Karao - Guancaste Airport

We arrived "after hours" at the hotel, around 7:30PM. Instructions had been emailed about the keybox code to get the keys to our room. The keybox resides on the outside of the building, next to the front door. There were multiple sets of room keys in the box, but no communication had been made about which room was ours. We called the number posted, but were unable to get through to anyone. The front door to the hotel was not locked, allowing anyone access. The available parking ensures that your vehicle is visible and easily accessible from Ruta Nacional Primera 21, which is a busy road. After exploring a couple of different room options, with the multiple sets of keys, we went up to our room. The room was clean and the air conditioning worked, but the Wifi signal did not carry into the room, and there was no hot water.

Looked nothing like the pics, old and run down, no elevator.

Pros: Excellent option if you have a flight the following morning out of Liberia. Airport is 5 minutes away. The reception closes at 6pm but they provide excellent instructions for self check in. Rooms are big, comfortable, have a refrigerator, AC, fans, good wifi and are priced very reasonable considering the distance to airport. The restaurant on premise looks good but didn’t get to try it as we had a very early flight. Good communications from host. Easy free parking, very clise to airport, clean and comfortable bed. Cons: no elevator, we had a room in fourth floor so had to go up 4-5 flights of stairs. Wasn’t a problem for us, but depending on your physical limitations and amount of luggage it could be challenging for some. If you need a first or second floor room send them a request. There is also some road traffic noise, but quiets down by 10-11pm. I used ear plugs and not a problem.

I liked that the hotel was away from the busy town and had a cute cafe. I used to stop by for my favourite ice coffee but they didn't have the ice coconut coffee anymore and the furniture and decor has been less appealing. The three flights of stairs was kind of a bother, especially if you have a few heavy luggage and you have to make a few trips. I had a hard time getting out of my room because the door knob came off, minor fix but for someone else it might be a big problem for their security. Breakfast was included but was mediocre. Taxi was over 12000 colones, 24 USD for a five minute ride. Nice driver but too expensive.

The room was spacious and clean. Came with a mini fridge and extra fan. There were very few amenities.

This property has rooms that are 4 floors up, I think all of the rooms are on the 2nd floor or above so don't pick this if you have any mobility issues. The power went out twice while staying there, the internet shut down, the room didn't look like the photos

A lot of road noise. Asked about this before checking in and they said rooms are at the back and not a lot of road noise but the rooms are not at all quiet. No one on-site after 5p. Many stairs and no one to assist you. No where to eat in the evening. Room had no amenities like shampoo. Not great value for money.

Rua barulhenta com motos e caminhões na rodovia, entrei sem ver mais ninguém no prédio inteiro absolutamente deserto, a entrada do prédio era uma bem precária sem luz, uma tranca e só. O carro fica na rua descoberto sem ninguém por perto na frente da rodovia . O quarto era bom pelo espaço, pia , cadeira e cama grande com ar condicionado. Porém o chuveiro quase pifou.

Door locks not working AC is not cold, no water at 7;30 pm when about to go shower,no Tv at all, iced cost 5 $ a small bowl, no elevator ..no night staff overpriced at all…

We stayed in the room that was several flights up and there's no elevator so there may be accessiblity issues. However, it's very convenient because the property is on the main road in Liberia so less than 10 mins from the airport and there's a shopping center that's walkable. It's perfect for a short term stay. Karina is a wonderful host and the food at the restaurant is delicious.

Upon arrival there were many bugs in our room. It was very unsettling to sleep. The property manager did respond with a partial refund for the inconvenience.

This is a small motel. The room was basic and large, clean and had air conditioning. The bed was very comfortable and the bedding crisp. There is a nice cafe on the first floor of the motel and the food was delicious. The staff were very helpful and helped me arrange transportation from and back to the airport. Questions were responded to promptly. Areas for improvement I didn’t see any fire alarms and would have expected to see them in a motel or hotel. Also I was there during ant season and I did see many ants in the shower. There weren’t any bugs in the main bedroom.

Room was very clean. Hotel is in the process of renovations and is no frills. Pictures are accurate. Bed was the best we have had in the 2 weeks we've been in Costa Rica. Coffee downstairs was also the best we've had in Costa Rica.

Wonderful staff. A touch noisy but as to be expected on the highway. Overall we needed a clean safe place to stay beside the airport and it was more than fine.

