Hidden Gem

We recently stayed at the Occidental Papagayo for a week and everything about it was great!! This hotel and it's grounds are absolutely stunning. The buildings built into the cliffs makes it very unique. We were in building 6 and had incredible views of the ocean, the mountains and volcanoes. The staff were always smiling and very friendly and helpful. The food at the snack bar, the a la cartes and specifically the breakfast buffet was great. The beach was nice, a little rocky but good. Very  [... read more]warm and fun at high tide. We would absolutely not hesitate to return in a heartbeat. We had 3 amazing tours with Frank the Tank tours that were incredible from start to finish, absolutely flawless. A truly amazing and unforgettable week

All Good !

This resort was good for us … only complaint would be the stairs and hills . Good tasty food , lots of selection, good service …... So after you eat you get a work out with the walking . Beach was beautiful , rooms were clean , a bit dated , but only in room for a short time. We would return to this resort!

Relaxing vacation

We had an enjoyable stay at this Costa Rican resort, thanks to the warm and attentive staff who consistently made us feel welcome. One highlight was the buffet service. Instead of wandering around searching for a table, guests are seated by staff, creating a calmer, more organized dining experience—a refreshing change from many other resorts. The resort’s hilly layout offers beautiful views, but it does mean getting around can take a bit longer. The shuttle service is generally prompt and con [... read more]venient, though waits can be slightly longer during busy times. Housekeeping was the only area that felt slower than expected; the rooms were clean once serviced, but timing wasn’t always predictable. The location is another plus—only about 30 minutes from the airport—making arrival and departure easier. A quick buyer‑beware note: we booked Viator excursions through Trip Central and only learned at the resort that we had to arrange our own transportation to an off‑site pickup point. This wasn’t clearly communicated, so double‑check what’s included before booking. Overall, a lovely resort with great service and a relaxed atmosphere.

Okay resort

This hotel is not one that if you or anyone in your party has physical issues with their legs is for you It has too many stairs and the buildings are really spread out. Beer and drinks are good and the staff are friendly Food is okay , great steakhouse Just would not recommend for anyone with lower body issues

Just okay

The actual hotel is nice, not 5 stars at all. The buffet is not even up to a 3 star hotel. Yes, you found something to eat, but not what we were expecting. A la carte were nice, but hard to get in to unless you like 8pm reservations. The pools are kept clean, the beach is nice, but expect to do alot of walking to get a drink or go to the bathroom. Rooms are nice, just don't expect any water, pop etc. After asking everyday multiple times we would get some around 6:30 pm. We even left tips.  [... read more] Hoping that would help. Would i recommend it, no, for the food, and nothing against the staff, some were fantastic, some you knew did not want to help. Idea's, put a cooler cart on the beach that has water, pop and beer, alot of people would appreciate that.

Beautiful resort

Great resort! Beautiful view from the common areas. Escpecially the lobby! Specialty restaurants were delicious . Pool areas seemed to be in full sun all day. Some shaded areas would have been appreciated! Only complaint the view from our room was directly into palm trees. The ocean was out there but we couldn’t see it! Also had requested 2 beds got 1. I had booked early in the season & was surprised to get such a poor site. Overall it was a great. Vacation. Did not find the hills to be a pro [... read more]blem. You could walk or catch a ride. Side trips were great! Really enjoyed seeing sloths @ the sanctuary!

Mostly Good

The grounds and facilities were excellent. The only issue was with the view from our patio. It looked directly into palm trees and bushes which were there to cover the waste processing tanks. The smell/odor was especially bad in the afternoons and always drove us inside. Probably the worst view at the complex. For this reason we will not be returning to Occidental Papagayo.

