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The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel

4.0 star property

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Photo gallery for The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel

Poolside bar
Reception
PREMIUM 2 QUEEN BEDS | Frette Italian sheets, premium bedding, minibar, in-room safe
Reception
Restaurant

Reviews

9.8 out of 10
Exceptional

Popular amenities

  • Bar
  • Gym
  • Pool
  • 24/7 front desk
  • Room service

Explore the area

Map
Playa Guiones, Nosara
  • Frog Pad
    ‪2 min walk‬
  • Playa Pelada
    ‪9 min walk‬
  • Nosara Beach
  • Nosara (NOB)
    ‪7 min drive‬

Room options

View all photos for Standard Double Room

Rainfall showerhead, free toiletries, hair dryer, slippers

Standard Double Room

  • 377 sq ft
  • Sleeps 2
  • 2 Double Beds

View all photos for Surf Suite

Surf Suite | Frette Italian sheets, premium bedding, minibar, in-room safe

Surf Suite

  • 87 sq ft
  • Sleeps 6
  • 1 Queen Bed and 4 Twin Beds

View all photos for PREMIUM 1 KING BED

PREMIUM 1 KING BED | Frette Italian sheets, premium bedding, minibar, in-room safe

PREMIUM 1 KING BED

  • 560 sq ft
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 King Bed

View all photos for PREMIUM 2 QUEEN BEDS

PREMIUM 2 QUEEN BEDS | Frette Italian sheets, premium bedding, minibar, in-room safe

PREMIUM 2 QUEEN BEDS

  • 560 sq ft
  • Sleeps 4
  • 2 Queen Beds

View all photos for PREMIUM PLUS 2 QUEEN BEDS

PREMIUM PLUS 2 QUEEN BEDS | Frette Italian sheets, premium bedding, minibar, in-room safe

PREMIUM PLUS 2 QUEEN BEDS

  • 602 sq ft
  • Sleeps 4
  • 2 Queen Beds

View all photos for Standard Room

Standard Room | Frette Italian sheets, premium bedding, minibar, in-room safe

Standard Room

  • 376 sq ft
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for PREMIUM PLUS 1 KING BED

PREMIUM PLUS 1 KING BED | Frette Italian sheets, premium bedding, minibar, in-room safe

PREMIUM PLUS 1 KING BED

  • 602 sq ft
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 King Bed

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About this property

The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel

4-star Nosara hotel steps from Frog Pad
Catch some rays at the nearby beach, pamper yourself at The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel's full-service spa, or enjoy surfing/body boarding.
The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel offers 29 accommodations with minibars and safes. Beds feature Frette Italian sheets and premium bedding. Guests can surf the web using the complimentary wired and wireless Internet access.

Bathrooms include rainfall showerheads, slippers, complimentary toiletries, and hair dryers. Business-friendly amenities include desks and phones; local and international calls are complimentary (restrictions may apply). Additionally, rooms include coffee/tea makers and ceiling fans. Housekeeping is offered daily and irons/ironing boards can be requested.

An outdoor pool and a children's pool are on site. Other recreational amenities include a fitness center.

The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.

The onsite spa has 2 treatment rooms including rooms for couples and outdoor treatment areas. Services include facials, body wraps, body scrubs, and body treatments. A variety of treatment therapies are provided, including aromatherapy and reflexology. The spa is open daily.
In addition to a full-service spa, The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel features an outdoor pool and a fitness center. Dining options at the hotel include a restaurant and a snack bar/deli. Guests can unwind with a drink at one of the hotel's bars, which include a poolside bar and a bar/lounge. Guests can enjoy a complimentary breakfast each morning. Public areas are equipped with complimentary wired and wireless Internet access.

Event facilities measuring 915 square feet (85 square meters) include a conference center. This beach hotel also offers a children's pool, a terrace, and multilingual staff. For a surcharge, the property provides an airport shuttle (available 24 hours) and an area shuttle. Onsite self parking is complimentary.

The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel is a smoke-free property.

A complimentary continental breakfast is served each morning between 7:00 AM and 10 AM.
The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel has a restaurant on site.
Late night fare is available from room service (during limited hours).