The place over whole is ok looking very clean, however the sheet were old and seems dirty there was hair from previous travellers we had to sleep on the towels , the place has lots of potential. Location is very good to airport and staff were very attentive to open the place , don’t worry once you there it’s easy to access.

The rooms were nice looking and the attendant was helpful, but overall we regret staying here. The rooms were so hot we couldn't sleep until 2 am, as the AC took that long to cool the room. And there was so much noise. The plumbing made really loud noises all throughout the night. There were upper windows with no window coverings, right next to a light post, so the rooms were quite bright. There were several red ants in the room. I would recommend spending the extra $100 and trying the airport hotels.

Actually for the price we were pretty happy with this property. It was clean, the AC worked great and it is close to the airport. Those were our main criteria. We checked in after 6:00 pm and the property was a little difficult to get into. The water was luke warm and the wifi was so weak we couldn’t stay connected. The room was very basic but what can you expect for this price? We’d stay here again just for coming and going.

The room was spacious and clean. Came with a mini fridge and extra fan. There were very few amenities.

Pesima experiencia, el lugar bastante sucio, llegue al lugar y la dueña me dijo que se tenia que ir y que me encargaba el lugar. el estacionamiento es casi que en la calle principal, las imagenes de la habitacion se ven totalmente diferentes a lo que es el hospedaje en realidad.

Small, locally operated place to stay near LIR. Hospitable staff, clean comfortable rooms, excellent food.

We arrived "after hours" at the hotel, around 7:30PM. Instructions had been emailed about the keybox code to get the keys to our room. The keybox resides on the outside of the building, next to the front door. There were multiple sets of room keys in the box, but no communication had been made about which room was ours. We called the number posted, but were unable to get through to anyone. The front door to the hotel was not locked, allowing anyone access. The available parking ensures that your vehicle is visible and easily accessible from Ruta Nacional Primera 21, which is a busy road. After exploring a couple of different room options, with the multiple sets of keys, we went up to our room. The room was clean and the air conditioning worked, but the Wifi signal did not carry into the room, and there was no hot water.

It is very small building by the highway. Terrible sound of car and trucks passing by deprives travelers from sleeping.

The rooms were nice looking and the attendant was helpful, but overall we regret staying here. The rooms were so hot we couldn't sleep until 2 am, as the AC took that long to cool the room. And there was so much noise. The plumbing made really loud noises all throughout the night. There were upper windows with no window coverings, right next to a light post, so the rooms were quite bright. There were several red ants in the room. I would recommend spending the extra $100 and trying the airport hotels.

Actually for the price we were pretty happy with this property. It was clean, the AC worked great and it is close to the airport. Those were our main criteria. We checked in after 6:00 pm and the property was a little difficult to get into. The water was luke warm and the wifi was so weak we couldn’t stay connected. The room was very basic but what can you expect for this price? We’d stay here again just for coming and going.

The room was spacious and clean. Came with a mini fridge and extra fan. There were very few amenities.

Nice people but no wifi and it’s right on a busy road. Not worth close the ask .

Basic room, this is not our first stay here. The price is right for an overnight stay and only 7 min. drive to LIR. The shower plumbing issue is always an issue and the pillows need to be updated. The AC unit takes forever to cool the room. Thankfully, the barking dogs next door get locked up at sunset.

The staff is great! Smooth check-in. The AC never seems to get very cool. That is my only complaint. Karao is a convenient, hospitable place to stay! Thank you…ciao, until next time!

Location to the Liberia airport cannot be beat. AC will take HOURS to get the room down to a reasonable temperature if outside temperature is above 85. Great amount of space to repack bags for early flights.

The room didn’t have running water when we arrived. All the power outlets did not work. Overall big spacious space.

We arrived "after hours" at the hotel, around 7:30PM. Instructions had been emailed about the keybox code to get the keys to our room. The keybox resides on the outside of the building, next to the front door. There were multiple sets of room keys in the box, but no communication had been made about which room was ours. We called the number posted, but were unable to get through to anyone. The front door to the hotel was not locked, allowing anyone access. The available parking ensures that your vehicle is visible and easily accessible from Ruta Nacional Primera 21, which is a busy road. After exploring a couple of different room options, with the multiple sets of keys, we went up to our room. The room was clean and the air conditioning worked, but the Wifi signal did not carry into the room, and there was no hot water.

