Boutique Hotel Aguas Claras Puerto Viejo

One of the best stays I had in Costa Rica. It all starts being welcomed by extremely friendly, kind and helpful staff. Rooms are designed with great taste and offer plenty of comfort. The bed is large and very comfy. Outdoor shower is a great little touch. A short walk through jungle takes you to the beach, to a beautiful corner of Caribbean. You get to spot various animals as you go along your way. Hotel also offers variety of tours to your liking. Aguas Claras staff helped me have a great time and I’m very much looking forward to be back.

This place was fantastic. It was the most relaxing beautiful place. I’ve seen the staff was amazing. Anything I needed they were there, friendly smiles. I don’t know what else to say about them but they were all great. The property was beautiful walking into a forest of beautiful flowers trees, monkeys, sloths, the meals were fantastic. The rooms were gorgeous. The bed was so comfortable. I slept so good. What made me every night when I come to my room they had a little snack for you that I love that and it was so good. I love the outdoor shower and bathroom that was so cool I don’t know what to say. I know I am planning my trip for next May to come back to Hotel Aguas Claras. I just want to say thank you to everybody for making me feel so welcome to be honest. I didn’t wanna leave thank you again. You are definitely a five star or even more. See you next. See you next May

I cannot even describe how amazing this hotel has been. Hands down it is the nicest hotel in all of Puerto Viejo, and the nicest hotel I personally have ever been to. The hotel is located right next to the ocean and the pathway to the beach is surrounded by jungle and wildlife- it is seriously beautiful! The beach is gorgeous, and not populated at all. There are sloths and monkeys everywhere in the trees! The hotel staff is super friendly and goes above and beyond to make sure you have the best stay. Johnny and Freyman are awesome and are always super helpful with everything! There are free bikes, free yoga classes, and the massages were so good that we got two during our stay. The food at the resort is high quality and the dinner service is fantastic. Happy hour runs till 6 which is an awesome plus!! Over all we had an amazing trip, everything was perfect at this hotel down to the very last detail and we will definitely be back again!

After a very difficult year, we were looking for a relaxing vacation to celebrate the end of 2023. My daughter and I did extensive research online and decided to book Hotel Aguas Claras. It was everything we imagined. Pictures were spot on as to the rooms and general ambiance of the resort. We enjoyed watching the monkeys and spotting the sloths. The food was amazing. We had relaxing services such as facials, massages, yoga and meditation. We rented an ATV and had fun exploring the area. The kayak tour was one of our favorite days. We even spotted a toucan. Everyone who worked there was so kind and helpful, making our stay special in so many ways. It was truly a trip to remember!

Ahhh what a joy to experience..Thaddeus is a jewel of this Hotel couldn't beat his service. He took us from no reservation to 3 nights stay for our honeymoon. The beds are THE MOST COMFORTABLE IN ALL COSTA RICA. Literally haven't slept better in years. The bathroom and the huge walk out private shower area was exquisite.
Private beach with amazing complimentary breakfast. Amazing food including vegetarian options. All sorts of activities. Free bike rental, scuba gear, yoga, dancing. We will be back soon. Nicest place in the area. Can not suggest this place enough. You will have the best experience of anywhere in the world.

We had a wonderful stay at Aguas Claras. We were particularly struck by how helpful and friendly everyone was who worked there. It made for a very welcoming environment. The hotel is in a beautiful setting; we especially enjoyed the discreet food and drinks service by the beach.

My husband and I really enjoyed our stay at Aguas Claras. The place was absolutely magical. The staff were all great and the place had a really good vibe. The private beach and beach bar were amazing. We did the Manzanillo hike arranged by the hotel and had a fantastic guide, it was the highlight of our trip (ask for Shilo if you can!). We loved Casa Ghandi to do a bit of yoga in the morning. The breakfasts were just wonderful and they had plenty of vegan options too. I would so love to go back or try one of the sister hotels. Amazing experience.

Excellent place. A lot of green. A beautiful wild beach nearby. I appreciate the unique decor of the rooms. Delicious food at the beach bar. The service was exceptionally nice. Special thanks to Thaddaeus, the reception manager and the ladies from the reception. Sloths on the hotel area. Pura Vida.

My family and I had the most incredible time at this hotel. It is beautifully designed down to the smallest details, and that same attention to detail carries through into the service. The room was just incredible (we had the honor of being one of the first guests to stay in the newest bungalow suite with its own private plunge pool) and the common areas are serene and lovely. The pool, restaurant, and beach access were fabulous. However, all of that doesn't hold a candle to how wonderful every single staff member was. The kindness and care shown to my family throughout our stay was just exceptional. I would stay here again in a heartbeat and hope to make it back to this beautiful place many times in the future.

