Hotel La Mariposa, Manuel Antonio

kimkim team favorite
4.6 (83 reviews) Upscale
Modern hillside hotel with outdoor pools, top-floor restaurant, and views of the Pacific Ocean and rainforest
Show all photos
Jonathan
Jonathan S.
May 01, 2026
Amazing views. Best pool. Great restaurant. La Mariposa is a great hotel to end our trip.
Skye
Skye C.
Apr 24, 2026
In general, the hotel is beautiful and really showcased the beauty that is Costa Rica. One time when we were in the beautiful pool, a whole... Read more
Shane
Shane S.
Apr 08, 2026
Unbelievable view
Robert
Robert S.
Mar 31, 2026
Once again, the view from our room and balcony was awesome. Quite beautiful and luxurious.
Martin
Martin L.
Mar 27, 2026
Fantastic view of the bay and beach below. Very caring staff. Clean and well appointed. Very nice swimming pool. The cat in residence was a nice... Read more
Previous Next
See all reviews

Overview

As it's a hillside property, most travelers stay at La Mariposa for its incredible views, some of the best on offer in Manuel Antonio. The hotel is conveniently located near shops and restaurants, with easy access to Playa Espadilla and the national park via a short (and free) shuttle ride. Modern rooms are bright and airy, with large windows highlighting the sweeping ocean vistas. Guests can enjoy a range of amenities, including four outdoor pools, a swim-up bar, and the acclaimed Le Papillon restaurant, which serves an array of international and local dishes in an open-air setting.

Kimkim's Take

Adam
Adam Gomez kimkim staff
Based on kimkim staff visit, August 2023 (Learn more)
Pros
  • Perched on a hill, La Mariposa has some of the best ocean views in all of Manuel Antonio, and you'll be close to a handful of beaches, restaurants, and shops.
  • Surrounded by tropical gardens, you'll have the opportunity to spot wildlife, including sloths, macaws, monkeys, and butterflies, without leaving the comfort of the hotel.
  • Enjoy a complimentary full breakfast daily of various local and international options.
  • Let the kids play in the kiddie pool while you enjoy the zero-edge main pool with a swim-up bar.
  • Relax at the two outdoor infinity pools with views, a hot tub, and a swim-up bar.
Cons
  • The steep pathways could make navigating the property difficult for some, particularly those using strollers or wheelchairs.
  • Not all rooms afford ocean views; they look out to a lush tropical garden.
  • While there isn't a gym, spa services are available, from reflexology and Ayurvedic treatments to deep-tissue massage.

Authenticity

Hotel La Mariposa is the go-to hotel for Manuel Antonio views. The Spanish-Mediterranean property—a staple since the 1970s—sits atop the area's highest point overlooking the Pacific and Manuel Antonio National Park, so you get both jungle vibes and incredible water views at the same time. Although rooms have been added over the years and all look slightly different, every unit has a balcony, a perfect perch to see wildlife outside your window, including the resident sloth and macaw families, as well as butterflies for which the hotel is named (mariposa is Spanish for butterfly). 

Location

When it comes to ocean views, you can't beat this location. Although it's farther from Playa Espadilla and the Manuel Antonio National Park (a 5 to 8-minute drive, respectively), the surrounding natural environment makes up for it. Luckily, the hotel operates a scheduled shuttle to the area, and it's only a 20-minute walk (up and down a few hills) from Playa Biesanz. It's also near a grocery store and within walking distance of other restaurants and cafés if you're looking to go off-site. 

Rooms & Bathrooms

The hotel has grown over the years, so some rooms are newer and brighter, if not a little stark, whereas others are a bit warmer, with terracotta floor tiles and colorful furniture. All have private private balconies. We recommend skipping the standard rooms (very plain) and the garden view rooms since you're probably staying here for the ocean views. Upgraded rooms offer partial or complete ocean views; some have wraparound balconies, like the Corner Sunset Ocean View, and outdoor seating areas with hot tubs. Families and larger groups may want to book the multi-bedroom apartments with kitchenettes, which are a great option if you want to prepare some of your meals.

Accessible rooms are available on the ground floor for travelers with limited mobility, though be aware that the steep grounds can be difficult to traverse.  

Amenities

Hotel La Mariposa's large outdoor infinity pool is oriented to give you the best views of the Pacific Ocean. As the pool's not heated, there's a small hot tub adjacent to the pool, in case you want to relax in warmer waters, and a swim-up bar pool at one end. Though there's no on-site spa, a local partnered spa can provide in-room treatments. Sunset Bar & Lounge is perfect for enjoying a cocktail while watching the sunset and dining at Le Papillon (French for butterfly) is a highlight, with its spectacular views and diverse menu that also caters to various dietary needs.

