Samara Hotel Recommendation: Hotel Leyenda; A Beach Hotel That Offers The Best Of Both Worlds In Samara / Carrillo

Written by Nikki Solano

Nikki is the CEO of Pura Vida! eh? Inc. (Costa Rica Discounts), and the author of the guidebooks Moon Costa Rica (2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 editions) and Moon Best of Costa Rica (2022 edition) from Moon Travel Guides. Together with her Costa Rican husband, Ricky, she operates the Costa Rica Travel Blog, created the online community DIY Costa Rica, built the Costa Rica Destination Tool, oversees the brand-new (summer 2023) Costa Rica Travel Shop, and designed the Costa Rica Trip Planning 101 E-Course. Also, Nikki wrote the Costa Rica cover feature for Wanderlust Magazine's sustainability-focused Travel Green List issue, showcased Costa Rica destinations and experiences on Rick Steves' Monday Night Travel show and podcast/radio show, and served as the Costa Rica Destination Editor for Essentialist, a luxury travel brand. Want to show your appreciation for her free article below? Thank Nikki here. ❤️️

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THE ART OF CHOOSING A COSTA RICA BEACH HOTEL (AND WHY WE’RE MORE MONET THAN PICASSO)

Choosing a Costa Rica beach hotel is a fine art; that is, according to formal definition, “an activity requiring great skill or accomplishment.” Although anyone can try it, only some are able to do it with enough focus and knowledge to produce a worthwhile outcome, and even fewer individuals have invested the time, energy, and determination required to master it.

Then again, much like all art, choosing a Costa Rica beach hotel is entirely subjective. Some travellers like to stay at beachfront accommodations in order to be within walking distance to the beach. Others prefer to stay a short drive away from the beach in order to avoid town centers (noise and congestion included) in favour of remote tranquility.

Regardless of whether you are a spunky Picasso who dares to be the center of attention in the center of it all, or a subdued Monet who would rather capture snippets of landscape scenes from a distance, there are advantages and disadvantages to each. When it comes to choosing a Costa Rica beach hotel, our personal preference is the latter. We love having access to rest, relaxation, and beauty both at public playas (“beaches”) and private properties (we encountered some of our most unexpected recommendations travelling to and from each), and nothing beats the flexibility of being able to switch back and forth between socialization in open water and hotel solitude.

HOTEL LEYENDA: A BEST OF BOTH WORLDS BEACH ACCOMMODATION

If your beach hotel preference aligns with ours, and you plan to visit Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, consider staying at Hotel Leyenda (“Legend Hotel”). It is a “best of both worlds” beach accommodation that we recommend to travellers to reap the rewards of staying at a clean, safe, quiet, and comfortable hotel with an intimate location an approximate fifteen-minute drive from everything one might need in downtown Samara, all while having access to one of Costa Rica’s most stunning (and less-visited) beaches–Playa Carrillo–less than a five-minute drive down the road. It is our go-to spot when we feel indecisive; when we want to take in the entertainment, excitement, and activity that Costa Rica’s Samara region offers, but also have a peaceful home away from home to retreat to when we call it a day.

HOTEL LEYENDA: AT THE HOTEL

Specifically, Hotel Leyenda is a superior-quality hotel with beautiful, well-kept, landscaped grounds situated along the Nicoya Peninsula’s mountainside. Lightly fragranced by a hint of the property’s Ylang Ylang tree, Ricky and I spent as much time marveling at the hotel’s gardens and relaxing by the pool as we did at the Playa Carrillo region’s namesake beach. The complimentary poolside lounge chairs were simply too inviting to leave, and the hotel’s fruity welcome cocktail that guests receive upon check-in aided in our laziness. It, together with the friendly front desk staff, welcomed us to paradise.

At the hotel, a variety of room types (including standard, superior, suite, and honeymoon) are packed with amenities including private baths with hot water, air conditioning, televisions, small refrigerators, mini-bars, safes, and two sets of towels–one for washing and the other for use at the beach. But beyond these features, Hotel Leyenda offers benefits that are not always commonplace elsewhere; for one, a thorough yet discrete surveillance system. We spotted small cameras inconspicuously hidden in the palm trees that overlook the property and noted others outside of the hotel’s perimeter aimed at its onsite parking lot. With such security measures in place, it is no wonder why the hotel is a great spot for families travelling with young children, however the onsite children’s pool (separate from the adults’ pool), the playground set, the trampoline, and the abundance of hammocks each add to its appeal in that regard.

Hotel Leyenda also offers a four-bedroom vacation villa with a visitor capacity of sixteen. And, if we are being honest, we have already begun brainstorming plans for its use for our own personal family reunion. Housing a kitchen, seating area, laundry, and private pool onsite, we can imagine our family making memories touring the Nicoya Peninsula, shopping in and exploring downtown Samara, swimming in the Pacific Ocean at Playa Carrillo, and winding down the evening “at home” at the villa. What we envision is perfect for our family. Perhaps it would be equally fitting for yours.

HOTEL LEYENDA: AT THE BEACH

Future travel plans aside, what we loved the most upon our recent visit to Hotel Leyenda was testing out the hotel’s complimentary beach services. Beyond offering its guests a free hotel-to-beach (and vice versa) shuttle service, Hotel Leyenda supplies its guests with access to a trailer parked at Playa Carrillo. Nicknamed the “super trailer” and accessible only to those with a Hotel Leyenda bracelet, the beach staple provides guests with the use of bathrooms, showers, beach chairs, beach tables, and hammocks for free. In addition, guests may order food from Hotel Leyenda’s restaurant menu to be delivered to them at the beach. Considering the fact that dining options are nonexistent at Playa Carrillo (apart from the occasional copos or pipa fria salesman), Hotel Leyenda’s brilliant idea to provide beach-goers with a restaurant on wheels is “super” indeed.

All in all, our time spent at Hotel Leyenda was fulfilling; we were able to experience a lot in the region via travel to and from the hotel, and also treat ourselves to the act of doing very little. We did take one giant leap closer to perfecting the art of choosing a Costa Rica beach hotel, however, as our bar has been raised with respect to what travellers should expect from a superior beach accommodation; we managed to uncover another one of Costa Rica’s gems that deserves to get noticed, and develop a new recommendation that we are happy to pass on to travellers who are looking for a hotel that is exactly what Hotel Leyenda claims to be: legendary.

MAP OF HOTEL LEYENDA

QUESTION TO COMMENT ON: Have you stayed at Hotel Leyenda? What did you think of your visit?

Pura vida!

If you’re more of a visual learner, take a moment to view our gallery photos below from our most recent visit to Hotel Leyenda.

Samara Hotel Recommendation: Hotel Leyenda; A Beach Hotel That Offers The Best Of Both Worlds In Samara / Carrillo

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