Riu Guanacaste: Excellent hotel

Just came back from Riu Guanacaste and it was a great, trouble-free 14-day stay. This is a well-maintained and well-managed hotel in an amazing location. The grounds are beautiful, with lush greenery, lots of flowers and trees and immaculate grass lawns. We loved our cozy, clean and always well-conditioned room - it had a nice vintage look with its dark solid wood furniture, huge king-size bed, spacious bathroom and balcony. Everything in the room was in good working order. Garden keepers were e [... read more]xtremely hard-working, waiters were courteous and professional (we only used Liberia and Octopal (or Octal?) restaurants), reception staff was quick, efficient and always ready to help. There was always a good variety of food and it was fresh and tasty. The hotel is literally surrounded by forest and there are lots of trails around, which you can explore, take countless pictures of birds, animals, butterflies, exotic plants, even climb the nearby mountain, if you feel like it - everything is within the walking distance, which is a great advantage. Plus there are a lot of excursions to choose from, if you don't want to limit your experiences to hotel only. Fishing was very good, we caught a big mahi-mahi and two small black tunas. Waterfalls, rainforest, volcano mud baths, river boat ride - all worth doing. We came to Costa Rica to enjoy its beautiful nature and wildlife, staying in a nice place and not worrying about accommodation and food, and we got exactly what we were looking for. Changes due to Covid-19: masks are mandatory in the restaurants, lobby, elevators and hotel building, also in the shuttle and excursion buses. If you are not wearing a mask, the staff will politely tell you or show with a gesture. Looks like things are regularly sanitized - we've seen staff sanitizing beach chairs in a dedicated area (not on the beach).The hotel has set up a room for PCR-test taking. We filled out a form and booked an appointment (both online, the hotel gave us a link) for November 20 (we were leaving on November 22). Less than 24 hours after the test they sent the results to our emails. The cost is 110 USD per person. They send you a link for payment, which can be made when you get back to Canada. We were asked twice for the test results at Costa Rica airport, when we were leaving, but nobody asked for it at Pearson :)

Riu Guanacaste: a trip that never took place

Due to covid 19 symptoms that appeared a night before the flight ( even though we are fully vaccinated) we could not take the flight or enjoy our long awaited vacation. I hope we will get our money back or take the vacation in a much later day. I had no response from tripcentral in this regard yet.

Azura Beach Resort Samara: Very good overall.

We stayed in room 321, nice clean room and what a beautiful view! Know that due to the current situation, rooms are cleaned on the third day or upon request. That was not really an issue for us. Foods in restaurants are generally very good, although foods in the Asian restaurant Tao, were salty. I enjoyed all meals at the Chill and Grill! The hotel encourages the guests to use Whatsup app for dinner reservations or all other requests during your stay. You can also check the restaurant menu th [... read more]rough the app. The hotel coordinates the pre-departure COVID test with a local laboratory. We had given our names at the concierge for the test but our names were not on the list on the day of so that was a little disappointing. Good thing that local laboratory personnel were ready to accommodate this small issue. We took the same stairs all week and I noticed the same area where there were mice and birds poop that were not cleaned the whole week we were there. Large beach area. Masks were worn properly by staff. Very good service overall. We stayed from Oct. 31- Nov. 7.

Azura Beach Resort Samara: Azura Beach Resort

The resort is very nice. Some rooms are still under construction. It was quiet and not a lot of people. We love the fact it is adults only. The meals are 5 star. The staff is exceptional. But, when it get busier and more people showed up. The service and meals paid the price. The resort did not increase the staff as the guests increased. The whatsapp was a great idea and it helped to book meals and keep up to date with room service and cleaning of the rooms. Another good feature, we were able to [... read more] use the sister resort. We rented a car which was only 6 minutes away. Most excursion are far away. But they have local ones. If you want a relaxing vacation. This is the best resort for that. There is no night entertainment in this resort. But after all day of sun. 9pm or 10pm we were sleeping. The rooms are amazing and big. The air conditioners work well. The water dispenser was welcome surprise as well as the Britt coffee maker with the little pods. The shower was nice, but no not water. Needless to say, having a shower was brrrr. The beach was very nice. But I'm a pool person. The swim up bar wasn't open, but the Chill and Grill bar was so close to the pool. It didn't matter the pool bar wasn't open. All in all it was great vacation.

Planet Hollywood Costa Rica: Amazing people!