Beautiful resort

The grounds were beautiful with lemon and avocado trees, a lot of iguanas and we saw the howler monkeys a couple of times in two weeks. The upper pool was lovely for swimming and the lower pool bar was the busiest, both were well maintained. Nice view of resort and ocean from the lobby. Buffet food was good but the Asian and especially Italian food was fantastic. The risotto was the best I've ever had. Kudos to the chef. Our room seemed small at first but was enough for two weeks and just need [... read more]ed a little refresh. Housekeeping kept the room clean. Note: make sure to bring Imodium as some people were having some stomach issues.

Enjoyed Occidental Papagayo

This property is 25 yrs old which results in lovely mature tropical gardens~palm trees, flowered shrubs, birds, butterflies.Being built into a hill there are lots of stairs. Numberous carts can take you places. 3 buffets a day with lots of choice + 3 specialty restaurants. 2 pools + lovely large beach area with view to Pacific Ocean. Numberous activities, bocci, ping pong,billards, gym, horseshoes,target practices, musical entertainment most nights. English at front desk was 80 percent, other [... read more] employees 40-50 percent. People were lovely and friendly. Being 25 yrs old there are areas that need some TLC. Met numberous people that have come to this resort for years and still enjoy it.

Pura Vida!

Both my flights with Air Transat went smoothly. There were very few people on the plane both ways. I imagine likely due to the scare of a strike that never happened—but worked for me! Airport shuttles were both good as well, drivers both timely, organized and friendly. Arrival at the resort: check in was quick, friendly but I could have used a welcome drink. This was the first resort I have been to where this didn’t happen. A ride to my room was provided but I wasn’t guided to my room a [... read more]s I have been in the past at resorts. The resort is beautiful and surrounded by nature. Everywhere you look, there is wildlife! Monkeys, parrots, iguanas, butterflies, scorpions and crabs. This was my favourite part. The beach, wow. Yes, it’s not white sand beaches but it’s Costa Rica. There was sand a plenty, lots of places to walk and sit. Swimming was great. I brought water socks and found that helpful. Not many people even used the beach—I felt I almost had it to myself the times I went down. There was some sort of bioluminescence the first night—so lucky to have experienced that! The entertainment at night was classy and perfect. Live music by the lobby. The staff by the pool, only visited them once for a dance (I was horrible but had fun) but they were also great. Energetic and friendly. They have a list of activities posted by the grill—where you get your towels. They don’t seem to follow through with every activity. I was hoping to get some water aerobics in to still exercise but be minimal pain on my body but it didn’t happen the day I planned to do it. If I wasn’t so booked up with tours/limited on time, I would have done more! Each and every person that worked there was so hard working and nice. What a great staff they have! Let me tell you when I read about the walking, hills and overall distance of things at the resort I was warned about, I didn’t believe it, but do now. Be in shape, be prepared. I do not believe I was fit/well enough to enjoy the resort as much as I normally would. Though, I didn’t use a shuttle as I could have to make it easier. Note there was a short cut from my room to the lobby with less stairs! If you can’t find it, ask! I was told on my last full day there. It honestly would be nice if the resort would ask about where you would like your room or if you have any mobility issues (I have a spinal condition) as I felt I was one of the furthest from both the lobby and the beach. I should have said something but didn’t understand the distance until the daylight on the second day! Food, was quite average. I tried the grill, lobby buffet and Italian. Note, I am vegetarian so my options are more limited than others. The grill didn’t have much that looked appetizing in my opinion, I only got chips, queso and a piece of bread there. I sorta thought it would be like many beach grills I’ve been to in the past and be made to order, but it was just another buffet. The main buffet was decent, but I feel they need to try quality of quantity. A lot of the food was cold. There were a variety of items but the same almost each breakfast and dinner. The fruit was lovely—plentiful, fresh and ripe. They had an egg/omelette station. I would have liked to have seen a pasta or stir fry station maybe. Instead, I had some cold spaghetti one night and generally had the same rice and some plain roasted vegetables. My last day, there was a really nice flavourful ratatouille I wish I got to eat more of. Booking the al la carte, that was a chore. I explained upon my 7pm check in that I had only 3 full days there and that the first 2/3 I was off the resort before 8am. Still, they said I had to book between 8-3. So the second day, I got back from my excursion