We had a 2 bedroom bungalow with a kitchen. It was very nice for Mal Pais. We had 4 different patios, one out each door. Our own private garden with hammocks. The bathroom was very nice and large, again for Mal Pais, and there was also an outdoor shower. We did not have a problem with insects in any rooms. The 2 bedroom has a kitchen, so maybe the insects in the last post was a result of leaving food out. We did have some crabs in the room, but we were on the beach/in the jungle, to be expected. The place was kept very clean. Going in and out of the rooms did track sand and dirt in, but the maids mopped the floors everyday. We found the house to be very quiet unlike the last post. It felt very secluded. Bring a flashlight, it is very dark at night. Very relaxing place. . Surf camp was not too far down from us. There was a wonderful massage bungalow on the beach. The restaurant was good. Staff was wonderful. If you are into Yoga, it is a wonderful place to stay. There is a yoga platform on the beach and classes through out the day, or you can do it on your own. The yoga instructors could also be found hanging from the trees with fabric doing acrobats in between classes. We were a big group so we also had a large bungalow as well. They are more charming than the 2 bedroom bungalow. The 2 bedroom bungalow is VERY secluded. On the beach there is a wonderful area with hammocks, lounges and chairs all shaded as well. We were a VERY loud bunch and even hosted parties nightly until the wee hours of the morning. The first night we were concerned that we were too loud. The owner of the place and the staff assured us it was no problem. They told us we could be as loud as we wanted to be. Other guests told us they didn't hear us either. The maids were wonderful and very patient since we tended to sleep in. There is a store right across the street from the entrance, so you can fill up the fridge. The stove was a camping type stove. I believe there is only a kitchen in the 2 bedroom. When we left 2 of the people in our group were rebooking for August. You do have to pay cash. We had to wire money to them to hold the reservation. The reception will book any tours you want or need. We asked them for special requests, like private boat tours and such and they would call around for different prices and options for us. The only negative we had was that they only gave us 1 key per bungalow. When you leave the bungalow the door automatically locks. Of course the 1st night at 2 am we locked ourselves out. It took us awhile to find the security guards. They had no way of contacting the management to help. Ultimately they helped us brake in the bungalow and after that we never got locked out again. In the smaller bungalow you needed a key to get in and out of the room. We met many people in Mal Pais that came over to our bungalow and it was also the nicest they had seen in the area. Again Mal Pais is very remote and quiet. Don't expect a 4 star hotel or anything. There are many restaurants within walking distance as well. One of my favorites in Costa Rica is Buena Luna. Owned by a beautiful young couple from Spain and Argentina. It is an Israeli falafel restaurant. Best falafels I have ever had and I use to live near Dearborn MI. We were a big group and between us all we tried everything. All wonderful. They have a pool table and will do whatever they can to make you happy.

I suspect reviews at the Tropico Latino may be based on which room you stayed in. We, personally, had a terrible experience in room 11, however, in looking at the property as a whole, I suspect you could have a wonderful one too. It's a difficult review!

Our personal experience was this:

The parking lot was not secure. That was fine, just meant we had to haul all of our luggage with us to the check in desk. This was about 25-30 yards, but it was through gravel, so you couldn't roll your suitcases. We were greeted by one person as we walked down the path who grabbed my suitcase for me. Had we not been so concerned about our luggage, we found out later there is a way to drive up to your cabin to drop off luggage...so don't make our mistake!

The staff was very friendly...I really liked all of them! The grounds are beautiful and the beach is very nearby...just a few yards from most cabins. It was well maintained.

We rented the two bedroom suite. I suspect it may be the only two bedroom on the property, but I'm not sure. At first glance it was cute! It had a private porch with 4 chairs and an outdoor shower in back to rinse off from the beach. The inside had a small kitchen area, a bedroom with a queen bed and a bedroom with 2 twins (they brought a third twin bed in for us to accomodate our 3rd child). The bathroom was large and tiled, with two sinks.

Sounds nice so far? It was, except that the ground was crawling with ants, as was the kitchen counter. There were cockroaches and beetles as well. I could see them coming in from under the 4 doors in the cabin. One door had little crab coming in! We found a crab behind one of the beds too. We ended up blocking the "crab" door with a towel and spraying OFF! around all of the other doors. This seemed to stop the flow of insects.

Next, we discovered that the floor was filthy. The kids feet were just coated with dirt. The sinks had mildew and mold around them and looked unwashed. The shower drain had hair in it and you could feel grit on the bottom. That was the last straw for me.

Thank goodness, the linens were clean. (The maid service came the next day before we could check out...the towels were changed, the beds made, but not changed...but the shower and sinks, in fact entire bathroom and floors, were completely ignored).

Just a side note, there were bongo drums being played for a while that night. I took a sleeping pill because I'm a huge chicken when it comes to large quantities of insects in my room and knew I would lay there freaked out...so I can't say how late they went, but I don't think it was too late. Definitely had a surfer / hippie kind of vibe going. Probably a pretty good place for young people.

We stayed the first night simply because it was too late to leave but checked out the next day. The management would not refund our money, however, we did pay a package price through a travel agent and the hotel had not received their money yet, so we are working with the agent to see what can be done.

The positives about the place: It was beautiful overall, the restaurant, though expensive, had really good food. The owner or manager, not sure who he was, was geniunely interested in what he could do to improve things...he pressed us to find out exactly what we didn't like about the stay...we told him and he was kind about it.

The town of Malpais was not my favorite either. Again, probably more geared toward the young surfer / party type person.

NOT RECOMMENDED

We didn't sleep all night; flying cockroaches, huge ants, noisy fan, beeping A/C and the smell of the room was terrible. Couldn't reach anybody at 11:00 to switch room. Couldn't get a refund.

We spent a week at Hotel Tropico Latino for our honeymoon and absolutley loved it. We stayed in the garden bungalow and it was very nice. The hotel is located just a few yards from the beach, and we could hear the waves crashing on the beach from our bugalow. The beach was typically empty, aside from a few surfers early in the mornings and later in the afternoons. It really made us feel as though we were on a private beach. We really enjoyed watching the sunsets from the private area the hotel had on the beach. The hotel staff was extremely friendly and was always willing to help with anything we needed. They even made all the arrangements for us to take a couple of day trips into Montezuma for the canopy tour and snorkeling off of Tortuga island. Both were awesome, and we highly recommend them. Be sure to bring plenty of cash or travelers checks as the hotel does not accept credit cards. There is no ATM machine in the town either. The hotel restaurant was excellent.