My daughters and I had a wonderful vacation at Planet Hollywood. The people were very warm and always wanting to help. The Italian and Steak House restaurants had amazing food. For the size of the resort, we found the buffet very small. The actual resort had very steep hills and many stairs. They do have trolleys, however we walked and it was quite the hike. We were not fond of the beach. It's like a black clay and did not look appealing. It's quite small. As soon as you stepped off [... read more] the hotel property, locals wanted to sell you everything from trips, massages to goods. Pool was nice. Always plenty of chairs and towels. Ronny was always entertaining to watch. We found the hotel lacked a lot of communication. We required covid tests prior to returning home. Nobody explained what to do, other than to book the test. When we went for our appointment, the men said a form was to be completed (which we knew nothing about). We brought cash, only to be told they only take credit. Our travel rep was not there the noted hours. We had to book our excursion through the hotel. We had to track him down to find out when the bus picked us up. In the past, there was a binder we could refer to. The rooms were beautiful with lots of storage. Overall, we loved our trip and wished it was longer.

Secrets Papagayo Resort: Amazing Honeymoon

My husband and I spent a week here on our honeymoon. They decorated our room and made sure we were very comfortable and happy. The rooms were secluded and private which was nice. Lots of different types of food and loved the fact we could sit anywhere on the resort and servers would be there to offer drinks or food. We felt like royalty. We had the most amazing drivers who always picked us to drive us anywhere with a smile and always so friendly to chat with. Mike and Elij are who you want!!!

Secrets Papagayo Resort: Decent resort

- The beach was open to public and the vendors are relentless on trying to sell something using sob stories. - clean resort, good food - same menu everyday - water activity equipment not cleaned i.e. kayak, paddles, life jackets, etc. - no nightly activities or entertainment (fairly boring stay) - promotion staff pushing to sell timeshare with incentive - housekeeping only changes towels everyday, linen remains the same - you can see some wildlife on resort, pretty cool - take bug spray  [... read more] - gift shop is overpriced, make purchases at the airport instead - if it weren't covid, we would have done excursions, and I think that would have made the trip more fun - probably had about 100 people overall at the resort, so finding a table or a spot was easy, pools or whirlpools weren't crowded - teppanyaki was only thing you needed reservations, and you needed to call bright & early in the morning, it's a bit overrated but sure why not check it out - temps taken regularly before entering restaurants - hand sanitizers readily available - nice to walk around the resort, good exercise and worth the view

Azura Beach Resort Samara: Stunning Resort

Exceptional resort and not just because of the unbelievable location and property itself but because of the staff. Anyone traveling during this time may doubt their safety however the staff at this resort went above and beyond. Masks were worn ‘properly’ by every staff member with hand sanitizer machines available everywhere. My room was immaculate and had amazing ocean views along with a massive sink tub on the balcony. The hotel is the perfect size so only a few steps to the beach a [... read more]nd pool from all suites. If your bucket list for your next vacay includes excellent food, fantastic staff, great sunsets at a chill luxury resort this is it!

Azura Beach Resort Samara: Great resort

Very nice resort, clean comfortable and great staff. Some of the meals were a little slow coming and a few drink orders were missed but they were delicious so all and I was very happy ! The grounds and beach were amazing a real tropical paradise 😃

Riu Palace Costa Rica: A wonderful holiday resort.

This was our second stay at the Riu Palace. Upon arrival we were greeted by friendly desk staff and were quickly assigned to a wonderfully large clean room with a wonderful garden view. Due to delayed flight arrival from the airport we were hungry and tired and had missed dinner at the buffet. On the way back to our room we stopped to read the menu at the Italian restaurant. A server from the restaurant sensing our situation waived for us to come in and eat although they were in the process o [... read more]f closing. That was the beginning of a wonderful stay. The food throughout the resort was excellent with a large variety of choice. The complete staff of the Riu team from desk staff, cleaners, pool people, grounds people and bartenders were all friendly. The grounds and pools were amazing. My favourite meal was roast of lamb. Of course I should not leave out the baked goods table, salad bar or the fresh fruits.

Riu Guanacaste: A Great Resort

Right from the start I new we had made a great choice. The check in process was very fast and efficient. We were in our room in less than 15 minutes. After arriving in our room we were able to check one thing off our Must Do.When we looked off our balcony we could see howler monkeys in the trees. They were there from about 2 to 5:30 pm. Our sunwing representative Smiley was great. He was able to put us on an excursion that checked a couple more things on our Must Do list. We went on the Blue [... read more] River excursion and saw 3 sloths, blue morpho butterflies, volcanic steam baths, hot springs and volcanic mud. The hotel also offers shuttles to Coco Beach and Taramindo Beach. The food was also very good. The buffet and the a la cartes. The wine could always be improved upon! I would not hesitate to return to this resort, and I am defenitly not finished with Costa Rica. Sandra