Had an amazing experience here. The private beach exceeded expectations and looks even better in person than online. All employees were friendly and the room and restaurant were great. Good location allowing you to experience both puerto viejo and punta uva/manzanillo. We also did the spa/dinner package and it was a highlight of our vacation!

Great place and very friendly Staff.
Incredible location and amazing view.

not sure if i should share my admiration for this beautiful place and resort here.... some secrets should be saved for yourself.... but this hotel was so beautiful and unique and unexpected that we immediately fell in love with this bijou.
service was the best service, ever! the walk to the beach through the jungle was my highlight every day, the food was always super delicious or muy rico as I learned :-)
it is indeed a piece of paradise.

We recently spent 4 nights at Aquas Claras and loved every moment. We stayed in the Cacao suite which felt very private and spacious. Service was excellent from everyone at this resort.

At check in, we were given a tour of the hotel grounds and felt very welcome with cool towels and their signature juice.

Every morning we enjoyed breakfast with fresh juice and French pressed coffee. Breakfast was always delicious and beautifully plated. We were welcomed with big smiles and the greatest service which made for a great start for the day. We also came back for their happy hour specials in the evening. David made some great cocktails!

Their private beach is beautiful and well kept. Nice chairs to lounge in with comfortable pillows to lay out on. Service was also excellent there with beach side drinks and lunch. The sand was soft and the beach just beautiful and serene.

This resort is just so beautiful. The ambiance is very chic and tastefully decorated. Housekeeping always left our room very clean and was happy to refresh for turndown service.

The front desk was very helpful with arranging dinner reservations and calling the tuk tuk for us even if we weren’t at the hotel.

I cannot speak enough about the friendliness of the staff and their willingness to go above and beyond with their warm service. You will see many groundskeepers maintaining their large gardens, it’s beautiful and you can tell they take great pride in their work.

Our travel agent Travel Theory organized us a few private tours: snorkeling, tour at Cahuita Park, as well as a private surf lesson. All guides were knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with.

We would happily recommend this hotel as a very high end luxury and romantic place in Puerto Viejo.

We loved our stay here! We felt like we had total privacy in our bungalow and the little porch was so cute to have coffee on every morning. We had a short walk to the beach and spent a lot of time there. We did the Cahuita Snorkeling tour and the Kayak/Hike tour and both were amazing. We saw tons of wildlife including sloths, howler monkeys, a shark, and a toucan! Would definitely recommend!

Aguas Claras is a soul quenching, gorgeous retreat located off Costa Rica's white sand Caribbean coastline and surrounded by lush, tropical jungle rich with wildlife. Aguas Claras is an excellent hotel choice for couples, friend retreats, and families with older children (8 years and older). It's a truly magical place that is difficult to encapsulate, so I'll try to break it down into categories.

THE HOTEL & GROUNDS
Every room/suite has its own unique style, inspired by local Caribbean design and decorated with local artisan pieces. There are individual rooms and bungalow suites along with the option to stay in a 2-bedroom, 3 -bedroom, or 5-bedroom set-up. When we were there in Apri 2023, they were just starting the construction of two new units that will have their own private pool! The beds are extremely comfortable with divine bedding and the rooms are fully equipped with everything you could possibly need and more, including a beach sling bag, chocolate body cream and lip balm, beach towels, reuseable water canteen, and lavish shampoo, conditioner, and soaps (all organic and locally sourced).

SERVICE
Extremely warm and friendly service that go out of their way to make your stay comfortable and accommodating without feeling pretentious. From the pool-side drinks, to the beachfront dining - everyone was very efficient, kind, and knowledgable.

DINING
Aguas Claras offers varying dining options using all locally sourced and organic ingredients. There's a great mix of dishes with both local and international flavors. Breakfast is included in your stay (a la carte menu) with plenty of variety and flexibility. Being able to dine down at DaLime Beach Club is a refreshing experience with warm ocean breezes, trees that provide a canopy of shade along with wildlife entertainment, and tasty dishes with refreshing cocktails.

ACTIVITIES
There is SO MUCH TO DO in the area. During our short 3-night stay we were able to 1) visit the Ara Project in Manzanillo (highly recommend), 2) kayak nearby mangroves where we saw an abundance of wildlife while enjoying shady, calm waters, 3) bike ride into town, 4) shop, 5) enjoy local chocolate, 6) snorkel directly in front of the hotel, and 7) yoga. You can easily stay a week (or longer) and enjoy national park hikes, waterfall trails, whitewater rafting, canopy zip-lining, birding, chocolate tours, indigenous medicinal tours, night walks, and much more! Alternatively, you can relax at the hotel and splurge on a spa treatment, sign-up for a yoga session, and walk the beach for miles while taking a swim in shallow tide pools along the way!

