Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
View prices for your travel dates
Breakfast included
Get rewarded with One Key
C$325
C$152
Breakfast included
C$325
C$152
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Did you already book this hotel?
About
4.5
#3 of 21 hotels in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
The Banana Azul hotel is a small and simple hotel north of town on Playa Negra. The small boutique hotel has been created with care using local products and a philosophy that emphasizes relaxation. We cater to adults, 16 years and over. Blooming gardens adorn the property, as does several freely-hanging hammocks, providing the perfect spot for afternoon napping or leisurely reading. A meandering pond inhabited by fish and turtles flows through portions of the property adding a lighter element to the ongoing natural soundtrack of waves crashing against the shoreline. The hotel consists of 25 beautiful guest rooms with private baths, fans (some with A/C), and free WiFi. Most rooms are on the second floor of the main building, and open onto a large veranda with sweeping ocean views and of the garden. Banana Azul offers its guests a quaint restaurant that serves a complimentary filling breakfast, variety of lunch options and refreshing drinks throughout the day and a relaxing three entre dinner option in a romantic atmosphere at night. Caribe Fun Tours is on site to assist with tours and transportation needs and can assist with a variety of package options including visits to the Arenal Volcano, canopy tours, snorkeling trips, and even rafting excursions.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Ocean View
Boutique
Languages Spoken
English, French, Spanish, Catalan
Location
Playa Negra 1 Km North of Super SK, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca 70403 Costa Rica
Hotel Banana Azul
2,165 reviews
Getting there
Car recommended
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
A few days at Banana Azul revealed a number of useful services. Such as drinking water supplies for the "satellite" cabins. And at a cost of 12 USD we got the content of a full laundry bag clean back. At the reception there is a desk for booking excursions.
Wood was applied beautifully in our room and in the main building. We loved the spacious balcony with hammocks and a view to the Caribbean beach. While sitting in the restaurant, we often admired the garden and the nice looking swimming pool. As for soundproofing, the neighbours' American English came loud and clear to our room.
The swimming in the Caribbean was not recommended owing to strong rip currents. The village of Puerto Viejo can be easily reached by foot along the beach.
We found the breakfast very good.
We travelled before the COVID-19 pandemia.
Read more
Date of stay: November 2019
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This was the first stop on a 3 week vacation in Costa Rica. Before I review the hotel, this needs to be said. If your thinking of driving yourself to this hotel, think again. 9 hours of white knuckle stress from Liberia. Thankfully the staff and the hotel itself provided a lot of stress relief. We loved our partial ocean view balcony which overlooked the lovely grounds and pool. A short boardwalk to a well maintained beach was a highlight of our stay. We watched the waves, read books, and even took some afternoon naps. The included breakfasts were fantastic. A breakfast special and fresh juice changed daily. The Sunday night all you can eat fajitas were especially tasty. The entire staff were always cheerful and helpful. Dreading the traffic on our drive back to the western coast, we headed out at 5:00 a.m, hoping to beat some of the commercial traffic. We were given breakfast to go bags with fruit and their delicious homemade banana bread. An absolutely wonderful send off from a terrific hotel.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This hotel was incredible; it far exceeded our expectations. We visited for 10 days at the end of January 2020 and wish we could have stayed forever. It is located in a lush rainforest with meticulously maintained gardens and ponds all situated by the edge of a gorgeous black sand beach. Our 2 storey villa was stunning; sliding glass doors opening to the jungle, a plunge pool with a waterfall, more than one indoor / outdoor shower, and a fully equipped kitchen. There was a full service restaurant and bar, and everything we ordered was delicious. A freshly cooked breakfast with several choices along with a buffet of fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal and coffee was included in our stay. We loved the coconut shrimp, and even things that sounded simple like nachos were out of this world. The menu had a wide variety to choose from for dinner, along with a daily special that included a soup and salad buffet. Each meal was outstanding with skillfully artistic presentation, adorned with edible flowers and carved vegetables. The ribs were to die for. For dessert, try the sampler - a selection of their decadent desserts which is perfect for 2 to share, and at an extremely reasonable price. We owe a huge thank you to all of the staff members who worked tirelessly to make our holiday so wonderful. I honestly can't find words good enough to describe just how fantastic these people are. Special thanks to Claudia and Esteban who took care of every detail and were truly amazing. I also want to thank everyone else like Katherine, Reyner, Rashira, Wilbur, Alex, & Jayr for being so genuine and kind; you all made us feel like part of the family. We seriously can't imagine going on holiday anywhere else. There's also a tour desk in the hotel operated by Caribe Fun Tours, and they were fantastic. Agustin and Luis took care of all our transportation details and excursions; very helpful having the hotel & tour company under one roof. Thank you to Colin and Roger for doing everything you're doing to make this place a true paradise; we can't wait to return! Thank you to everyone from the bottom of our hearts from Andrew & Pierce.
