is so friendly and cozy that it feels less like a hotel and more like staying in a family home. The location is perfect, right in front of the ocean. Tamarindo is already beautiful, but this place makes it even more special.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

06 Dec 2025

Terrapin Lina

It was a great stay overall! While it isn’t necessarily oceanfront, it’s across the street from the beach! Very convenient location at the beginning of the strip in Tamarindo. It’s a laidback simple living type of vibe and the breakfast is great and filling. Be sure to read the “check in” email because otherwise it will be confusing as it is a self check in system but there are also people at the hotel who will gladly help you out if you have any questions! I like that it’s not smack in the middle of everything because weekends especially get louder and busy so we aren’t merged into all that but it is surrounded by shops hotels restaurants markets etc… it’s a short 9 min walk to the main hub of beachfront restaurants and gift shops of tamarindo beach so very easy to get around and learn the streets. The staff are sweet and I would stay there again.

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

17 Oct 2025

Jeremy

This place is what it is - a cheap convenient place in Tamarindo right across from the Beach. I had to last minute book this place because my plans changed. Got to my room and the water pressure was 1/10 and not hot. I sat in the room for about an hour to cool off from the day and tried the shower again and still nothing. The room itself is basic, one bedsheet had a big stain. I ended up just leaving and not staying there. I decided I would rather drive back to Liberia and get a real hotel room before my flight the next day than stay here. What's good about this place? The location is good, the common areas inside seemed pretty good - seemed quiet. Overall a very 5/10 place. I was there during the peak of rainy season and the \"off season\" so maybe quality and service is better when it's much busier.

Business_and_leisure Self

4/10

Poor

07 Oct 2025

Philipp

Unterkunft, mehr nicht

Wer ein günstiges Hotel sucht einfach nur zum übernachten der ist hier richtig. Abgesehen von der Kakalake ist es sauber aber alt und verkommen. Vom Preis her war auch nicht mehr zu erwarten.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

17 Jun 2025

Nai

Its a great place to stay close to the beach.

Leisure Friends

2/10

Poor

05 Jun 2025

Philip

We booked the room for a week, and made other arrangements after 2 nights, without even asking about a refund as it was listed as non-refundable for any reason and there was no reason to think they would be understanding about anything. Tried to fully explain here but only allowed so many characters in this review. In conclusion, do yourself a favor and find much better accommodations nearby for similar rates.

Leisure

6/10

Pleasant

04 Jun 2025

Juan Jose

It was very hard to get into the hotel. If other visitors that were staying on the hotel didn’t help me, I could easily sleep on my car the first night. The other visitors gave me the number of the administration and by WhatsApp I received the check in instructions. I didn’t receive any mail with the passwords of the self check in.

Also the amount of breakfast was too little, and with only one egg.

10/10

Exceptional

03 May 2025

Jeremy

Make sure you have your check-in code before you arrive. The rooms are new, clean, and safe. Staff are all gone by 3pm every day.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

24 Apr 2025

Noah

Good location but pretty pricey for what you are getting. Overall expensive town though and can’t complain

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Feb 2025

Susan

The convenience to restaurants and shopping and the beach. All within an easy walk.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jan 2025

Brad

Great Surfing

4/10

Poor

08 Oct 2024

Andrei

Poor customer service, both, property and platform

Had a really hard time to get key codes for our 2 bookef rooms. Waited for about 3 hours by the property door.
Hotels.com was was responsive at the beginning, but then no reply, no help, just ignore.
We were frustrated.
Consider change the platform after this experience.

Business

2/10

Poor

16 Sep 2024

Wendy Alexandra Fuentes

Terrible experience

1. I filtered by \"free breakfast\" and I chose the price with free breakfast, however once I did the reservation they sent me a message that breakfast was not included. I complained about it and they offer me 1 free lunch, when I went to ask for my launch the restaurant said I can only chose a breaskfast for launch. I needed to pay an extra breakfast in another place.