before 3. I was still not able to book. Last day, instead of sleeping in when I didn’t have an excursion until afternoon, here I am setting an alarm for 730 to trek to the lobby to book dinner. At first, they said there was no availability, so clearly some rooms were able to book in advance. Then said there was the steakhouse. Im sure theres options, soup, mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables but I wanted Italian. They said it was fully booked but then ended up booking me for 830pm after I pleaded to them. There were only a few tables seated at the restaurant that night which had me questioning the fully booked aspect (maybe everyone that booked was in bed…?). Again, the staff was great, waiter was SO nice! The bread brought to the table with balsamic and olive oil was lovely. The caprese was missing balsamic and the cheese wasn’t good. The eggplant ravioli could have been good but was over cooked. The sauce for it and extra cheese topping was good. The dessert, tiramisu was tasty. It was nice to have a nicer more intimate, made to order dinner for 1 night rather than the buffet . The resort also limits your al la cartes. I was only able to book 1 during my stay. For $1800, I feel I shouldn’t be stuck with a buffet for every meal but 1 for 5 days. My tours were all with the company Frank the Tank. With my short time, I wanted to make sure everything was set before I got there, and I did just that. Deposits were made easily via PayPal and I paid the rest in credit at each excursion (you can pay cash as well). Each member of his team was absolutely fantastic. Knowledgable, kind and fun. I enjoyed learning about Costa Rica on the drives. The country to include health care, education and have monkey/wildlife bridges over roads is fantastic. The country was very clean—how amazing for the people and all the animals. The guides all made me feel welcomed and safe! The river safari was amazing. I was able to see iguanas, so many birds, monkeys and crocodiles. I tasted coffee on 2/3 of my tours and wow! I am a flavoured creamer and all the bleached sugar kind of girl, but I even enjoyed it black. It was made nice and sweet with some real unbleached sugar! I will be incorporating this into my life back at home, saying goodbye to adding white sugar when possible. There was a meal served on all my excursions. All were good. My favourite was the first soda on the River Safari day. I enjoyed the family style meal presentation, the flavours were good and the drink, tamarind was delicious! The pico and guac on the catamaran was also yummy! It was nice to have fresh tasty guac! The pottery demonstration was nice to see—I love art. I am more about experiences over souvenirs but that pottery was beautiful and so I treated myself to a hand crafted, carved, painted clay shot glass—so much better than the mass produced glass ones you see many other places. My second tour was the Rainforest day. We stopped at a waterfall first where I bought another souvenir. This woman hand painted each individual shirt—how cool! I respected and adored her art and got one! Both my shot glass and shirt have a sloth on them! The sloth was my absolute favourite part of my trip and I was so happy to have seen one in the wild. For me, a once and a lifetime experience, I will treasure that. It was beautiful. It was nice to be able to get in and swim right in front of the waterfall! Breathtaking. You can leave your belongs (wallet) in the car so they are save. I always get worried about that swimming and travelling alone. Hiking through the rainforest, bring good shoes! I did! My Keens (hiking sandal with closed toe) were perfect for this. There were hills and it rains (duh)! Each step was worth the beauty I took in. The hanging bridges, an experience for sure, wild! We saw toucans, toad, frogs, snakes and a sloth. The guides knew we were bummed we didn’t see monkeys but they pulled over on the road on the way home and we saw a big group of them! That was awesome! I was very grateful for that. The catamaran pick up was easy—right off the beach of my resort. They have a smaller boat to bring you to the catamaran. The drinks were delicious and a plenty! It was a bit more party than I expected but I had fun! I liked how we had a small group compared to the large party boats I saw. I enjoyed the more intimate/more personal experience. We went by monkey head island which looked cool. We stopped at a place with a bunch of neat caves! As soon as we got there, saw my very first sea turtle. The snorkelling was underwhelming compared to other places I have been but I knew this coming into it. I was still able to see a lot of fish honestly—just not much reef life. Saw some turtles making some love during sunset—magical! It was fantastic. The boat went wild. Overall, I am glad I made all the choices I did. It’s always easy booking with Trip Central, Air Transat was good, resort overall was good and had good trips with Frank the Tank’s teams. Costa Rica was absolutely beautiful. I saw and did everything I wanted to with ease. Pura Vida! https://youtu.be/jYr8uKsm10M?si=Rev5xxPki_BhQpfk