Read more
Date of stay: January 2020
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I just spent the weekend 7/31/20 to 8/2/20 in the Dolphin room. I have a few things I'd like to point out. In the bathroom: The sink and shower drain were running very slow. I was standing in 2" of water at the end of a 5 minute shower. The faucet that controls the hot water was broken so that the handle would spin w/o shutting off at the stop. It was difficult to find the spot to shut off the water. There is nothing in the room, for starters a coffee pot,(I'm up at 5:30AM so waiting until after 7AM for coffee in the restaurant is very inconvenient) There is not even a plastic cup in the bathroom to use. No little refrigerator.It was hot in the room and being able to have a cold drink of water in the night would have been nice. No screens on any window or doors to keep out those voracious mosquitoes. No AC, but there's a fan with a broken on/off switch. The light bulb outside the room door is of such low wattage that finding the keyhole at night is done by touch only. And who designed the room and bathroom with an opaque, plastic roof panel? Once the sun is up it's 90 degrees in the room. On the plus side the beach is beautiful with lounge chairs to relax. The restaurant is okay and the service good.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed in the Green Frog room which is one of the newer rooms with A/C. The room was exceptional. It was smaller than we expected based on the pictures but we got used to this quickly. No big deal. We loved the dipping pool outside the room. It came in so handy for washing off sand before entering the room or just cooling off. And it was just nice to have the extra space to put shoes, swimsuits, etc. We really liked having the private beach chairs with the huts, wi-fi and food/drink service. The only down side was that the hotel advertises that it is "adult-only" hotel but this only applies to who can stay in the rooms. Children are allowed in the restaurant and at the beach huts as long as someone orders a drink or something to eat. One day, there were three families with a total of 7 small children in the hotel beach area. As long as 1 items is ordered, they can spend the whole day using the beach chairs and beach area. This was not as quiet and peaceful as we had hoped. Honestly, now that we know this, we would probably rent a place close by for a cheaper rate and then use the Banana Azul beach area like other people did. I agree with other reviews that the service is very good here as far as timely and efficient. However, we stayed at 5 other places during our trip to CR and found the customer service to be above and beyond at our other stays. The staff here seemed kind of uncomfortable or a little less skilled in interacting with guests. This goes with the Caribbean vibe and less touristy side of the country but thought it might be good for others to know.
Read more
Date of stay: July 2022
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:If you want A/C: Green Frog was great
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Colin Brownlee, Owner at Hotel Banana Azul
Responded Jul 19, 2022
Hola Carey. Sorry, our policy around children in the facility and public areas are confusing. It's a very difficult challenge for us. While the hotel is private property, the beach area and serving areas on the beach are public. To not serve people with children in our food facilities would just generate too much negative energy and cause unnecessary tension and not respect the delicate balance of the beach being a public space. We remain an adult hotel as children are not allowed in the rooms or in pool area. Thanks for your understanding.
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This hotel is not worth the money. We rented a “Villa” for $250 a night. It appeared nice at first, but was like an IKEA showroom where nothing really worked. For our first 24 hours none of the amenities really existed. This included not having electricity, water, TV, WiFi, or the ability to use the kitchen. I live close by in a rustic jungle house. These are all the reasons I booked this “villa “. The lack of water & electricity was partially due to circumstances out of the Hotel’s control, but the lack of customer service or care was appalling. The fact that they refused to give us even a partial refund is unacceptable
The restaurant tried to charge me for water when after 5 hours with no water in the room, I asked for some water to drink and wash hands. The restaurant also tried to charge us twice for 2 meals we had eaten and already paid for in cash. The food and service in the restaurant is mediocre at best. The Villa description of a queen sized bed and a pull out sofa was misleading. I did not get to sleep on a pullout bed. I was given a roll away bed pushed up next to the refrigerator under the stairs where if I sat up I could hit my head on the sharp stair edges. There was no WiFi or TV in our room until the evening of the second day. When I spoke to reception the morning of the first day and explained how nothing was working and that there was no electricity again, I asked if we could check out. I was told no refunds. They did give us a some credit in the restaurant, but it did not make up for the lack of everything we were there to enjoy. I understand the out of the Hotel control, like electricity cables going down. But we should not have had to pay full price for a room which lacked ALL the amenities (even the basic ones) for over half of our stay. When we spoke the owner he was dismissive and defensive and did not care that we had had an uncomfortable and disappointing experience. I wrote an email once again requesting a partial refund. It has been 5 days and I haven’t had a response from the Hotel. I would absolutely not recommend this place. There are so many lovely places here in Puerto Viejo with much better service, food and amenities.