2. They say in the description \"Free offsite parking\", there is NO parking, you need to park in the street with no one watching over the car. They told me they have cameras but no one will pay if something would happened to my car and my things inside.

3. I reported AC was leaking water, they told me they can offer me to change the room but nothing else happened, I do not know what else they needed me to say, no proactive reaction from them

4. After 2 terrible nights I asked for a refund to sleep somewhere else and they did not accept to do it.

Business Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Aug 2024

Dinh

Love to come back soon

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

13 Aug 2024

Dinh

Great stay

8/10

Excellent

04 Jul 2024

Araceli

Esta en muy buena zona, cuenta con lo básico, le falta mantenimiento

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Apr 2024

Sharla

Staff was really friendly. It only a short walk from the beach.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

10 Apr 2024

heather

Basic property but has everything you need including blow dryer and mini refrigerator also close to everything and right across from the beach.

Leisure Self

2/10

Poor

11 Mar 2024

Esmail

Our experience at this Tamarindo hotel was deeply unsatisfactory. Despite a 10-night booking, we felt compelled to leave after just 3 days due to persistent issues. Despite management's responses to previous reviews claiming resolution, I can confidently assert that the problems persist.
1.The lack of a consistent front desk presence was a significant inconvenience, with management often unreachable except for brief appearances at the hotel's café between 8 am – 3 PM.
2.Water cut off during my shower, reaching out to management, it took hours for a response, which informed us that we needed to wait for the water tank to refill!
3.On day 2, water turned an alarming shade of brown due to filtration issues, highlighting maintenance concerns.
4.Our room's proximity to the laundry and pump room resulted in incessant noise from the pump. Promises of a room change were made but not honored, revealing management's lack of transparency.
5.Air conditioning remote control was dysfunctional, limiting our ability to regulate the temperature.
6.On the first night, our blanket fell to the ground, I requested for a replacement from the maid, whom we tipped. However, upon reaching out to Expedia to express our grievances, we were shocked to receive a response from the hotel accusing us of rudeness and causing disturbances.
Tamarindo is undoubtedly an expensive tourist destination. However, it's essential to recognize that cheap rate=cheap service.

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

22 Feb 2024

KRISTINA

Did not have T.V. per representation when I booked. Chair at desk was broken and couldn't use. Baseboard rotting out, shower head blew off, curtain to shower 2\" too short; floors slick as snot and no towel to lay on floor. No working t.v. and kept being told \"a few hours, tomorrow, etc.' Signed in on sheet in spanish with policy; english was available and placed in room after check in stating one rule 'no refunds, for any reason'. I'd never sign something like that. Any reasons??

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

04 Feb 2024

Palina

Overall we had a positive experience staying at Surf ranch. The hotel is located in a great spot and is close to the beach and all the shops and restaurants. The breakfast was decent and the room was clean. What we were not happy about was the very slow WiFi and how dark our room was. We were located at the first floor and people were hanging out outside of our room till late and we could literally hear everything.

Partner

4/10

Poor

26 May 2023

alain

I had NO running water at the shower at anytime! Had to wash my teeth at the outside shower due to lack of water! Tv remote not working no batteries in it

Business Self

8/10

Excellent

24 May 2023

Hannah

Great little place to stay for the price. They have ac in the rooms and shampoo/ conditioner. Across the street from the beach and food options everywhere. Walking distance to shops, food, excursions, ect.

The staff is very nice.

The only issue for me was the doors and thin walls. Even when you tried to close the door softly, the
Latches are metal and loud. There was a night that next door had a party until 4am. When people came back to their rooms...it was like door slam city. I was so disruptive at 4am when i was kept up all night from the party. Then i had to listen to all the drunk people stumbling around up stairs and slamming doors. I guess if you are there to party it's fine...but I was on relax vacay and it wasnt good.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

15 Apr 2023

Stanley

Steps too Tamarindo beach

The hotel is extremely basic, very low water pressure, hard too shower but did the job, rooms are very very basic, no micro wave or coffee maker but fresh coffee is available from 8am-10am an they have a small fridge in the room

The best part of this hotel was cost 70$ per nite and when you walk out you only have to cross the street and you’re on the beach.

