JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort and Spa: Beautiful Resort, friendly staff, good food, well appointed

Overall, the experience was great and we would absolutely return. The bus ride in from the airport is a little longer than expected, but worth it. This is an important thing to note if your flight is long or have little ones. In comparison to other resorts at a similar price point and area, this one is far superior for landscaping and shade for those with families. The beds are doubles, not queens but are very comfortable to sleep in aside from being small. Food was good, restaurants [... read more] had plenty of options and for the most part, the cooking and wait staff were excellent. Bar service was lacking marginally at some bars. Additional (knowledgeable) bar staff needed at the lower pool and beach bars. This could be in part due to the addition of new staff, or covid etc. The wait staff at upper pool was excellent Kids loved the soft serve ice cream option daily at the bar. Something to note to bring water from your room if you are heading to the pool early. The bars do not open until 10am, this includes non-alcoholic beverages. The only bar open early is the preferred lounge. Pool area was always clean and tended to. Loungers are plentiful and lots of areas for sun and or shade available. Recommend getting there early to save a spot for larger groups if needed shade or by entertainment area at lower pool The Coco Cafe had excellent service, coffees were wonderful and the options for ice cream daily were a nice treat for the kids (and adults) Maid service, room service, bellstaff were all excellent The views are amazing The Capuchins are so great to see up close (Great view of them from the 3rd building) but the experience of having them on your balcony from building 7 & 8 (I think) would have been unbelievable. Will be requesting a room on that side next time Although reservations are not needed for restaurants, get there early if you have children. We had a few very late meals because we were delayed (even though we got there early at the restaurant opening time) There were a lot of new staff members, which made for more of a language barrier than anticipated, but for the most part the staff was so friendly and accomodating (maid, waitstaff, bell, maintenance etc) There were lots of towels always available at the pools Pool towels are clean, wrapped neatly, and very large. Check in was simple and the staff was polite. Helpful Things that were not brought up but helpful if you are heading here: Bring your phone to meals to open up QR code for menus. Wifi is decent through the entire resort. There is a qr code in the room for the room service menu The QR code in the elevators brings you to a menu showing what the entertainment is for the day The hibachi meal requires a ticket, but the restaurant does not. Tickets are obtained at the concierge by the check in. The sunset kayak is only a few days a week, so book it when you arrive.. things like that The giftshops have a variety of anything you may need, but everything is quite expensive there for the most part. There are not options close to the resort (within walking distance) offsite to get them easily. A 30 min ride or so to the nearest town is a less expensive option for liquor, shopping. The waterside is excellent. Overall, a great place to visit. We would recommend and return.

Occidental Tamarindo: Highly recommend

We truly enjoyed our 10 day stay at Occidental. The staff are courteous and work diligently to keep things clean and attractive. Masks are still mandatory to enter buffet in lobby and basically any staff interaction. A fact of life right now so no point getting upset about it. a 2 km walk to downtown and as much as we loved the action and shopping there we were happy to have the distance from the noise and activity. Absolutely no complaints about the food. Nicely presented and again due to COVI [... read more]D precautions the buffet was picked for you by pointing out what you want. Lines moved well and enough staff to help you with it. Great tours in the area and surfing lessons were fun. Will definitely recommend and hope to return someday.

Riu Guanacaste: It was a beautiful resory

We stayed there from April 2 -9 Staff were very accommodating and very friendly. We would like to give a special thank you to Bryan and Kevin for their assistance in making our stay great.Our only issue was with Sunwing we will never fly with them again. They took 26 pieces of luggage off the inbound flight. My wife was without clothes for 2 days.

Azura Beach Resort Samara: Fantastic resort

This was an amazing resort for someone who wants a relaxing and quiet vacation. Located on a wonderfully walkable beach, the resort is new and the hotel accommodations are fantastic. The food was also top notch. No buffets and everything was made to order. The service and servers were friendly and approachable and everyone was always willing to help. The only criticism I had was that the front desk didn't always have the information needed about travel details like transfers with our trav [... read more]el provider. I know COVID meant that a lot of staff had to be retrained. That said, they were always helpful and they did their absolute best to get us the information in a timely manner. Overall, it was a 9.9/10 experience!

