Hostel Vista Serena Reviews

Located conveniently in Manuel Antonio, walkable to restaurants, and a short bus ride away from the entrance of the national park. Mixed dorm room beds were affordable and air conditioned. Views from the deck is amazing. Has a basic shared kitchen for making breakfast or packing your own lunch. No hot water in the shower but the weather was hot enough that you didn't need to shower with hot water anyways.

A great place to stay for the reasonable prices. Beautiful view of the sunset, excellent staff, and low-key, tranquilo environment (i.e. not a party hostel). Note, however, that you will need to take a bus to get to the nearest beach (and the nearest stop is about 300 meters up a steep and dangerous road), the shared rooms do not lock so anybody at the hostel can enter, and the breakfast is literally just coffee and toast. Still, a lovely place for the money! Visit Emilio´s Cafe nearby.

Thank you Sonya Conrad & Leah for making us feel so welcome in your "home" with the "bad-ass view" as promised!! Karen & I thoroughly enjoyed everything about our stay @ Vista Serena and would recommend it to like minded folks who are looking for that perfect dream spot in Manuel Antonio!!!

Thank you for the great stay!

Great hostel with a beautiful view of the surrounding area, short bus ride to Manuel Antonio. Overall everything was great. Staff was friendly and helpful, and the hostel itself is very pretty and conveniently located.

It would be nice to have Hot water in the Mi casita,

It was a nice place with a wonderful view and the coffee in the morning is excellent!

The owner, Conrad, is a great host. No question is too stupid, nothing bothers him. He's very chill and has the patience and personality to help 5 people at the same time but you feel you had all of his attention. My mattress sucked the 1st day. He bought a new mattress that same day, had it delivered and remade my bed. Soo nice! Plus the location is great, just a short 5 minute walk to the food market and bus stop. Vista Serena has a restaurant w/great prices and a small food market! Come!

Absolutely pleasant stay there, close to restaurants, beaches, National Park and the best view ever!!

Spent Five weeks traveling in CR this was one of the nicer hostels. Great place to watch the sunset but far from towns there is a bus during the day but after dark cabs (or a long walk) are the only option. Drinks are pricy at the bar didn't try the food but the coffee was good. Dorm beds are thin mattresses over metal bars woke up sore.

So, one drawback--when we paid for a 4BR "premium" dorm, it was supposed to include AC. It did not. As a result, it fell short of expectations...mainly because it was hot as balls. That's my main gripe, though. The view is spectacular, the staff all speak English and are insanely awesome, and the owners--Conrad and his mother--are incredible. We met a ton of cool people (except for our weird, antisocial German bunkmates) and Manuel Antonio was a blast. Except for the AC, I'd totally go back.

Love the beautiful view and relaxing vibe at the hostel. The resto next to it has amazing wood firegrill food. Great facilities - all in all really lovely place to stay at!

Good food from on-site restaurant. Nice chilled out vibe on terrace. Avoid 16 bed dorm if you can - its more of a glorified chicken shed. It is clean however. Probably located the furthest out of downtown Manuel Antonio of all hotels/hostels but therefore closest to Quepos. Frequent shuttle buses run between MA and Quepos during daytime hours for 285 Colones.

I classify as BASIC on most aspects, but I had a good stay and recommend.

Vista Serena was amazing. It's far from the beach, but there is a lot of buses for only 75¢. The view and the sunset alone are worth the price and stay. The staff was really helpful. They helped us book transportation and activities. The atmosphere was great and our 4 beds dorm was correct. As for the security, the staff provides a safe. I definitely recommend this place.

Vista Serena is a wonderful place to stay. The view is stunning at all times of the day. The staff are friendly and helpful. Vista Serena is a beautiful, comfortable, affordable and helpful place to stay.

Nice + Clean hostel, just a few minutes walk from ATM + Supermarket, and the busses to the Mational Parc Entrance are cheap and run very often. The sunset view from the porch is spectacular, and the food was very delicious. It has been a great place to stay, and the staff was very helpful in arranging trips and shuttles etc.

Serena has a beautiful view and the staff there are absolutely lovely! Could use some lockers though, and though it is close to cafes, restaurants, supermarket and what you might need, it is a ten min. bus ride from the beach and the ATM is about a 20-25 min walk away. But the shuttle runs every 20 min, past the ATM towards the beach, less than 300 colones. The restaurent inside Serena is good, tasty, lot of veggies, cheaper than all nearby places. Lastly, one more cheer for the lovely staff!!

this hostel is very social, and they keep the 'party' in the reception area, do its still easy to get away and sleep. do anything that Leah suggests, the tours she recommended were all incredible. Best view in Manuel Antonio, close to the bus stop, a short distance from grocery store and easy to make your own food in the bungalows. i recommend staying in the four person dorms, no need for an AC room. an their on-site restaurant is Yummy!! very enjoyable, and saw guests of all ages.

Very good hostel in its price-range. A bit far from the beach but you won't find any hostels at the beach within this pricecategory. There is a bus every 20 minutes that takes you there for half a dollar. Filled with young people (backpackers). One suggestion: place some lockers. It's easier than bothering the staff al the time to store your stuff. This will also allow you access to your stuff when the staff isn't arround.