Easy! Clean! Great staff! Not busy! Great when you have to take a flight in the morning

Stay was short and sweet. Arrived late and key was easy to get to in the lock box. Was out before anyone showed up and left key in the lockbox. Nothing fancy, but a great place to shack up for an early flight. Shuttle arranged and showed up early.

We stayed one night — it’s a great stopover for the airport. The staff is professional and friendly; very helpful. Most everyone speaks English and Spanish. The coffee and breakfast are outstanding!

It was hard to find. Sketchy internet. No one there at 7:30. Building locked. Lock box code not given. Other guests had to help me get in my room.

My wife and I stayed here for one night before catching an early flight out of Liberia. A bit different checking in as there was no front desk, you go to the coffee shop and they contact the manager/owner. The staff were excellent - very friendly and accommodating. The lunch we had at the coffee shop was excellent, banana bread french toast with fruit...mouth watering. A short walk to get to a market to pick up some last minute souvenirs was handy, although, be careful as its along a busy highway with no sidewalk. The room was large with only a bed, couch, sink and bathroom in it. Air conditioning worked well, no tv. but for us that wasn't an issue. Wi-fi was very spotty up in the room, sat on the stairs outside of the room to access it. Later the wi-fi went out completely but this seemed to be an issue in the area, not just this hotel. Transportation in the morning was arranged for 5:30 am. The coffee shop wasn't open yet so there was no one around. The night before we were given a crash course on how to unlock the gated doors and how to lock up when we left. Also given a boxed breakfast of fruit cup, slice of banana bread and a wrap but since there was no fridge the wrap got very hard and we didnt eat it. The cab was a bit late so it caused a bit of concern at that hour when no one is around and there is no taxi but he showed up and all was good.

Wonderful staff. A touch noisy but as to be expected on the highway. Overall we needed a clean safe place to stay beside the airport and it was more than fine.

Too isolated. If anything was to happen or you have a question, you are alone. We spoke to the Manager about arranging a cab to the airport at 5:30am. She assured us she would arrange with 'their most reliable driver' we would be picked up outside the hotel. Spoke 2X to her about it. At 5:45am we were still standing outside in the dark waiting for our cab. She did not respond to our WhatsApp message. By 6:00am we were asking anyone who walked by the hotel to help us and call us a cab. We were the last people to check-in for our flight. Bed was comfortable. Dogs in adjacent property bark all day and night. Room was clean. Hotel is 'under construction'.

We got at the property at the expected time, 17:00 as our plane was on time. The lodge was closed and no one expecting us. The employee of the restaurant, who had finished his work called the owner of the place. She said that she was transfering us to a different place and that she would pay the taxi. We got to the other place 3 hours later… the other place was much nicer. The owner had written to us while we were on the airplane. Since there were no place to buy a sim card at the airport, we didn’t get the email. From what I saw of the place, the place didn’t seem to be adequat to receive customers. This place should not be on Expedia.

We got multiple auto messages confirming our stay with check-in instructions and one message canceling our stay last minute and we arrived during a storm with no place to stay and all other surrounding hotels were fully booked. You should have called or stopped sending confirmation messages once you canceled. When your traveling in a country with spotty service it’s easy to overlook a single email among many canceling. You really left us vulnerable during a stressful travel time with a young child after a very long day of travel.

Muy alejado de todo. No hay lobby entonces nadie te da soporte

Convenient, clean and comfortable. Great for a quick stay near the airport

Very close to Liberia Airport, simple room, clean. Was a little noisy with the highway but ok.

Wonderful staff. A touch noisy but as to be expected on the highway. Overall we needed a clean safe place to stay beside the airport and it was more than fine.

Pros: Excellent option if you have a flight the following morning out of Liberia. Airport is 5 minutes away. The reception closes at 6pm but they provide excellent instructions for self check in. Rooms are big, comfortable, have a refrigerator, AC, fans, good wifi and are priced very reasonable considering the distance to airport. The restaurant on premise looks good but didn’t get to try it as we had a very early flight. Good communications from host. Easy free parking, very clise to airport, clean and comfortable bed. Cons: no elevator, we had a room in fourth floor so had to go up 4-5 flights of stairs. Wasn’t a problem for us, but depending on your physical limitations and amount of luggage it could be challenging for some. If you need a first or second floor room send them a request. There is also some road traffic noise, but quiets down by 10-11pm. I used ear plugs and not a problem.

