Hotel Cantarana

“A place to go!”

This place is a gem! The restaurant: We went there twice. Louis and Angie were so kind. They work really hard and do their best. The food is fresh and really good. Thanks to the cook! The ambiance is relaxed, the music is not too loud and the place is beautiful. Hotel: I loved my time at the Can… more

This place is a gem! The restaurant: We went there twice. Louis and Angie were so kind. They work really hard and do their best. The food is fresh and really good. Thanks to the cook! The ambiance is relaxed, the music is not too loud and the place is beautiful. Hotel: I loved my time at the Cantarana. This place is beautiful and very calm. The staff is helpful if there is a problem. They are very friendly too. The pool is beautiful but it's better maintained in the brother hotel El Maglore and there are less mosquitoes over there too.

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“Beach getaway”

Just left after 3 night stay at Cantarana. Loved the customer service and very wonderful communication. I appreciate the communication even before I arrived, made everything easier and smooth. Room was spacious and clean but my only complaint was the fact that I was below the restaurant (room 5) … more

Just left after 3 night stay at Cantarana. Loved the customer service and very wonderful communication. I appreciate the communication even before I arrived, made everything easier and smooth. Room was spacious and clean but my only complaint was the fact that I was below the restaurant (room 5) and noise from above began before 7:30am daily . I Loved the private entrance to the beach and the private 3 hour set up they offer for $35. Dinner and breakfast were both good and overall I was very pleased.

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“Great little spot with amazing staff. A diamond in the rough the owners should invest in to improve.”

The Good The staff was truly the highlight of the trip. Gerson was absolutely incredible — sweet, endlessly helpful, and an amazing support. Both Andrea and Yorya, who we saw less of were also very helpful. Playa Grande beach is amazing, and the perfect place to learn to surf, if you're interested.… more

The Good The staff was truly the highlight of the trip. Gerson was absolutely incredible — sweet, endlessly helpful, and an amazing support. Both Andrea and Yorya, who we saw less of were also very helpful. Playa Grande beach is amazing, and the perfect place to learn to surf, if you're interested. Ask for Chico. He was a great teacher, as was the Pacific Ocean. Our stay was overall very good. The beach is also fairly private and relaxed. Not a ton of people, a few surfers, a few families. We felt absolutely fine leaving our stuff on the beach and walking the 400m into the water when the tide was out. And if you can take in the sunset or the stars on Playa Grande and not feel something, then you're not alive. The food at the restaurant was solid, the nearby Mar Azul became our go-to for a meal away, and if you're looking for an interesting social experiment the Hotel Grateful is a short walk away. There's also a very helpful little minimart/bodega just up the road. The Not-So-Good The main issue I wish had been flagged for us before was the power and water outages. My partner and I both have family in the region, so we weren't surprised, but it would've been great if guests were A) warned ahead of time when possible, and B) if the hotel was adequately staffed to be more on top of the backup generator, and even invested in a cistern or some other way to ensure the water stayed on for those periods. The people who work there work hard, but there's not enough of them to handle these things, and there isn't anyone on the desk at night time. It wasn't great, coming back to the room at 10 or 11, starting a shower and then being covered in soap/shampoo/conditioner and the water being out until the morning. A note that while the restaurant is great and there are lots of great other food options, the prices and the quality of food (especially the dreadful and dreadfully expensive smoothies) at the cafe are absolutely criminal. Don't spend your money there. Lastly, Cantarana says they're an eco-hotel, and as such only clean the rooms every other day. That's something we would have loved to know beforehand. It's a ridiculous policy when they ask (as many places in the region ask) you to not flush the toilet paper down the toilet, and instead put it in the very small waste bin they've got. So imagine the bathroom if you've got 35 degree/100 degree heat, and a waste bin full of used toilet paper in the sweltering heat, and they only take out the garbage every other day? Doesn't make sense. To say nothing of just cleaning the floors and making the bed. You don't have to change and wash the linens or towels every day, but doing simple housekeeping isn't an eco issue, it's a staffing issue. Whoever owns the hotel is too cheap or greedy to pay for the rooms to be cleaned every day, is the bottom line.

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“The hotel is located in a US American gated complex, not really in Playa Grande proper.”

It’s a good room and a nice outside pool to relax in. But hotel Cantarana is located in a mainly US American gated complex, not in Playa Grande proper. It’s relaxing and with a nearby beach entrance. But the location means nearby restaurants and bars aren’t cheap.