Family-Friendliness

Offering paid babysitting, cots, and free stays to two children under eight, Hotel La Mariposa is well-equipped for families. Many of the hotel's rooms are suited for family stays, but the apartments are the best option, as they come in one-, two-, and three-bedroom configurations, allowing you to easily book the right amount of space for your family. 

Wildlife

The sweeping hillside views make this hotel an excellent spot for catching a glimpse of Costa Rica's iconic wildlife. Upper rooms are particularly great for this, as they're at the canopy level, where much of the wildlife tends to hang out. Travelers have spotted sloths, macaws, monkeys, agoutis, and plenty of butterflies hanging out on the hotel's grounds. 

Other Highlights

Because the views are the highlight, La Mariposa ensures you can fully enjoy them at the hilltop al fresco Le Papillon restaurant, lounge/bar area, and infinity pools. All feel very serene with bright neutral colors, green tropical plants, and thatched roofing. Other perks include a free shuttle to the national park and Playa Espadilla, which runs four times daily.

Like what you see?

Chat with our local specialists and let us help you customize your trip with hotels like this.

Get started

Hotel Information

Hotel stars icon 4-star Hotel
Hotel phone icon +506 27770355
Hotel address icon 328 feet Southeast of Plaza Vista
View on Expedia Open in Google Maps Hotel website
Hotel La Mariposa map

Open map

Travelers often mention

Summarized by AI based on kimkim traveler reviews

Spectacular Ocean Views

The hotel offers stunning views of the ocean, which many guests found breathtaking. The views from the rooms, patio, restaurant, and pool area were especially highlighted. (19 mentions)

A
“Waking up to that beautiful view in the morning, with the birds flying by our porch, monkeys in the trees, and butterfly's everywhere is truly a unique Costa Rica experience.”  — Anne A.
S
“the room and view of the ocean as well as the sunrise and sunset were the crowning touch of our stay”  — Steve S.
D
“We enjoyed our room and the panoramic views it provided us.”  — Danielle M.
Excellent Customer Service

The staff at the hotel were frequently praised for their attentiveness, friendliness, and efforts to accommodate guests' needs. Specific mentions include personalized birthday arrangements and helpfulness with strange requests. (10 mentions)

Bill
“The entire staff was well informed, extremely courteous.”  — Bill K.
D
“The food was great and the customer service at the pool bar and the restaurant were top notch.”  — Danielle M.
D
“Andres and Harvy at the pool bar were very attentive and Christian at La Papillion Restaurant went above and beyond to make sure we enjoyed our stay.”  — Danielle M.
Comfortable Rooms

The rooms were generally described as comfortable and spacious. Guests appreciated the decor and the views from their rooms. (8 mentions)

Amy
“The rooms were nice, with great views from the patio.”  — Amy S.
Sandra
“The room was spacious and comfortable”  — Sandra K.
J
“Rooms were great and the grounds were super nice.”  — Joe K.
Beautiful Hotel Grounds

Guests enjoyed the beautiful and well-maintained hotel grounds, which included sightings of local wildlife such as monkeys, birds, and butterflies. The surroundings contributed to a unique Costa Rica experience. (7 mentions)

Sushma
“Hotel grounds had cool animals walking or flying around- macaws, lizards, monkeys etc.”  — Sushma S.
T
“We loved that the hotel itself had a lot of wildlife.”  — Tabatha S.
N
“we especially loved watching all the monkeys who live in the trees surrounding the hotel.”  — Nici F.

Traveler Reviews

83 total ratings, 64 with reviews
4.6
Feature ratings
Authenticity & Character
4.6
Location
4.8
Staff
4.5
Cleanliness & Comfort
4.6
Jonathan
Jonathan S.
Harrison, NJ | Reviewed on May 01, 2026
Amazing views. Best pool. Great restaurant. La Mariposa is a great hotel to end our trip. Read more

Amazing views. Best pool. Great restaurant. La Mariposa is a great hotel to end our trip.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Stayed in April 2026
Skye
Skye C.
Seattle, WA | Reviewed on Apr 24, 2026
In general, the hotel is beautiful and really showcased the beauty that is Costa Rica. One time when we were in the beautiful pool, a whole troop of Spider Monkeys moved through the trees right next to the pool! Probably 40 or so. We saw up close all the mommy's with their babies jumping from branch to branch! it was so cool. A few little things - one of the front desk team members really wasn't very friendly. I was surprised. And, the other thing that sticks out was on our last day,... Read more

In general, the hotel is beautiful and really showcased the beauty that is Costa Rica. One time when we were in the beautiful pool, a whole troop of Spider Monkeys moved through the trees right next to the pool! Probably 40 or so. We saw up close all the mommy's with their babies jumping from branch to branch! it was so cool.