Amazing

What can we say....our stay was over the top!! Enrique, Carlos plus The kitchen staff made our stay! So accommodating with someone that has celiacs disease. The food was great. The beach was awesome. Loved seeing the whales in the bay. We have nothing bad to say!!

Good laid back hotel

This resort was exactly what we needed - laid back atmosphere, nice beach, good food, light entertainment and great weather. Resort has beach in the bay area , so there are low and high tide and beach is getting wider and narrow , but we were able to swim and snorkel. Long beach is good for walks, but have water shoes as some areas have sharp stones(also can purchase in little store at the resort). There were no mosquitoes ? and flies, couple times towards evening we had rain but still we had  [... read more]the whole day to enjoy the beach, they have plenty sun-beds and shade under the trees. Rooms were cleaned every day and we had free supplies of 2 water bottles, 2 beers, 1 Coca-Cola and 1 Sprite. Keep in mind in the evening there are raccoons checking garbage outside. People are very friendly and eager to help with any question you have. There are many steps in the resort, so ask for rooms in buildings 1 or 2(it is close to dining and pool area) if walking is a problem. Would recommend this place to friends - it is a good value for money.

Quiet resort

Beautiful grounds, nice selection at buffet. Nice main pool, didnt spend any time at swim up bar. Friendly staff. Rooms are a little dated but well kept. Beach was nice. Monkeys , iguanas and lots of birds

Great Resort for a couple's gettaway

We found the grounds to be beautiful eventhough it was the dry season. Our accommodations were up to par and spacious; loved the comfort of the bed and pillows. Room was cleaned every day. It looked like all rooms had a balcony to sit out morning or night to admire the view of the gulf. Although it was the norm to fill the fridge every day with 2 waters, 2 sodas, 2 beers, we did need to call once as they forgot to refill and another time to provide a bath mat. The staff was very very courteous a [... read more]nd accomodating. The pools were awesome, as well as the beach, with aerobics mid-mornings and other events in the afternoon. I loved that we didn't need to get out there at 6 am just to reserve a chair. They were always available any time of the day. Don't expect much in terms of nightly entertainment. There was just a little stage with a couple of amazing jazzy musicians (one saxophone artist, another guitare player). In terms of food, we did enjoy the variety from the buffet trying something different every day (but do expect the rice & beans every meal). The 3 a la carte restaurants were very appreciated, especially the Italian one - it was totally a great experience. I give it a 5 star rating. Except for the stairs from the main pool to the hotel lobby, the walking was very manageable at this resort. There were always shuttles around but we didn't feel the need to hop on.

Average resort

The hotel was average as far as services and food selection/taste. Lots of stairs if you like to work out. Not recommended for persons with limited mobility. The grounds are well maintained and the staff is nice.