Azura Beach Resort Samara: Beautiful Resort, Wonderful Staff

We very much enjoyed our stay at Azura. Javier made our room very special with balloons, champagne and rose petals upon arrival to celebrate our recent engagement. Suzanna, Christopher, Alejandro and the rest made outstanding cocktails all week! Andreas took us on a private hike through the forest and to the other beaches and educated us on the way. We did have a short stint when we didn’t have water, but Sergio and the team worked hard at getting the right person on site to fix it and within  [... read more]18hrs was fixed. Food items I enjoyed were the ceviche, tempura veg, tuna poke, shrimp risotto, chips and guacamole, and summer rolls. I would go back for sure.. every place you go has things that are different than what you’re used to and coming with an open mind, and you will enjoy your stay as well... that people do the best that they can with the resources they have. Thank you Azura team, our trip was one we will never forget. Val and Mike

Planet Hollywood Costa Rica: Great Resort

My teenage daughter and I just returned from Planet Hollywood Costa Rica. The weather was sunny and very hot! Watch the sand in the afternoon as it is black volcanic sand that absorbs the intense sun. My daughter enjoyed the Queen tribute band and the Silent Dance Party. There were several restaurants and no reservations were required but be prepared to wait up to an hour. We were in no hurry. East, the Steakhouse and the Italian restaurant were our favourites.The pool was busy with lots of act [... read more]ivities going. There were many interesting excursions available to meet a variety of interests. The beach is simple. We found the monkeys entertaining. The staff was very upbeat and fun and I thought that the rooms were very nice.

Planet Hollywood Costa Rica: Great resort

Clean and nice room, food was good, not the best. Pool was clean. Staff was ok, not too friendly . Only one good show for the week. Excursions are worth the $. Beautiful country . Exotic falls and amazing rainforest

Planet Hollywood Costa Rica: Planet Hollywood Resort, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

I travelled with my two sons on Westjet to the Planet Hollywood on Feb 22. My oldest has severe dietary issues and that was one of the reaons we chose this hotel given when we booked we were advised that they can accomodate. After reading a rather unflattering review just before we arrived I was ready for a disaster but need not of worried at all. At every meal, wherever we ate, my son was asked what he would like to eat. Every chef was aware of his dietary intolerances. Although we were Star C [... read more]lass guests I am sure any dietary issue would be looked after regardless.Great people, amazing service and awesome food and amenities. The following people made this vacation the best ever: Pablo; our personal agent, Jonathan; manager of the So Cal Buffet, Ginger; Hostess at the So Cal, and, Franquiri, Server at the So Cal. Would not hesitate to recommend and hope to return.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Riu Palace Costa Rica

The resort was superb. Clean, modern and the staff were wonderful. The pools were excellently maintained and the beaches were close by and clean. The rooms were clean, comfortable, with air conditioning and a fan, bathroom and shower were great, beds comfortable and nice balcony. One of the most enjoyable parts was the food. The buffets and the restaurants had excellent choices and great quality. We will definitely return!

Occidental Tamarindo: Our second visit was a disappointment...

This was our second year in a row going to the occidental tamarindo. Things have gone drastically downhill. There are next to no staff anywhere, so the service was very poor. Tables full of dirty dishes, long lines to the beach bar. Dirty and broken beach loungers. But the deciding factor as to why this will be our last visit was the food. It was actually awful this time. Simple cooking like scrambled eggs, and rice were horrible. It’s as if the kitchen staff is untrained. The choices we [... read more]re plain and the same almost everyday. The meat and fish was at times inedible. Such a disappointment as we really loved this place last year. We will not be returning and cannot recommend this resort. 🙁

CC Beach Front Papagayo: A beautiful little jewel!

wonderful resort. quiet, lush grounds, friendly and attentive staff, fantastic food, just perfect for a relaxing getaway. 2 pools and the beach provided plenty of area to relax. Staff extremely attentive and always cheerful. Site, restaurant and rooms were always spotless.

Margaritaville Beach Resort Playa Flamingo: Fun and Relaxing!

Margaritaville is a beautiful, fun resort. The location is perfect, with the beach just steps away and a small town offering many different restaurant options right outside the gate. I was a bit disappointed when the music ended at 10pm on friday night. Otherwise our stay was fabulous, the staff on the resort were friendly and extremely helpful! Our poolside Gardenview room was nicely decorated and comfortable. Thank you for an amazing stay!

Hotel Villas Playa Samara: Amazing Resort

It was an amazing resort food was good had lots of choices and options. They also had a Lacarte which was very good and I definitely recommend that everybody go there the pools were wonderful and clean and the staff was great and always helpful but especially the bartenders they were amazing.