Hotel Royal Limon in Costa Rica: Don't Go!

I stayed here two nights, for a weekend trip to Limon and Puerto Viejo.

First, the good: I had a wonderful breakfast here as part of my stay. Also, the owner was very enthusiastic and encouraged me to consider this my home.

Now the bad: I could never consider the Hotel Royal Limon for anything -- my home or otherwise.

My first indication that something was amiss was the fact that I couldn't find the place, and no one on the street seemed to know where it was. Then a very kind Tico used his cell phone to call the hotel, and it turns out they've changed names -- they are now the Hotel Puerto. Nice of them to let me know!

Finally I found it (after an hour of searching, asking people on the street multiple times, taking a taxi, and searching some more). They were very effusive on check-in and I was mollified.

Then I saw the room: Disgusting. That's really the only word for it. Filth on the walls, stains on the sheets, a rickety table in the corner.

My favorite part: the bathroom. I don't know which was worse, the electric ("suicide") shower or the cockroach running around in it. Needless to say, I "showered" in the sink throughout my stay.

The room STANK. They used some sort of horrific cleanser and the stench never went away.

To top it off, on my last night there, the hotel hosted some sort of loud party, complete with fireworks going off right next to the hotel. Clearly the Hotel Royal Limon cares more about making money than about its guests enjoying a good night's sleep.

I am NOT a picky hotel guest. I am a seasoned budget traveler who is willing to put up with fewer luxuries for a better price. But for $59/night (including a $2 "trips and excursions" fee -- I have no idea what that's all about), I expect a certain standard. The Hotel Royal Limon came nowhere near that standard.

Furthermore, I wouldn't recommend that travelers make the same mistake I did -- don't stay in Limon. Though it is an interesting, exhuberant town with kind-seeming people, it feels a little sketchy and offers little in the way of tourist attractions. However, if you do choose to stay there, do yourself a favor and pass up the Hotel Royal Limon.