Twenty years is a long time, and things change. Manuel Antonio is now built-up. La Mariposa, once alone in the jungle, is surrounded by restaurants, hotels, and clubs. La Mariposa was discovered, and the hotel found a need to continue to add rooms and buildings. Today, the little hotel has outgrown itself and even feels a bit crowded and packed into a small space of land.

My room was in the older section and down a long tile stairway. One night we had massive rains, and the path to my room was poorly lit and extremely slippery. This would not be a good fit for someone elderly or who had trouble walking. My room was large, but sparse. The furniture was handcrafted wood furniture, and it was interesting, but very uncomfortable. They needed cushions or pillows to make it a more comfortable. My king-size bed was two doubles held together by a top sheet. When you rolled in the middle, the beds pulled apart and you found yourself on the floor. The sheets and towels were low quality and paper thin. Overall, I was very disappointed with the quality of the room. It was in desperate need of renovation. I did see some of the newer rooms, and they were much nicer.

The one complaint I did not have with my room was the view. I am a sucker for a good view, and I can forgive a lot. My view looked out to sea, and I could see a little island. In the morning, monkeys chattered in the trees outside my room, iguanas roamed, and colorful butterflies were everywhere.

The hotel has two pools, but both were very small and not heated. They were too cold to swim in, although a few people were in them. The hotel does have computers off the restaurant to check email. The grounds are beautifully maintained and very tropical. They have a small parking lot that is often full. If you are unlucky, you will have park down the road, which is dark and muddy, and it did not feel very secure.

Overall, I think the popularity of La Mariposa has hurt it. It's grown too fast, has not kept up with the growth, and has grown beyond what would keep it quaint. I also feel the older sections are in desperate need of renovation.

After checking in, we were led to the room by the assistant manager. The room was very large, and it could have actually been divided into two comfortable rooms if they had wanted to. It had a king bed, a small table with a couple of chairs, a couch and a desk. It was very cool and clean, painted in bright yellows and light blues, and it had a balcony overlooking the park. We spent several hours there just lying on the hammock or sitting on a chair reading and enjoying the view. One word of caution: rooms have no TV, since "people don’t come here to watch TV, they watch the view". Only two or three rooms in the main building, which don’t have an ocean view, have TVs. Air-conditioning worked very well.

The hotel’s gardens are very well-manicured, and walking through them, you get to the hotel’s pools, one of them a small infinity pool next to the bar, and then to the open-air restaurant on the opposite side of the lobby. We didn’t eat at the restaurant, except for breakfast. They have a very nice buffet, combining breads, eggs, and typical Western breakfast fare with local favorites such as gallo pinto, rice, and red beans, usually served with a fried egg on top.

All in all, we enjoyed our stay very much. The hotel has a wonderful view, is close to many restaurants, the rooms are large and comfortable, and service was outstanding.