Relaxing Small Resort

Great remote location to relax, If your looking for a place to unwind this is it. Beach was excellent , people were friendly, the gym and some rooms were tired and aging though. Monkey tours company had great excursions if you keep at them to get enough people for minimum tour size. Keep in mind its a 2+ hour drive from Liberia airport. ( Diego at the swim up bar is the best )

Great Little Resort

We traveled as a family of eight for a one week stay at this resort. Four adults and four children (ages 4-8). We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The resort is about a 2 hour bus ride from the airport, so travel days are long. We stayed in a one bedroom bungalow. There was a queen bed and two single beds. Perfect for two adults and two kids. The room was nice and the service was good. The staff are very helpful and pleasant. They were very patient with the kids as they ordered their Shirley Te [... read more]mples. There is no kids program or evening entertainment. That was fine for us, but other travelers might miss it. Both the beach and the pool are great, lots of swimming, walking, and search for seashells and crabs. We went on two excursions, one was on a riverboat where we saw lizards, bats, monkeys, crocodiles, and lots of birds. It was a full day and lots of fun. The second excursion shouldn't be missed. It was an evening excursion (about 20 minutes from the resort) where we saw young sea turtles being released into the ocean, and witnessed a mature sea turtle laying her eggs. It was one of the highlights of the trip. We did not use the al a carte restaurant. The buffet was great, they change it up every day, and the food is high quality.

The Good, the bad, and the ugly

Good: Quiet hotel, the food (at the start of the trip), the weather. Wi-Fi worked in room. Pool was nice and clean! Appreciate the swim up bar Bad: The food (buffet). Limited drink options (bar closes at 10 pm) only one restaurant (there were times where no food was available). The beach (full of rocks & logs). Everything closes at 10pm including all restaurants. No entertainment staff or night life at all. Location (anything worth walking to is 30 minute + walk). Major construction next do [... read more]or as a new hotel is being built. Any excursion that visits a volcano is a 3+ hour drive, hotel is 2.5 hour drive from Liberia Airport Ugly: Bugs found in room (cockroaches), geckos/spiders/snake all found in rooms. Verdict: Comes down to what you paid, I found a great last minute deal and lucked out with perfect weather so I enjoyed my trip. Would be careful booking here..

Nice little resort.

Good food, nice room, friendly staff. Beautiful beach with beautiful horses coming to visit daily. Only downfall was too few beach chairs and the day they ran out of beer in one of the bars. Fixed that by getting in cans. Real nice walk along the beach to town.

Beautiful resort! Beautiful country!

Everything was nice, but the restaurant menu could have more choice. The villas were nice, big, comfortable, beautiful interior, there was coffee maker, but only one package of coffee for the whole stay .

Worst Resort ever visited

False advertising: stated buffet and lunch dinner but only breakfast buffet. Lacarte lunch and dinner same munu everyday. Very little choices no vegetables. Reheated food again and again. Some menu items not available. 99% of the staff has no idea about hotel management nor do they understand English. Only plus was the room was ok but some towels were not good condition. Roof in the verendah was leaking, no hangers in the room. No telephone for emergency though from the reception. Will never u [... read more]se aircanada vacation. Kept at the airport waiting for others but not even a bottle of water provided. Our money and phone was stolen at the nearby beach (not the hotel) terrible people. Tripcentral price was higher than aircanada website promised to match but did not

Beautiful intimate resort that will soon be an amazing resort when fully renovated.