This hotel was ok but no dinner/drinks in the cafe, I almost missed my flight because the hotel arranged the taxi and got the time wrong. You can’t get a taxi, Uber or DiDi at 4:30 am. No front desk to help you deal w issues.

Sehr gut gelegen bei später Landung oder frühem Abflug von Liberia. Sehr freundliche Vermieterin, hat sich viel Zeit für uns genommen, uns spontan eine lokale Tour durch den Ort gegeben. Das Frühstück war exzellent, das Bett komfortabel. Lagebedingt ist ab 6am Verkehrslärm zu hören. Wir kommen gerne wieder.

The place felt safe, staff were friendly and the room was very clean, properly equiped. Only negatives were the loud noises coming from the highway right in front and the fact that nothing is really walkable from there, you have to have a car or call a taxi. But for a night just before going to the airport it was great!

Easy to find off the main road and close to the airport and car rental companies, which was a plus.

Location to the Liberia airport cannot be beat. AC will take HOURS to get the room down to a reasonable temperature if outside temperature is above 85. Great amount of space to repack bags for early flights.

Have to say I panicked when I arrived. Cafe was closed and gates to hotel were locked. I was however before checking time. Later someone arrived and opened gate and told me cafe was exceptionally closed. Room was very big and comfortable. AC plus fan. Lots of hot water in shower. Restaurant 5 min to right, next to big souvenirs shop. Next day, their cafe was opened. Local bus stop across street from hotel. Can take it to go to airport or 15 min ride in taxi or Uber. Perfect for people with early flight

Convenient location not far from the airport. Very friendly staff, and nice cafe on property. I recommend the avocado toast for breakfast!

Staff service was excellent. The room was clean. The breakfast was spectacular and the portion was perfect. You may listen noise at night because it is too close to the highway, but in general it’s a great stay.

While Karao Hotel may offer budget nightly stays, it offers amazingly large rooms, close vicinity to the Liberia airport, public bus directory in front of Karao, and extraordinary professionally brewed coffee shop and breakfast meals. The (made on premises) breakfast items are inexpensive and high quality. Hope you will enjoy my recent photos of these delights, my companion and I stayed twice in December 2025. Perfect in every way.

Breakfast was amazing. The road was noisy outside but there isn't much you can do about that. Nice place for a quick stay.

I would NOT recommend staying here. Its a semi converted former apartment building on the side of a busy highway with nothing good around. All the furniture was falling apart and the air conditioner never cooled the room down to the temperature we set it, even running all night. It's a 6 minute drive to the airport, but the hostess was going to charge us $20 to get a ride there through their "shuttle." (Uber was closer to $8, but we couldn't verify our account since we didn't have cell service). The driver was supposed to pick us up at 7 am and never arrived. The hostess was nonrespsonsive when we tried calling and messaging when we were in our moment of need. There weren't taxis in the area to flag down and thankfully a neighbor helped us out by calling someone. The "cafe" on site was closed - she claimed it closed early that day but it wasn't open by 7:30am by the time we left - i doubt it's actually functional. Only one small trash can in the bathroom, no TV, no fridge, no shampoo or conditioner. No recycling. The building is super hot including the "lounge " area downstairs. We were given 5 metal keys to get into our one room walk up on the third floor. The main door is for a business with an extra gate and was difficult to open. Outside, Dogs fought and barked and chickens and rooster made noise all night.

This property if over priced. There is no way anyone could sleep in this property without waking up from the sound of trucks and dogs barking at night. We were told that our breakfast will be ready since we have an early flight. We didn’t prepare breakfast counting on that. Only to find out there was nothing prepared upon our departure for the airport

This is a very clean and comfortable hotel close to the airport. The food in the coffee shop downstairs is excellent. Very happy with our stay.

Nice and close to airport which was nice as our flight came in at 10 pm. Hotel caters to the residents. Breakfast is great and comes with beverage, even if its made while you wait. Oh and the pineapple smoothies... are fabulous. A must have, or two or three.

Communication was great. Coming in after hours, it was easy to find and follow the instructions to get into the room. Air conditioning was so-so, but did the job! The room had a fan also. So it was comfortable. The breakfast was amazing! So good! Great place to stay for the night if you need to be by the airport.