A few little things - one of the front desk team members really wasn't very friendly. I was surprised. And, the other thing that sticks out was on our last day, we had not checked out yet, a maintenance man just sorta came into our room - no knock or anything. It was really odd.

But, other than that, really wonderful hotel with amazing views.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Most of the staff were great. One of the front desk helpers was not very welcoming/engaging. Also, on our last day, a maintenance man just opened our door to our room before we had checked out. It was odd.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Stayed in April 2026
Walt
Walt I.
Ashburn, VA | Reviewed on Apr 09, 2026
I've rated everything else about our Costa Rica trip very highly because we had a truly amazing trip overall. Hotel La Mariposa was beautiful -- it has the best panoramic views around -- and, truly, our room was perfectly nice and we had no major issues. I want to give credit to 99% of the staff for being friendly, helpful, and housekeeping was excellent. But, overall, the hotel sure is leaning heavily on that stunning view... The restaurant in particular needs improvement. At the same desk... Read more

I've rated everything else about our Costa Rica trip very highly because we had a truly amazing trip overall. Hotel La Mariposa was beautiful -- it has the best panoramic views around -- and, truly, our room was perfectly nice and we had no major issues. I want to give credit to 99% of the staff for being friendly, helpful, and housekeeping was excellent. But, overall, the hotel sure is leaning heavily on that stunning view... The restaurant in particular needs improvement. At the same desk where I made our dinner reservation for our grand finale-- our last dinner of the trip, to be had watching the exquisite sunset over the ocean, when we showed up to that desk at said reservation's time, they treated us as though WE had made some mistake when the reservation was missing from their paperwork. Begrudgingly, it seemed, they sat us despite our "missing" reservation-- but behind other tables and poles, blocking that sunset view. Unfulfilled promises of homemade bread. Drinks stamped with past expiration dates. Cold entrees. Inattentive service. Bland meals. Bland welcome drinks. The pool is illuminated at night, neat... but what's with the strobe effect?! (Read the room, this isn't a rave crowd.) Our shower had weak water pressure, low temperatures, and gross mold and mildew all over the caulking. I know these are all nitpicks, but they're so easy to solve that it was frustrating. It just felt like they're depending on that stunning view to make up for mediocrity elsewhere.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Stayed in April 2026
Shane
Shane S.
Minneapolis, MN | Reviewed on Apr 08, 2026
Unbelievable view Read more

Unbelievable view

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Stayed in March 2026
Robert
Robert S.
Los Angeles, CA | Reviewed on Mar 31, 2026
Once again, the view from our room and balcony was awesome. Quite beautiful and luxurious. Read more

Once again, the view from our room and balcony was awesome. Quite beautiful and luxurious.

Authenticity & Character
Really a great place, but probably more so for younger people... we are retired and go to bed early, but the bar noise was a bit much. If we had been situated further away, it would have been better, I think.
Location
Staff
Very accommodating to us. However, some seemed a bit burned out to deal with tourists. Just a hunch.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Stayed in March 2026
Martin
Martin L.
Drexel Heights, AZ | Reviewed on Mar 27, 2026
Fantastic view of the bay and beach below. Very caring staff. Clean and well appointed. Very nice swimming pool. The cat in residence was a nice touch as well as the young sloth that slept above the veranda. They were also very accommodating with us hanging out at the pool till it was time to leave for our late night flight back to the US. Read more

Fantastic view of the bay and beach below. Very caring staff. Clean and well appointed. Very nice swimming pool. The cat in residence was a nice touch as well as the young sloth that slept above the veranda. They were also very accommodating with us hanging out at the pool till it was time to leave for our late night flight back to the US.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Stayed in March 2026
KLAUS
KLAUS A.
Bon Air, VA | Reviewed on Mar 25, 2026
The views from the top of the hill down to the ocean are stunning. Very good restaurant and pool with same great views. Front desk staff not as friendly (not even a smile upon arrival) as we learned to expect in Costa Rica, including a discussion due to a disappointing lack of room cleaning on the first day (had to call at 3:30pm to clean room, though we had been out of it since 7:00am on our activity). The restaurant staff was great, thank you to JOHN and MAGALY for getting us an awesome... Read more

The views from the top of the hill down to the ocean are stunning. Very good restaurant and pool with same great views. Front desk staff not as friendly (not even a smile upon arrival) as we learned to expect in Costa Rica, including a discussion due to a disappointing lack of room cleaning on the first day (had to call at 3:30pm to clean room, though we had been out of it since 7:00am on our activity). The restaurant staff was great, thank you to JOHN and MAGALY for getting us an awesome view table twice.
The hotel is relatively far from the beautiful beach below, hotel offers rides 4x/daily (walking is 25min down and 40min up if you are fit - which is what we did - also taxi is $10).