CONSERVATION & SUSTAINABILITY
Aguas Claras is part of the iconic Cayuga collection of hotels. Cayuga properties are eco-luxury boutique hotels located throughout Central America with a mission to change the way tourism impacts our world and local communities. Cayuga hotels offer guests a uniquely curated experience with all the finer details but keeping conservation and sustainability at the forefront of everything they do, from organic and locally sourced food ingredients, solar energy, recycled water, local gardens, no plastic policy, community & educational support and projects (beach clean-ups, school fundraisers, wildlife conservations, etc) and hiring and maintaining local staff, even through low seasons! Their vision and mission are incredible and the hotels are unmatched!

~Theresa, Central America Vacation

Nestled outside of downtown Puerto Viejo lies Aguas Claras. A small boutique hotel with all amenities. The site was a former multi room house/hostel that was raised to make room for the dozen or so bungalows and 6 or so suites on the property. The site while small by North American standards manages to give each guest complete privacy and comfort while still being just meters from their private beach dining and reception. The breakfast included is typical Caribbean with an American options as well.
Coffee non alcoholic and excellent cocktails are offered throughout the day. Happy hour 1:00-5:00 beach side and 4:00-7:00 at the pool Mon-Fri. The large covered yoga studio is large enough to accommodate 12+ patrons and classes are offered both individually as well as privately. It also doubles as a massage studio with privacy barriers. We used it between sessions to stretch and do some body weight HIT classes. Nestled between the bustling vibes of PV and the calmer pace of Punta Manzanillo there is an abundance of great food and plenty of excursions offered both by the hotel and outside providers. you can just grab one of the hotels banana bikes and ride to many if the many excellent public beaches and rent a kayak to tour the mangrove or hike the many well mark d trails along the coast. Aguas Claras is “the”hotel along this strip of the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Can’t wait to come again. Thanks to David, Willem, Johnny and all of the excellent staff and management of this great establishment.

A beautiful hotel perfect for relaxing and unwinding on the Caribbean coast. Bungalows were superb - really felt like home.
Yes the restaurant is expensive - but the food is tasty and tries to cater to its guests tastes while honouring local produce.
Reception staff Luis and Daniela deserve a special mention - always enthusiastic and able to help with any request!

Hotel Aguas Claras is a wonderful place. I fully recommend it for a relaxing vacation. You can do as much or as little as you want while you are here. The staff is happy to plan and suggest activities, or you can just hang on the beach.

Yes, the restaurant is expensive, but the food it top-notch, so it is worth it. There are plenty of options around if you wish to explore other dining options. They will call a car for you or provide a bike if you wish to ride elsewhere. Breakfast was very good each morning, and I suggest doing "room service" and dining on your deck so you can relax in your private oasis.

The bungalows are very close to each other, but, since there is tons of vegetation between them, you won't notice that you are just steps from another bungalow.

The beach is just a short (3 min) walk from your room, and the staff is wonderful. You can relax on the beach and enjoy drinks and lunch from DaLime. They have a restroom and outdoor shower down there as well.

Luis greeted us and made quick work of check-in and showing us all around the property and pointing out some wildlife. Our bags were on our porch before we could even get to our room.

We enjoyed 5 days here and would not hesitate to go back. We had to leave at 4 am, and the security guard came and grabbed our bags and made sure we were all set for our departure. Clearly outside of his duties, but he did it with a smile.

Book here, you will love it!

We couldn’t have any better things to say about our stay at Aquas Claras! The property is absolutely stunning and the staff was so friendly and accommodating! You can tell every detail was well thought out throughout the entire property, even down to the music! We stayed in Frutepan which was gorgeous and even had our very own private sloth viewing outside our window! It was so much fun walking down the beautiful paths to the ocean and looking for critters along the way! The food and drinks were sooo yummy and fresh!! There was really no reason to ever leave! Lol We were also really impressed with the housekeeping staff, they even leave little treats for you at night for turn down service! We made so many friends and felt really sad to leave such a beautiful place with beautiful people! We have never experienced anything like it before! We will definitely be coming back and hope to see all the same faces! :)

The Victorian Jewel of Puerto Viejo
Hotel Aguas Claras is definitely a good option if you are planning an escape to the Caribbean coast in Costa Rica. This is a Victorian architecture-style hotel mixed with the colors and vibes of the Caribbean coast.
You will find here a peaceful place, full of art and nature, with internal gardens and wellness spaces for yoga or just a minute of meditation far from the noises of the city.
The Hotel has a pool area and a beach club, which is very rare and well appreciated in this area. The beach is in a great location, private from the crowds, you just need to sit down and relax with a watermelon-ginger mojito or a pineapple-jalapeno Margarita, very friendly staff will be taking care of you while you enjoy the sun and the sea breeze, oh, if you are hungry... food will be there, and it is delicious!