Hotel Nine

I’m going to take a phrase from an experienced traveler I went with, “It was a great experience. The rooms were clean and spacious. The hotel was nice, with a nice pool. The staff was amazing. The location was incredible”. With all that said, let’s start this rundown. For starters, everything he said was spot on, but be aware the hotel is an hour & half from the airport. What eases the blow of that, is how easy the hotel makes it for you to board their van, for a comfy ride, through the laid back beauty Costa Rica has to offer. I went thinking the wedding was going to be at a huge commercial chain. I arrived to find this medium sized, but spacious, boutique hotel that is so perfect for a group setting. The way the hotel is arranged allowed me to reunite with old friends and meet new ones within minutes. I had never been Costa Rica and went to attend a beach front wedding. I imagined what I thought I would see, but what I never imagined was that Marcel, and the hotels helpful staff, would be able rip every image from my head to make it a reality while adding on: amazingly fresh food prepared by chef Michael, adventure at your fingertips, remodeling the front of the hotel to point of unrecognizable (literally in a day) for the wedding, more alcohol than any liver should be consumed, a sunset that words can’t describe (again, location), and fireworks. That wasn’t me just adding. I mean literally, fireworks at the end of the wedding. If you ever had doubts or hesitations about booking an event so monumentally important and you want them erased? I can’t send out flares enough to suggest booking here. To the hotel (if you happen across this), thank you guys. You truly made a joyous event something to remember.

A random internet search (Costa Rica, 35 guests, rental) led us to Casa 9 (AKA Hotel Nine) on Jaco Beach. We were looking for a venue for a destination wedding, a long weekend with friends and family with a wedding wedged somewhere in the middle. The photos looked promising, and we contacted the owner, Geoff, who spent an hour or so talking with us about the property and some of the weddings they'd done. We wanted to make sure we found someone we could trust since it was our wedding and because we are a same-sex interracial couple with a diverse group of friends. Definitely some biases could come into play to make this sort of thing less than ideal. Geoff couldn't have been more accommodating and welcoming Over the next 11 months as we prepared for our getaway and wedding, Geoff was available and quick with answers. He soon connected us with Marcel, the concierge at Casa 9, who was a lifeline leading up to our stay and while we were there. We even got a live walkthrough via video call as we were trying to visualize the setup for the wedding and the layout of the rooms. The aim of everyone at Casa 9 is to provide a worry-free experience where you can relax and enjoy the PURA VIDA, the Costa Rican way of living. They exceeded their aim. Arriving at Casa 9 after a long day of travel, we were stunned to discover that things looked even nicer than the pictures. A pool with a waterfall and swim-up bar. An amazing sound system for poolside music. Lush green vines covering the fence with iguanas and birds aplenty. A beach with chairs and umbrellas right outside the gate. The rooms were nice--some nicer than others--with a luxurious VIP room and a penthouse room with adjacent area for hanging out and socializing. The staff work around the clock to keep things running smoothly and to keep everyone happy. Anna and the other housekeepers make the rooms sparkle and smell "Fabuloso." There's a security guard at night, who also does a little clean up and sets out beach chairs for you early in the morning before he leaves to go home and sleep. Marcel takes care of your every need--arranging excursions (and even showing up in the bushes on your ATV tour to snap some candid pictures), handling a delivery from the local liquor store (pro tip: order the Cacique, a Costa Rican liquor that is a lot lot vodka and way more affordable than anything else), booking surfing lessons on the beach right outside the property, providing directions for a local hike to an abandoned hotel, tracking down lost luggage, arranging cab rides into town, making sure everyone gets to and from Casa 9 on private shuttles from the airport, keeping future mother-in-laws happy, and taking care of some unexpected bees who attempted to sabotage the wedding. He did all of this with a smile and a sense of humor. He's a real treasure and a fun guy to be around. Chef Maikol gets his own paragraph. Who wouldn't want a private chef who cooks incredible, restaurant-quality meals for your gro

The hotel was amazing. Incredible location and outstanding staff. So helpful. The rooms were spacious. The town is an easy walk. We were there for a wedding. The hotel went out of their way to make this an incredible experience. I would go back.

Great customer service and nice rooms. Food was great and very unique. Pool was nice with speakers for music. Great location being directly across from the beach. Restaurants annd shops are also walking distance.

Great place to stay I just don’t believe in giving 5 stars. Clean rooms, right on the beach. Pool was great. Felt safe and secure. Great having someone cooking breakfast and supper every day! Chairs for the beach could be replaced though . Lovely views!!

Claimed we damaged something just to keep our deposit. Ruined an otherwise decent stay. Went back on their word. Kept $1000 of our money by making up lies about damage. If they were genuine and truthful about things I wouldn’t have a problem but they are not!! Be careful of staying here!!

Marcel and his crew took exemplary care of us. The crew was constantly ensuring the surroundings looked their best. Everyone was so friendly and the food was amazing every day. He was always two steps ahead of each excursion and really made it an awesome experience! Highly recommend Hotel 9

If you want to stay in Jaco the property and location are great. The staff is wonderful and the concierge, Marcel, will bend over backwards for you. That said, you need to review the fine details of the contact before booking, so you are aware of all the extra costs beyond the VRBO payment. Even if you change the # people attending to 40 the VRBO price isn't adjusted. It's a base price for 16 people and you have to pay the owner directly $45 per person per day plus 13% occupancy tax for everyone over 16. There are also a ton additional costs included in the downloadable contact that aren't in normal VRBO rentals. I would call and review all the costs before booking as our final cost was additional 75% over and above the VRBO payment as we had 44 people. Also, we did not realize before booking that the owner requires you to use him for all the transportation to/from the property and excursions. I was told $500 would be withheld from our security deposit if we didn't use them. They have a chef so you can pay for him to cook meals. He is a wonderful chef and the food was good. However, if you are use to the reasonable cost of cooking your own meals in your rental, this isn't the case. You also have to pay $175 a day if you want to cook your own meals in the kitchen. The invoice that was provided with all the extra costs - occupancy tax, people over 16 charge, transportation, activities, meals etc, had a ton of errors. By going over it in detail I saved our group over $2,000. Math wasn't accurate, columns didn't add correctly. We were charge for people who left early and arrived late. The invoice is provided as a pdf which makes it harder to review. I converted it back to excel which made it much easier to proof. While we were there, the owner sold the place. I don't know if all these policies will continue with the new owner, but please be on the lookout for it. We weren't as diligent as we've booked VRBOs for the last 13 years and never had additional expense above the VRBO cost and were really taken by surprise. The old owner wasn't great to work with so hoping the new owner is much better!