Authenticity & Character
Good layout, with great views from everywhere
Location
Stunning views
Staff
Restaurant staff great, front-desk staff lacking manners and customer orientation
Cleanliness & Comfort
Somehow they missed cleaning our room first day, but otherwise OK
Stayed in March 2026
B
Bonnie Y.
San Jose, CA | Reviewed on Mar 16, 2026
The views of this hotel are amazing! The hotel, I would rate as 3 stars. The showers are nice, the corner room again with an amazing view. The previous two hotels had friendly, accomodating staff, so we expected the same. Unfortunately, we found the staff to be indifferent, though we were friendly towards them. We thought they did the minimal, answered questions quickly without much feeling, and didn't seem to want to be there. I think this is more of a reflection on management. The dinner... Read more

The views of this hotel are amazing! The hotel, I would rate as 3 stars. The showers are nice, the corner room again with an amazing view. The previous two hotels had friendly, accomodating staff, so we expected the same. Unfortunately, we found the staff to be indifferent, though we were friendly towards them. We thought they did the minimal, answered questions quickly without much feeling, and didn't seem to want to be there. I think this is more of a reflection on management. The dinner took two hours, as the server seemed preoccupied. The swimming pool was nice.

Authenticity & Character
Renovate the rooms.
Location
The view was amazing as previously stated.
Staff
See comments above. Wondering if there is a morale issue.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Renovate the rooms.
Stayed in March 2026
C
Carol J.
Newark, NJ | Reviewed on Mar 01, 2026
The hotel was beautifully situated, designed and maintained! Read more

The hotel was beautifully situated, designed and maintained!

Authenticity & Character
Location
It has panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean
Staff
Pleasant and helpful
Cleanliness & Comfort
Everything.
Stayed in February 2026
Mary
Mary D.
Canada | Reviewed on Feb 22, 2026
Wonderful accommodation. Staff were very nice and helpful Loved our resident 5 month old two toed sloth Lucy who visited daily Pool area was lovely and made it easy to meet other guests have drinks and relax Read more

Wonderful accommodation. Staff were very nice and helpful

Loved our resident 5 month old two toed sloth Lucy who visited daily

Pool area was lovely and made it easy to meet other guests have drinks and relax

Authenticity & Character
Location
Situated beautifully on landscape. Felt private and had access to wildlife. Breakfasts were great
Staff
All were accommodating.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Room was great. Wonderful view.
Stayed in February 2026

Like what you see?

Chat with our local specialists and let us help you customize your trip with hotels like this.

Get started

Hotel Information

Hotel stars icon 4-star Hotel
Hotel phone icon +506 27770355
Hotel address icon 328 feet Southeast of Plaza Vista
View on Expedia Open in Google Maps Hotel website
Hotel La Mariposa map

Open map

Hotels in Manuel Antonio

Show more hotels in Manuel Antonio
Previous Next

Hotels in Costa Rica

Show more hotels in Costa Rica
Previous Next

Manuel Antonio Experiences

Show more Manuel Antonio experiences
Previous Next

Best of Manuel Antonio

Best of Manuel Antonio
Previous Next

Costa Rica Travel Advice

Costa Rica Travel Advice
Previous Next

Costa Rica Travel Essentials

Costa Rica Travel Essentials
Previous Next

Costa Rica Travel Guides

Costa Rica Travel Guides
Previous Next

Make the Most of Your Time in Costa Rica

Make the Most of Your Time in Costa Rica
Previous Next

Costa Rica Tours & Itineraries

Costa Rica Tours & Itineraries
Previous Next

Trip Planning Essentials

Previous Next

Most Viewed Costa Rica Content

5 Days in Costa Rica - 6 Unique Itineraries
Map of 5 Days in Costa Rica - 6 Unique Itineraries
5 Days in Costa Rica - 6 Unique Itineraries

With less than a week, it's possible to experience many of Costa Rica's star attractions. You can visit misty cloud forests, go whale watching on the Pacific, view wildlife in...

Previous Next

Latest Travel Insights

Previous Next