This clean, cheerful guesthouse is in a beautiful semi-rural setting near Yabucoa. It's well positioned for exploring the (spectacular, deserted) beaches and towns to the south; day trips to San Juan or to Vieques and Culebra are convenient. On the other hand, if you'd rather spend the day by the pool or in a hammock, the Costa del Mar is also a good spot. Expect peace and quiet -- this is not a swim-up-bar experience and doesn't attract that type of crowd.

The staff of the Costa del Mar could not be more welcoming or helpful -- they are truly delightful people.

You'll need a car if planning to stay here, since the guesthouse serves breakfast only. There are a number of good dining options within 15 minutes -- our favorite being Los Bohios, a beachfront restaurant off Route 760.

Highly recommended!

My wife and I spent 4 nights (Aug 27-30 2007) at this family owned parador (they own 2 others; one nearby on the beach and one on the southside of the island). This property contains 16 rooms and ours was on the 3rd floor facing the Atlantic with Monkey Island just offshore. We were treated to beautiful sunrises and a full moon each night. The 400 numbered rooms are not ocean front (and are on the 3rd floor!). The rooms on the first floor would not have a direct view of the ocean although they are "ocean front" as there are some trees blocking a straight ahead view. The pool (also on the ocean side) was spotless with ample pool furniture. We watched one of the employees clean it every morning.

The staff was very pleasant and professional. I had a situation arise which required use of a laptop to access a financial site and being that I had a Blackberry but no laptop with me I was afraid I was going to have a problem. I mentioned this to the front desk clerk who called the owner. A short time later the owner arrived with a laptop for my use. There is free wireless on the property.

Breakfast (full) came with the room (I believe you can book a room without breakfast for a slightly reduced rate). The food was fresh and ample.

English is spoken.

We highly recommend this property!!

We’ve just returned from a seven nights stay at the Parador Costa del Mar (my wife and 2 kids). I requested a room with two Queen Beds and instead I got one Queen, one small and an air mattress. I told the people in the front desk that that was not acceptable and that I will not have any of my family members sleeping on the floor for seven nights. I was told that was the only room available and there was nothing else they could do for me. I told them that I will pay for the night and in the morning I was going to look for another place to stay. When I went to check out in the morning I was told that they had a different room for us to move in with three beds. The guesthouse was clean every day (what ever they called cleaning). The coffee maker was not clean not even one time in seven days. I had to ask the staff to have the bed sheets changed. My daughter found a condom wrapper next to the as soon as we move in the new room. Some how the missed to clean the room in more than one occasion, the septic tank was leaking and there was a very bad smell coming from it. This was the first place ever that I stayed and was charged coffee. The guesthouse is really nice and quiet. There was a gentleman that worked in the front desk, I believe his name was Freddie, to him THANK YOU for all you did for me and my family, for the rest of the staff I was not impress at all. We will not be back to Parador Costa del Mar if I can help it, you will always be my last choice.

We’ve just returned from a 4 nights stay at the Parador Costa del Mar (my wife, our 4yr old son and myself). The guesthouse is about a 1h15min from San Juan Airport, located on the panoramic road 901 along the Caribbean Sea. The guesthouse is small, but the rooms are comfortable and clean, the rooms on the first level are next to the well-maintained pool, so be vigilant if you have small child (they are tempted to just run in the water). The guesthouse provides a full breakfast in the morning, but for lunch an diner you have to go the near by (3 min drive) Hotel Palmas de Lucia. But for diner, we recommend a new restaurant in the area, call “Palmas Del Mar” (also) about 15 min drive on route 901.
The guesthouse is really nice and quiet. We were there over the president day weekend, and it was full, but we were not disturbed by noise. The location is also nice, you absolutely need a car, we took day trips to the rain forest, and to Ponce.
We will be back to Parador Costa del Mar, it’s not the Ritz Carlton, but it ‘s a really nice place were you get your money worth.