Pranamar Villas & Yoga Retreat

This review is only for the yoga classes offered at this resort since I was staying elsewhere. I loved the class itself but there is no COVID-protocol whatsoever. When we were already over 30 people and the class should’ve already started, new groups of 3-5 people were still being welcomed (with the yoga teacher joking that “we’re not even 50 people yet and she’s seen this place accommodate 75 people before”). She kept asking us to move together closer and closer to squeeze in at least 15-20 more people until our mats were touching each other, which I think is absolutely irresponsible. During a pandemic with continuous variants, a pricey yoga class ($20) in a first class resort should follow at least some symbolic guidelines. While the pavilion where classes are taught is more or less “open air”, it does has a roof and thin wooden curtains and I admittedly feel terrible for having stayed and exposed myself to such an unnecessary risk of contracting COVID.

To put it in a nutshell: Outstanding hotel in a beautiful surrounding but not the best value for money in my opinion. The staff and the pool were amazing. Breakfast was good, the service was exceptional, but you got an extra menu with standard options (toast and eggs etc.), not the fancy one where you could chose more interesting options (you had to pay extra for that). A little bit disappointing regarding the 320$ per night. Everybody was very helpful and super friendly, the surrounding was very picturesque. The beach was beautiful and easily accessible. As I mentioned above, the breakfast options were quite standard. The pool is brilliant, but there are only 3-4 sun loungers, which was never a problem but could be regarding the number of rooms. Also, you couldn't adjust them to lie on your belly. The sockets in the bedroom are behind the bed which is inconvenient if you have to use an adapter as well because that wouldn't fit at all. I usually charge my phone during night but have it on my nightstand because of the alarm in the morning. was also really disappointed, when I was told that, although Pranamar is labelled as a yoga retreat, the yoga lessons are not included if you book via booking.com. The lessons are outstanding, but if you pay 320$ a night, they should be included no matter where you book. I do understand that they have more profit if people book directly on their website, but if they don't want people to use booking.com, they should remove their hotel from booking.com. But the incident that bothered me most was that when we had to change locations we asked them to call a taxi for us. I've been staying in Santa Teresa for 2 weeks and went by taxi a couple of times. You pay like 10-15$ for a 20 minute car ride. Our new hotel was literally 5 minutes from Paranamar and I expected to pay maybe 5-10$ for the taxi (we were not told how much it would cost in advance). So when we arrived at our new hotel, the taxi driver charged 25$ and said he couldn't do anything about it since he was told to charge that much. I don't know if Pranamar only knows the most expensive taxi companies in whole Santa Teresa or if they get to keep the the majority of the money for providing the taxi companies with clients? It did feel like a giant rip off. Even the concierge of the new hotel talked to the taxi driver and in the end we "only" had to pay 20$ for a 5 minute taxi ride. Most expensive taxi ride I've ever had in my life!

Went to a yoga class here today. Studio and facilities were outstanding, but the flow class was VERY gentle and would barely constitute what I would consider to be a good warmup for a workout. I would generally never complain about something like this, but at $45 USD for 2 people, I would expect a higher quality class. When you charge that kind of money for a 60 min yoga class, you better deliver. And this class did not.

Beautiful place with incredible service. We spent 4 months at Pranamar during the pandemic. We were able to work remotely in this beautiful location doing yoga every morning with the most amazing teachers, and enjoyed the beautiful beach and pool with our two toddlers. Our villa had a nice kitchen setup which made it great for long term stays. The best part, though, was the wonderful friendly staff that made our stay a real treat!

Its a magical place, right on the beach with full bar, great restaurant, open air yoga shala, and refreshing pool. The grounds are an amazing array of beautiful tropical foliage that adds to the total Costa Rica experience. You can lay in one of the many hammocks strategically placed throughout the property and beach for total relaxation. You can get a wonderful massage while listening to the calming ocean waves, or sip a freshly made fruit drink while lounging at the pool. The staff are so friendly as they treat you like you are the only one there. Being vegan, they have a few food options which is greatly appreciated, but can also customize to your liking. This is my 3rd time to Costa Rica and to Pranamar as I can't imagine staying anywhere else! I love it here!

Hands down one of the most beautiful hotels we’ve been to - such a wonderful place! Every single person we met from staff member to founder was so hospitable and genuinely kind and caring for us. Incredible Yoga teachers, amazing food and superfood juices and great atmosphere. Special kudos to Alejandro who gave us such personal and amazing tips for our continuing travels to the Costa Rican mountainside and even helped us organized a car rental. Thank you again - we will be back !

The Villas are beautiful, immersed in nature (in the jungle and only steps from a stunning beach), with such friendly and helpful staff, and AMAZING food and beverages. Extremely clean and well kept rooms and facilities. I was at Pranamar Villas for a yoga retreat and it was truly a beautiful and amazing experience. I would absolutely return again and recommend the Villas to others. Thank you!

Had the most amazing time in Pranamar last week. I've stayed in the private room in pool side villa during my Yoga retreat. Clean rooms, Nice and friendly staff, amazing food and various of activities. Was the greatest time ever♥ thank you

Beautiful setting, just 10 mins walking from Hermosa Beach. They have classes for the public every day at 10 am. The yoga studio is outside, in a jungle setting, you can hear some water running and the ocean breaking, it’s serene. The yoga classes I took there were some of the best unique yoga practices I’ve had, and I’ve done yoga for over 15 years in Colorado. It’s a MUST stop if you like yoga. There’s a bar at the beach that has happy hour from 4 to 6, it’s $10 for 2 drinks - little pricey, but the drinks are good and it’s a beautiful spot to watch the sunset. Overall, one of the best places in the area

Villas are nice .Avoid staying too close to restaurant, can be loud and smell the food. First night not so great from the noise. I'm told it's not usually like that and the rest of the stay was pleasant. All in all the stay was wonderful. The food was good, grounds and villas are beautiful. Nice to have indoor restrooms. Yoga facility was also very nice. I would stay here again.