Occidental Papagayo: Billy goat trails

Nightmare to walk this resort. Every other person got sick! Food or water who knows ! Staff were excellent and services were ok. Lack of service on beach and no where to actually sit is an issue. Not a 4 or even close to a Star

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Great Resort

We stayed at the RIU Palace Costa Rica for 7 days. Big mistake, we should have stayed for two weeks. Our room was excellent with a beautiful view of the ocean. The grounds are wonderful and very, very clean. The friendly staff made our stay so much more enjoyable. Making a long story short, we would return in a heartbeat.

Azura Beach Resort Samara: This was an amazing resort. WHEELCHAIR ACCESSABLE

The resort is new and very beautiful. The rooms were very comfortable with good mattresses, walk in showers, and big balconies. Every room is equiped with an Expresso coffee maker with the pods of coffee provided. There is also a water filter machine in the rooms with cold or hot water. There is no buffet at this resort, but there are 4 restaurants to choose from, you can reserve for either a 6:30 or 8:30 seating. The food is very good, my husband and I did not enjoy the Italian restaurant a [... read more]s much as the other restaurants, but that is just not our go to. The beach is adequate, but the sand is not to our liking, very dirty. There is a great pool area, the swim-up bar was not open, but they serve drinks around the pool and at the beach. The service is undeniably the best we have seen at a resort, it is a small resort so there are no lineups anywhere. It is a very quiet resort, no head-banging music blasting at the pool, just nice quiet music. The bar is closed at 10:00 every night. This is not a party central resort, we enjoyed the peace and quiet. We were a party of six, all over 60 years of age. The masks were worn by all staff and guests. Because of Covid the rooms were cleaned only every 3 days, but if you need it cleaned before or need towels, you talk to the concierge in WhatsApp. The service was great. I do want to warn people that this resort is a good 2 hour drive from the Airport. That was the only drawback for us.

Hotel Villas Playa Samara: A great resort!

This was a lovely resort with all the amenities we needed. Very peaceful but also fun with great beach access and a lovely pool and spa. Food was good although menu was a bit limited but what they did offer was generally quite well done. Beautiful sunsets and lots of nature to see. The only thing missing was entertainment, it would’ve been nice to hear some live music in the evening.

Occidental Papagayo: Adequate Resort

The grounds are beautiful and there are two lovely pools. However, there were six umbrellas at each pool and in 35° weather you need to be under an umbrella. Several people on the resort requested more umbrellas and nothing was done about it in two weeks. The Buffets are the same every day and there are only three à la carte restaurants that you cannot get into unless you stand in line for almost an hour to get a ticket. The a la carte restaurants were very good. Check in was horrendous. Ther [... read more]e were only two of us in line and it took almost an hour to get our room. Inexperienced staff and a manager that never showed up. This could be a very good resort if there was proper management, more efficient service and better food in the Buffets.

Occidental Papagayo: beautiful resort

grounds were perfectly manicured, beautiful, food was great. pools were clean warm nice swim up bar. lots of stairs and hills. buffet and snack bars were good. drinks were mixed perfect. rooms were immaculate. no complaints

Secrets Papagayo Resort: Lovely getaway

Very nice resort with great staff and lovely landscaping. Really liked the two different areas. One was very quiet and relaxing. The main area was busy and very active. Enjoyed spending time in both parts of the resort.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Good not great

The hotel is nice. Weather is amazing. The food isn’t the best. Everything starts to taste the same after a while. Had to leave the resort to eat something with taste. You have to ask for the top shelf liquor. It’s not given to you which is weird as it’s supposed to be the reason for staying at a “palace” riu instead of the regular resort. The guanacaste is much nicer in my opinion considering the price difference. Stayed at the palace expecting to be able to use the guanacaste as well [... read more] but they don’t tell you until you get there that they have stopped doing that due to covid. Would have been nice to know before hand as that was a reason for choosing the palace instead.

Riu Guanacaste: Good resort

Resort was nice, clean and staff friendly. Dealing with covid was fine. No real issues. Resort was only about 50% at capacity. Down fall of resort is beach is not used for swimming as Pacific Ocean is rough.

JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort and Spa: Overpriced and overpromoted

I expected to go to a medium-high level 5 stars resort and I was disappointed to realize that overall it is not. COVID-19 wise: I was amazed to realize that in the bus on which we spent two times one hour and a half (from airport to the resort AND from the resort to airport) there were people without masks and nobody from AirCanada agency enforced the basic COVID’s rules! Room: I booked an ocean view room and yes, I got a very far view to the ocean and also a very close view to the very noi [... read more]sy entertainment ground. Also, this ocean view room is in the main building which is the farthest building form the beach. The room is average and could be paid more attention to cleanness. Beach: If you love to stay on the beach, this is not a place for you. There are few beach chairs and no umbrellas or beach sheds on the beach. I spent a lot of time chasing unoccupied beach chairs, or moving the chairs under the beach trees looking for shade. Services: The first day I asked for beach towels in several places and the only answer I got was “there are not towels right now but will come in 15 minutes!” very Cuba-like attitude! At least in Cuba the beach is very good and the price is one third of the price I paid for this resort. Food: cafeteria food was decent without the variety found in Mexico or Dominican Republic at the same resort level. Restaurants’ food generally good and well presented, but again, the quality can vary from one day to the other for the same restaurant for the same dish. Wine prices are way too high! Entertainment: Good daily aerobic in the pool. General atmosphere: the resort is very green and it presents a very nice landscape with interesting trees and nice bushes along the alleys I am not sure that I will ever return to this resort.

Planet Hollywood Costa Rica: Planet Hollywood Beach Resort

Our second time at this hotel. Again went Star Class. Still amazing rooms, service and meals. All staff were masked. We were asked if we had any food allergies before entering any of the restaurants, so this property would be ideal for anyone with such concerns. This hotel was closed for 8 months during the worst of covid and is bouncing back very well.

JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort and Spa: Beautiful resort

Beautifully maintained resort! We usually prefer the beach area over the pool, however the ocean a little colder than the Caribbean. Beautiful sandy bottom at the beach but most of our time spent at extensive pools with beautiful infinity edges overlooking the beach. Service top notch, people extremely friendly and accommodating. I wish we were here longer than a week! Felt very safe here, all staff & most guests were very compliant with Covid protocols.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: We Will Be Back!

This was our first trip since 2019 and it was a great one at that. We stayed in an upgraded hotel room with a Jacuzzi on the veranda which was a nice touch. Room was large and spacious. Any service calls made through the app were attended to promptly including bar restock and room service. We went to every restaurant and buffet. All were very good. Masks were mandatory in the lobby and when walking around the buffet. Staff wore masks at all times. Coming from Ontario it was common practice for u [... read more]s so no big deal. Covid testing facility was in a room in the hotel. Easy to book, results came back in 17 hours from our test. We hadn’t been to this hotel before so I’m not sure what all has changed since Covid but we were pleased with our stay and the quality of everything offered. We had a great experience and when we return to Costa Rica - and we will - we won’t hesitate to come back to this hotel!

JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort and Spa: Beautiful Resort

We enjoyed 10 days at Dreams Las Mareas and that was the perfect amount of time. The resort and grounds are absolutely beautiful and the staff were amazing. The breakfast buffet was plentiful with many options and it was well laid out to help prevent over crowding and line ups. We ate at all of the restaurants but found the food quality to be mediocre at best. We found the pools to be packed with children - yes even the adult only areas so we spent our time on the beach which was extremely relax [... read more]ing and did not require us to save a lounger at 6am like everyone else at the resort. We enjoyed our stay and felt that Dreams was a solid 4 star resort but definitely not a 5 star resort. If you’re travelling with a large group or with children then this is definitely the resort for you. But if you’re travelling as a couple I would suggest finding an adult’s only resort as there are truly no adult only areas here.

Margaritaville Beach Resort Playa Flamingo: Great Resort, clean and safe

My family of 5 traveled to Margaritaville Resort Dec 27-Jan 3. We were nervous traveling with the newest covid concerns but upon arrival, all our fears were completely diminished. You could smell the sanitizer in the van we were picked up in. Everyone wore masks and the resort was kept incredibly clean! All restaurants did temp checks, hand washing AND sanitizing before entry as did all of the excursions we participated in. I felt much safer traveling in Costa Rica then I did going to the g [... read more]rocery store back home!

Riu Guanacaste: A Great Getaway

This is my second stay in seven years at this resort. Both times were great. The property is secluded with a gorgeous stretch of beach nestled between mountains and jungle. The staff are so helpful and never let your glass run low of wine. The restaurants offer a good variety. The main entertainment gets a bit mundane after a few nights, however the musicians prior to the main show are great. More variety is needed. The resort is well maintained and clean. Zip lining and nature outings are fanta [... read more]stic.