Design-ledHotel Aguas Claras
An art and design hotel of bungalows and suites on Playa Chiquita, with ocean-side beach access and a beach club restaurant and bar.
Playa ChiquitaBest for couples who care about the room
Costa Rica / Puerto Viejo / Where to stay
Puerto Viejo · Where to stay
Where to stayin Puerto Viejo
Pick the coast first, then the hotel. “Puerto Viejo” is six kilometres of coast road, and where you sleep on it changes the whole trip.
5areas to choose fromBike or carto move between them
Start here
One road, five different trips
The town and the end of the road are twenty minutes apart and feel nothing alike. Decide how close you want to be to restaurants, whether you will have a car, and who you are travelling with. The area follows from that; the hotel comes last.
Choosing between this coast and the national park town? See Puerto Viejo or Cahuita.
How to choose
Four questions, one area
Answer these in order. Each one points to a stretch of the coast, and opens it below.
Best for no car, walking to dinner, some nightlife
Puerto Viejo town / Playa Negra
The busiest stretch, and the one base you can do without a car. Restaurants, bars and bike rentals within a few blocks; Playa Negra’s black sand is a short walk north.
Best for surf on your doorstep, still a short cycle to town
Cocles
A long, open beach with the area’s main surf, and close enough to cycle into town for dinner.
Best for quiet garden hotels and slow evenings
Playa Chiquita
Greener and more spread out, with most of the design-led garden hotels. A ride for every meal.
Best for calmer water and families; furthest from restaurants
Punta Uva
Often the calmest swimming on the coast, and a good base with young kids, as long as you accept the ride to meals.
Best for remote, nature-first, very few places to eat
Manzanillo
Where the road ends, against the wildlife refuge. Nature first, and almost nowhere to eat out.
Unsure about the beach? See every beach compared.
Our picks
Three hotels we’d recommend
Not a ranked list and not every good hotel on the coast. Three chosen for character, one for each kind of stay.
Design-led
Adults onlyHotel Banana Azul
Adults-only and beachfront on Playa Negra, with a small pool and tropical gardens; about a 30-minute walk along the beach or a short drive into town.
Playa Negra, north of townBest for a calm beachfront base north of town
BeachfrontLe Caméléon
A minimalist beachfront hotel on Playa Cocles, with ocean-view and garden-view suites, some with a private pool.
Playa CoclesBest for polished comfort near the surf
Rates, availability and current details live on each hotel’s own site. We don’t sell or resell rooms. The design hotels earn their keep here for one reason: the gardens.
Keep exploring
Where to next?
OverviewThe Puerto Viejo guideTown, beaches and the lay of the land →DoThings to doExperiences on the coast →ArriveSan José to Puerto ViejoShuttle, bus or car →NearbyThe Cahuita guidePark, reef and village →SwimEvery beach comparedPick by what you want →ComparePuerto Viejo or Cahuita?Choose your base →KnowIs Puerto Viejo safe?Theft, currents, health →RetreatsYoga retreats in Puerto ViejoEight compared, with prices →
Photographs are credited on Photography credits. Hotel photographs show the properties featured; links go to each hotel’s own website.