Layan Hotel & Spa

The hotel has THE BEST VIEW but the installations are a bit old and when we arrived we were told that they were remodeling therefore we could not use the pool and restaurant. The hotel did resolve on that by giving us access to the hotel next door but I wish I was told about this in advance. The staff was nice and very friendly.

This hotel was nice but way too far. The staff was really nice. The name of the hotel was changed and we were not notified of the change so we got lost for a bit. Luckily we asked another hotel where our hotel was and it happened to be their sister hotel so we were immediately assisted.

WARNING!!!!! If you are a planner, DO NOT book this place on ***********! I am a mega planner! This was a special birthday trip for myself with my family and two kids. I made the reservations in September for February. And they were sketchy to begin with. They said they needed me to input my credit card again . It was successful 6 months earlier. So a credit card that has no reason it wouldn’t work! I received a message that the credit card was updated successfully and the hotel cancelled on me two days before my reservation! Not worth the hassle. They were difficult to reach but even more difficult when I have limited internet access in Costa Rica! They also made me hate ***********. They blamed *********** but I’m pretty sure that’s a farce. Ruined two perfectly good vacation days trying to figure out how to get a room. They said they would find me a comparable place. If it’s true, I will revise this review, if not, I’ll come back again and also message *********** when I get home to figure out who the actual service responsible is. And update you. In the meantime, do NOT book this place. Absolutely NOT! Super shady!!! Don’t ruin your vacation. It’s the opposite of Pura Vida and in fact is ruining my Costa Rica experience.

Wonderful views from our room balconies, but even more fun to still around the swim up bar and look out over the Manuel Antonio bay. Just wonderful views from the pool area , down the mountain side to the water 1/2 mile below. It’s an easy taxi ride to where ever you want to go, On-site food was good enough to keep us on property, we could easily have gone elsewhere but the experience of eating onsite and the views off the dining area kept us eating in 3/4 of the time, kitchen staff was great , we had a tree nut allergy person and didn’t have any issues , after having the chance to see a number of other properties during our visit, some were more upscale and fancy , but they lacked the everywhere views of the water at Oceans Two We will be back !

We stayed in Oceans Two for 12 nights after getting a good rate through the ******* website. The hotel describes itself as a “Boutique Hotel” with a four star rating and in my opinion both the description and rating is misleading. However let's start with the positives; the hotel is well situated overlooking Manuel Antonio National Park with fantastic views, especially from its sky terrace. It is fairly easy to get to the beautiful Biesanz Beach via the path in the grounds of the sister hotel “Shana by the Beach”. Shana’s path is less steep and slippery than the public path and Oceans Two will take you to the top of the path in a golf cart if you request it. There are also a number of good restaurants within walking distance of Oceans Two, but be aware Manuel Antonio is very hilly and the road up the hill to the restaurants is very steep! Also be sure to carry a torch/flashlight if walking the road at night so you can be seen by the drivers of vehicles using the road (there are no pavements/sidewalks). Another positive of the hotel is the friendly staff, especially Ada and Jorge and nothing was too much trouble for them. So why do I say the hotel doesn’t deserve its boutique/four star rating? The hotel décor is dated and tired, the reception is dark with a mish mash of furniture, art and strange slogans. The pool is small and the pool toilets were closed. The lovely sky terrace has tables, chairs and sunbeds, but absolutely no shade! Our “Superior Room” was comfortable enough, but the bathroom was in need of redecoration, had a cheap plastic toilet seat, the shower was not of the quality you’d expect and the hot water failed on at least four occasions during our visit, the keycard system rejected one of our two keys at some point every single day of our stay requiring a trip to reception the have them reprogrammed. The room lacked sufficient storage, with nowhere to stow suitcases. The leather couch was old and really uncomfortable and the TV/entertainment system difficult to operate. The air conditioning worked well, the room had a decent sized fridge and a mini kitchenette, which a small coffee machine, but their were no free coffee pods so each coffee was charged at $2. The room has a decent sized balcony with a polycarbonate roof and two table and chairs. The roof had been repaired in one place, but with corrugated iron, which again is not in keeping with a four star hotel. They are building two luxury villas opposite the hotel, whilst I realise the hotel has no control over this it does spoil the view a bit and reduced privacy on the balcony and probably reduced the amount of wildlife around, although we did see plenty. My main criticism of the hotel is that it currently has no open restaurant or bar. You could order food from Shana by the Beach and have it brought up in a golf cart and Breakfast was taken at Shana each morning. The pool bar was supposedly open but we never saw it attended. Our friend Jorge got the key

Fabulous place! Nice rooms with a view. Swim up pool bar was great! The breakfast was delicious. The staff were top notch. They went above and beyond to make our stay wonderful. The location is also very good, many restaurants near by. Also, close to the park & beach.