Languages

English, Spanish

Property amenities

Internet

  • Available in all rooms: Free WiFi and wired internet
  • Available in some public areas: Free WiFi and wired internet

Parking and transportation

  • 24-hour roundtrip airport shuttle (surcharge)
  • Area shuttle (surcharge)
  • Free self parking on site

Food and drink

  • Free continental breakfast available daily 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM
  • A bar/lounge
  • A poolside bar
  • A restaurant
  • Snack bar/deli

Things to do

  • Children's pool
  • Ecotours
  • Free bicycle rentals
  • Full-service spa
  • Gym
  • Outdoor pool
  • Surfing/bodyboarding
  • TV in common areas
  • Yoga classes

Family friendly

  • Children's pool
  • Free supervised activities for children
  • Laundry facilities
  • Outdoor pool
  • Snack bar/deli
  • Soundproofed rooms

Conveniences

  • 24-hour front desk
  • Gift shop/newsstand
  • Laundry facilities
  • Luggage storage
  • Safe at front desk

Guest services

  • Concierge services
  • Dry cleaning/laundry service
  • Housekeeping (daily)
  • Multilingual staff
  • Tour and ticket assistance
  • Wedding services

Business services

  • Conference center (915 square feet of space)
  • Meeting rooms

Outdoors

  • Beach towels
  • Garden
  • Pool loungers
  • Pool umbrellas
  • Terrace

Full-service spa

  • 2 treatment rooms
  • Aromatherapy
  • Body scrubs
  • Body wraps
  • Couples treatment rooms
  • Facials
  • Massage
  • Outdoor treatment areas
  • Reflexology
  • Spa open daily

Accessibility

  • If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please contact the property using the information on the reservation confirmation received after booking.
  • Accessible airport shuttle
  • No elevator
  • Stair-free path to entrance
  • Wheelchair accessible (may have limitations)
  • Wheelchair-accessible pool
  • Wheelchair-accessible restaurant

More

  • 2 floors
  • Built in 2018
  • Mosquito nets
  • Reception hall
  • Smoke-free property

Room amenities

Bedroom

  • Blackout drapes
  • Frette Italian sheets

Bathroom

  • Free toiletries
  • Hair dryer
  • Private bathroom
  • Rainfall showerhead
  • Slippers
  • Toothbrush and toothpaste (on request)
  • Towels provided

Food and drink

  • Coffee/tea maker
  • Electric kettle
  • Late-night room service
  • Minibar

More

  • Air conditioning (climate-controlled)
  • Ceiling fan
  • Connecting rooms available
  • Desk
  • Free international calls
  • Free local calls
  • Iron/ironing board on request
  • Phone
  • Safe
  • Soundproofed rooms

Policies

Check-in

Check-in start time: 3:00 PM; Check-in end time: midnight
Minimum check-in age: 18

Check-out

Check-out before noon
Contactless check-out available

Special check-in instructions

This property offers transfers from the airport (surcharges may apply); to arrange pick-up, guests must contact the property 72 hours prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation
Front desk staff will greet guests on arrival at the property

Access methods

Staffed front desk

Pets

Pets not allowed (service animals are welcome, and are exempt from fees)

Children and extra beds

Children are welcome
Rollaway/extra beds are available for USD 75.0 per day
Cribs (infant beds) are available for USD 20.0 per night

Property payment types

Important information

Optional extras

  • Airport shuttle fee: USD 180.00 per vehicle (one-way, maximum occupancy 4)
  • Crib (infant bed) fee: USD 20.0 per night
  • Rollaway bed fee: USD 75.0 per day

The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit cards; cash is not accepted
This property reserves the right to pre-authorize the guest's credit card prior to arrival.
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector, a security system, and a first aid kit

We should mention

This property does not have elevators
Reservations are required for massage services and spa treatments; reservations can be made by contacting the property prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation
The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation

Property is also known as

Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel Nosara
Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel
Gilded Iguana Surf Nosara
Gilded Iguana Surf
The Gilded Iguana Surf
The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel Hotel
The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel Nosara
The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel Hotel Nosara

The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel Reviews

Reviews

9.8

Exceptional

Rating 10 - Excellent. 323 out of 353 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 20 out of 353 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 1 out of 353 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 6 out of 353 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 3 out of 353 reviews

10/10

Cleanliness

9.8/10

Staff & service

9.6/10

Amenities

9.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

9.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Diane

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 8 nights in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