Beautiful Resort with some drawbacks

This resort is beautiful and the staff is great but there are many hills and stairs to traverse. There is a shuttle to take you around the resort if you’re willing to wait. We found the food to be very bland with not much western style food selection. They offer a lot of cheap foods…..beans, rice, potatoes. Not much for meat selection. Never once saw bacon for breakfast. We had a bay view room in building 17. While the view was spectacular we had several critters in and around our buildi [... read more]ng. Raccoons, rampant throughout the resort, will try to get in through your patio door so keep it locked! In our room we found a scorpion, salamanders and crickets. The rooms themselves (in building 17 anyway) are a bit dated. Our shower leaked but someone promptly fixed it. The people that stay at this resort are on the older side so if you’re looking for parties you won’t find it here. I for one preferred that! Entertainment was very boring. One night they had a violinist and another night was a guitarist. We did pay about half of what we would have to go to a different resort so I can’t complain too much. Overall we still had a pleasant time. Shout out to Larry Ulate who we booked our excursions with. Super friendly guy who was very accommodating. The catamaran excursion was amazing as well as river rafting and the rain forest tour! We took the hotel shuttle one night ($40 US) to playa Coco and then took a cab ride back ($25 US). It’s a lovely beach town with shopping, restaraunts/bars only about a 10 minute ride from the resort. Coconutz bar/grill has karaoke every Tuesday which was a lot of fun!! I would recommend this resort to people on a tight budget. Bring snacks!

3rd Visit

Our 1st visit was pre-covid and I fell in love with the resort. All Inclusive - Adults Only ... Love the location of the resort only about 20 minutes from the Liberia airport. Resort is built on a hill so lots of hills and stairs which I enjoy FYI there is a shuttle if you don't like the walking. When the tide is out the beach is great. We prefer the bayview rooms for the view. This past week was our 3rd visit to Occidental Papagayo ... each time we visit the service and housekeeping is [... read more] less & less. The grounds are not as clean as they used to be. The coffee service in the AM is not as accessible as it once was - the only coffee available is at the main buffet and you have to ask for a take out cup. As far as the food, the buffet is the same food EVERY DAY. The restaurants for dinner have to be booked - 2 reservations for the week. GRILL - soup was delicious but tuna was extremely over salted & over spiced. Beef was very tough. ITALIAN - tuna was salty but not as bad as the Grill. Bar service around the pool was hit & miss. Also there is NO service at the pool until about 11am so you have to make sure you have water from the main breakfast buffet. No more plastic cups - CocaCola cups & paper disposable cups for drinks. No more bottle water at the buffets & only one water refill station at the reception. Supposed to get 2 bottles of water each day in your room but NOT always. This resort is getting old and needs some upgrading. NOTE: Keep your patio doors closed and locked due to the local raccoons which go room to room every night - people feed them so they are not shy. Do not leave anything out on your patio. Definitely make sure the safe works in your room and you lock things up. We didn't have any issues but we met a woman who's safe was not working she didn't call the front desk and hide her purse in a drawer under another bag & she had money missing a few days. Like I said, I love this resort not sure we would return for a 4th visit. Happy Vacation!

Don't Waste your Money

•Food was horrible, I've had better food in Cuba •Resort lost power and a/c went out multiple times •Not all inclusive-hidden fees •Very little to do on resort itself •Staff was rude and unhelpful

Worth a visit

Resort was lovely, our room was clean, functional , comfortable beds and a well stocked mini bar. All the staff were amazing friendly, polite and always with a smile. Our room was a fair hike from the main lobby and I blessed the shuttle driver every day. With the heat and humidity it would have proved a challenge to walk that distance there and back. Our main grimace was the buffet, an abundance of food but pretty much the same every day and looked like a variety of left overs re-invented. How [... read more]ever we were never hungry. I would return to the resort. We enjoyed our vacation very much.

Would not return

This hotel is definitely not for anyone who likes to keep moving. There was essentially nothing to do here unless you're made of money and able to pay for excursions (for which you had no choice but to book through the hotel) and all of which were expensive. The pool closes down at 7, and there were only an hour long piano/guitar show in the lobby every other night. I will say the rooms were clean, however I slept terrible as I kept hearing wild animals running over the roof. Turns out the ANIMA [... read more]LS were actually IN THE CEILING of our room, which wasn't fixed until the day before we left. The food was mediocre at best, and the restaurant areas were not ideally situated throughout the resort. Would not return here, and would not recommend it unless your preference is to sit and drink at the pool every day until 7pm. We waited 4 years (due to a cancelled trip due to covid) to take this vacation, spent a lot of money to go here, and feel like we did not get our money's worth at all.