Staff are very friendly and helpful when available…

But be aware that staff are not always available and are gone by 2-3pm an sometimes even earlier, and you must make sure to contact hotel by email days before arrival to know how to get into room for check in when staff have left

Partner

2/10

Poor

11 Feb 2023

Job

There's nobody at the front desk at all.. and i never got an email on how to hlget in the room

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jan 2023

Cory

Fantastic spot. The gal who owns it was wonderful. Outdoor shower and coffee were a nice bonus. They have laundry service too which was awesome to get a refresh on clothes. Definitely recommend!

2/10

Poor

04 Jan 2023

Mitra

The worst place to stay in Tamarindo

It was the worst stay and this place is not a hotel. It is either a Cabina or Hostel but not a hotel.

Little or no amenities. No hot water, no blow dryer, hand cream and no parking nor any arrangement to help guests with vehicles.

This place should not be listed on Hotels.com as a Hotel. Very misleading information. No parking should be identified very clear when making reservations. Not a small writing lower down where this very big detail can be overlooked.
I left one day early as I COULD NOT SLEEP as my vehicle was parked in an unsecured area outside.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

29 Sep 2022

Jenni

What a cute and cozy hotel across from the beach. Will definitely stay here is I come back again!

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

28 Mar 2022

Jamie

Great stay and great location!

Leisure Self

2/10

Poor

03 Jan 2022

Nicholas

No cleaning service. Shelves were falling off the wall. No hot water. Staff and management were unresponsive and not helpful with these issues. When inquired about refund, they ignored me altogether.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

01 Jan 2022

Dallas

Worked out well

Super friendly staff and the check in instructions were super helpful and made it very easy. Really appreciated all the detail. It was pretty much how it looked on the pictures and you couldn’t beat the location. Literally across the street from the beach.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

22 Nov 2021

Christy

Love love love this place. Location was great. Easy check in. I will be back soon.🙂

Self

4/10

Poor

07 Jan 2021

Liliana

Smell bad

Self

2/10

Poor

20 Dec 2020

Verified traveler

Very bad service

They refused to clean our rooms because of Covid, but other Hotels and Hostels were doing daily cleaning. This made our rooms filthy because the sand is easily tracked into every room. The bed sheets would get sandy and no sheets would be replaced even if we asked to do it ourselves. Also you are not supposed to flush toilet paper and they only provided a very small garbage that filled up each day. We would have to empty it daily ourselves. The manager did not smile at us even once during our 10 nights. Pura Vida:)

Friends_and_family Friends

4/10

Poor

20 Dec 2020

Verified traveler

Horrible service

No service at all. No cleaning of room, garbage pick up, new bedding or towels.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

22 Nov 2020

Emory

Low cost & convenient

Padlock entry but otherwise nice

Self

6/10

Pleasant

04 Mar 2020

Michael

While certainly acceptable, there are too mnay options in Tamarindo to make this anthing other than amongst yoir last choices.

Leisure Family

2/10

Poor

25 Feb 2020

robc

Upon our arrival we noticed our room was not cleaned properly, especially the floor which was filthy. After 10 days the floor was never washed (it’s extremely dusty there) and our sheets were not changed once - the bed wasn’t even made once. They advertised they had Netflix which don’t. They advertised they had a safe - they don’t. They property is not managed so you on your own. The property has zero security, no lock on the entry gate. The property across Witches Rock has a 24 hour security guard as to most properties there. It’s unsafe in a dark part of town and literally anyone can come in any time. We were there 10 days and saw the receptionist there twice. The property has no management and you’re on your own after 4pm. Would not stay again as there are better options across the street with 24 hr security. Stay away.

Business_and_leisure Family