Sally

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful hotel.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2024

10/10 Excellent

Azat

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
excellent!!!
Stayed 5 nights in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

Daniel

Stayed 8 nights in Feb 2025

10/10 Excellent

Tracy, Castle Rock

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Amazing all around!! Loved every minute I was there.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2025

8/10 Good

Amanda

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The hotel was in a great location and very nice. We enjoyed the included breakfast, the walkability to the beach, shops and restaurants. The staff were very kind and available to help. The gym is only accessible by reservation and only allows 5 people per hour. And we weren’t able to use the yoga room for our own practice on Sunday because it was closed. We felt like we were on someone else’s schedule trying to fit things in. The pool area is beautiful but didn’t seem big enough given how many people were using it. And there were a lot of kids which made the pool area loud and not very relaxing for us. Overall we would recommend this hotel.
Stayed 4 nights in Feb 2025

10/10 Excellent

Sheree

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Feb 2025

10/10 Excellent

Dawn

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2025

10/10 Excellent

Michele, Portland

Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2025

10/10 Excellent

Scott

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities

8/10 Good

Alexa

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Pros We had an excellent stay at the Gilded Iguana. Staff were very helpful and helped us book surf lessons and board rentals as well as a turtle hatching tour at Ostinal. Our room was really nice and clean and all the facilities were beautiful. The restaurant was great and had good food and drinks. The breakfast was more than what you would expect for an inclusive breakfast. I will say there was not a lot of vegan options for breakfast but I was able to easily make changes with the serving staff to accommodate this. Cons The street was under construction and it took us forever to find a way to get to the hotel driving around at night with bad road conditions after a long day of travel. It would have been nice if the hotel had messaged us in advance to let us know about the construction and help us with directions. There is not a lot of parking available at the hotel. We ended up having to park on the street which would have been fine except the street is under construction and in the morning large aggregate trucks were driving past which were dropping rocks. Thankfully we didn’t have any damage. We booked this room for our honeymoon and I accidentally booked a room with two double beds. I totally get this was my mistake but I did specify it was our honeymoon and it would have been nice to be moved to a king room. That being said the staff left us a dessert and kind note to congratulate us. Overall would recommend, excellent stay!
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2024

10/10 Excellent

Vishal

Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2024

10/10 Excellent

Chris, Philadelphia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 5 nights in Nov 2024

10/10 Excellent

terry

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The Gilded Iguana was a wonderful resort. Staff were friendly and very helpful connecting us with amazing restaurants and experiences in the area. Specifically Coyol Restaurant and Huacas Restaurant provided amazing world class food AND beautiful vistas of both sunsets and the Costa Rican Mountains. A great, relaxing stay
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2024

10/10 Excellent

Rhonda Marie, North Hampton

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The room was beautiful. Wonderful bathroom. Great housekeeping and concierge’s service. 5 stars to Francisco and yoga instructor Juliana.
Stayed 7 nights in Nov 2024

10/10 Excellent

Adam

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2024

10/10 Excellent

John

Stayed 6 nights in Nov 2024

10/10 Excellent

Karen

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful location

10/10 Excellent

Danielle Celine

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very kind staff and amazing food!
Stayed 4 nights in Nov 2024

10/10 Excellent

Timothy

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The perfect place to stay! I’ve been visiting Nosara for year, and will keep coming back to the Guilded Iguana!
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2024

10/10 Excellent

Lorine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
5 Star property and service. Beautiful and peaceful. Walkable to beach, shops and restaurants Highly recommend
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2024

10/10 Excellent

Katherine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2024

10/10 Excellent

Edna

Traveled with group, Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Slick Tile.

We had a great stay. Only problem was the slick tile which got wet from the humidity.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2024

10/10 Excellent

Christophe

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2024

4/10 Poor

Jeramie

Liked: Property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service, amenities
Wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. It was a joke being waited on by the restaurant staff. The food was awful and it would take the servers 5-10 mins to talk to you then another 5-10 for a drink when there was no one in the restaurant. I got hives from their soap. I asked to check out early and they blamed Orbitz. Orbitz said they would refund any amount that the hotel would give. I left 3 days early after I was rudely turned away from coffee 5 mins after the “breakfast” was served. Won’t be returning to that hotel, but I did enjoy Nosara.
Stayed 14 nights in Aug 2024