Read more
Date of stay: January 2021Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I arrived at Hotel Banana Azul by shuttle through their partner service and upon 1st glance was wowed. They have a wonderful gourmet market right across the street, which is modern and well stocked. The grounds are stunning! Lots of vegetation, howler monkeys that you can see each day (watch for falling leaves. That’s the tree they’re in), cute little dart frogs hopping all over, plus Playa Negra beach! For check in we were given coconut welcome drinks and told to sit and wait for someone to get us. Our travel day started early and by 2pm we just wanted to get in and unwind, so the 20 minutes we were sweating and waiting were a little annoying. Finally 2 ladies came & gave us a tour of the grounds, restaurant and beach while we hauled our luggage all over, and finally escorted us to our room, Red Frog. The room was very pretty with a small plunge pool. I really liked the hammock and sitting area out front, but it had a very strange smell. The service was almost nonexistent at the beach despite the call buttons they have out on the tables. The view made up for it & thankfully they have Ketsi. Through the course of our 5 day stay, she was the only staff who was worth a darn! Every day we came for breakfast and ate multiple meals there, yet their small staff acted as though they had never seen us before. When we had gotten to our room the 1st day, there was an issue with the safe. It wouldn’t reset so that we could put in our own code. We were told Luna would be by to fix it. We were there for 5 days and I still have no idea who Luna was. Each morning I came early for coffee and would greet the staff with buenas noches, most would say a simple “hi” & turn away. They do have a nice menu selection, but their breakfast leaves much to be desired. A nice touch is they have filtered water where you can fill your own bottles. Only 1 time was their coffee set out at the beach. The a/c in the room worked great, but be aware that they use a harsh chlorine tab in the plunge pool which burns your skin after a few minutes. There’s also weird crunch worm things that crawl all over every night. They boast eco friendly and make a big deal about turning off lights and air conditioning when you’re not there, so it was a surprise to come in after housekeeping and find every light on, the a/c on full blast & sad faces, infinity signs drawn on the windows from the humidity! The bed is not great, but the noise from the bed frame woke us up every time one of us moved. There are a lot of homes being built near there, so as soon as the sun comes up, all you hear all day are dump trucks!
Read more
Date of stay: October 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Lots of noise and construction. They are adults only, but rent to large “party” groups who come...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
OMG I fell in love with this beautifully crafted and executed place. We were on the run from a near house which was not up to our standards of cleanliness. A couple of days of stopping in for a drink at the beach and the pool and there was no way I wanted to leave without staying at least one night. They were very busy but I managed to book the red frog suite for one night. I was right ! Staying there was awesome. From the super cleanliness to the amazing rain shower in the secure screened bathroom to the private front porch to the plunge pool and circular tiled circuit to enjoy it all I was the happiest little run away ever. Architecturally this place is a gem from the just so perfectly hung heavy wooden doors to interior design throughout (Ga ga for it all ) It’s not just the physical space that makes it so special. The staff is is just as phenomenal. From the manager to the front desk staff to the bartenders and wait staff you will be cheerfully cared for. I like to think happy staff are just that for working for good people. THe owner piqued my interest with his no nonsense review responses I had the pleasure of meeting him. What a sweet accommodating gentleman. If you are a complainer I recommend you not tarry here least you get very bored very quickly. Nothing to complain about here. Oh, and the food ? We had amazing whole snapper which rivaled all my other number one dishes I had while in Costa Rica ! Drinks very well executed as well. Pura Vida indeed. A good man’s dream come true benefiting anyone who is open to its gifts. I might (will) just pass this way again
Read more
Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed in the Howler Suite which I highly recommend since it's closest to the ocean and has a direct ocean view. The staff and the property were amazing and Mr. Gonzalez, our bartender was exceptionally funny and a pleasure to talk to. The only thing that I would suggest the owner to do is change the bed in the Howler Suite to a non squeaky bed and to replace the lounge chairs on the beach to a cool, wooden look versus plastic. Other than that, this place is a gem!
Read more
Date of stay: January 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We had a really beautiful room with a huge private patio, really nice pool, and patio restaurant surrounded by little pools with colourful fish and lots of big river turtles! The bar service extends to the pool & the beach lounge chairs, and the servers and hotel staff really make you feel pampered. It's small enough that it's never 'busy" - you can usually have the pool to yourself (the no kids policy probably helps). You can book any tour on-site (there's someone there all day who's only job is to help you with this), or book you massages right at their beach hut (it was very nice having the sound of waves in the background). The lunch menu was amazing, the dinner menu was a bit limited & too westernized for our taste, but that's just being nitpicky, as we really enjoyed staying here. Would definitely come back!
Read more
Date of stay: January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The villas are not shared in any way. There is a private balcony off the bedroom, which is on the top floor. The plunge pools are private, off the main floor balcony. There is a tall wall & lots of greenery, & no one can see in. The pool itself is small & the water is cold, refreshing on a hot day. Our favorite feature was the waterfall that splashed into the pool, which made sitting on the balcony seem more tropical (& also hid a lot of the road noise, which was pretty loud early morning & late afternoon).
We stayed in 2 different villas. One had been upgraded & the pool area was nicer than the one that had not been upgraded.
Hello! You can book the complete package with our company Caribe Fun Tours. You flight to San José International from your city in the States and then take a shuttle or private taxi to the Hotel. Hope to see you soon!
There are more places to choose from in the Puerto Viejo de Talamanca area.
PRICE RANGE
C$132 - C$229 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
banana azul hotel, banana azul puerto viejo
LOCATION
Costa RicaProvince of LimonPuerto Viejo de Talamanca
NUMBER OF ROOMS
25
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