This place will be amazing when all the villas are renovated. As of right now though it is still really nice and better then some larger 4 star all inclusive resorts. We stayed here May 15-22 with a 4 year old and 2 year old. The staff were amazing with our boys and the beach was great for them to run and find shells. There was only about 30 people staying at the resort and so there was no buffet and every meal was a la carte. The food was the best I have ever had and we were blown away by the a [... read more] la carte suppers. The shrimp were enormous. The snacks and lunches were basically pub food but was as good or better then most Canadian restaurants. Javier was the best and friendliest waiter and was on top of his game. He was very patient and friendly with my 2 year old also. Service was at the forefront for us. We were in an unrenovated villa and just asked for a room with a tv for our kids for some quiet time before bed and Andrey the concierge hooked us up with one of their renovated one bedroom villas on the beach. It was literally the best room on the whole resort. We were 20 yards to the beach and since it is such an intimate resort we were still only 100 yards from the restaurant and 60 from the pool. Everything is nice and close unlike the huge resorts. There is construction going on next door on the sister resort but it was nothing very intrusive. They are also busy renovating many other villas and they are huge and beautiful when they are finished. The ones that aren't complete yet are still very nice and nothing to complain about. There are iguanas everywhere which the kids loved seeing and the beach has horses running down the beach from a farm where they escaped. We were able to see howler monkeys just beside the resort and across the road and Brainer the security guard showed us pictures of a monkey right in the middle of the resort by the beach. This is something that adds to the reasons to choose Costa Rica as a vacation destination. The pool was nice with the shallow entry for the kids and the waterfalls and jacuzzi area kept them entertained. Marcos, Allan, and Javier were great in the pool bar even though they had to double between there and the lobby bar. We never had to wait more then a few minutes for a drink and Marcos is an artist with the detail he puts into his drinks. We had the best all inclusive vacation ever here because of the beauty of Costa Rica and this resort being so empty. It is safe enough to be able to walk outside the resort and check out Samara and Carrillo Beach. The cons are the 5 hour flight and 2 hour bus ride. Even though the drive is long it is beautiful and there is tons of amazing landscapes and towns to see. A perfect resort for honeymooners and people looking for a quiet vacation at a picturesque intimate resort.

Beautiful Resort

I loved this small resort that was within 1 minute walk of the pool and beach. The meals were delicious with lots of variety. The beach sand in front of the resort had no stony or rocky areas - beautiful sand with shallow water extending 50-75 ft out - great for kids. Water has some larger waves so knowing the tides is important. Resort rooms were roomy but basic - lovely showers and King beds - mattress could have been more comfy and pillows were not great. Staff were VERY friendly and helpful. [... read more] Dinner entertainment was very nice. Since we went in the off season (early May), excursions sold at the resort were based on minimum numbers. HIGHLY recommend Canopy Tours Ziplining and surfing lessons in very near by Samara village. I would definitely return to this resort!

Great family fun vacation

Had a wonderful time at this cozy resort. We had a family group of 22 people in age range from 7 months to 64 years and everyone and I mean everyone had a fun time. Felt very safe and comfortable. Staff so helpful and so pleasant.Great beach, great food with a good variety. Especially liked the snack time fare in the afternoon....Yummy burgers, nachos, fries etc. Super pool bartender . I hope to be back soon. Sue

AWESOME!!!!

WOW.... we had such an amazing time at Hotel Villas Playa Samara. There is a real family atmosphere at the resort and because of this we met so many wonderful people during our stay. The pool bar is the highlite, because it is so hot we made our way to the pool bar by 10:30am, where we stayed most of the day. Eduardo, my friend with the biggest smile. Marcos makes the best mojito's and Allan a favourite for the colourful shots. They are an amazing crew managing the pool bar and the dinning area. [... read more] Do not expect speedy service, they should have at least 2 ppl serving the pool bar. They do their best but more help would be wise. Order 2 drinks at a time! The beach was amazing, a few people experienced some jelly fish stings, not a big deal, have the staff cut you a lime and place it on the sting area. GONE!!!! Our room was spectacular, we were in a newer building! Stunning rooms! They were cleaned daily and provided clean towels. Hot water everyday, never an issue. Thank you to the staff for ensuring our stay was memorable. They are building a new hotel, so there is some construction but i was never bothered by it. Wifi was available and we found it was much better at the beach and in the room. A few monkey's made their way into the resort, they were having a lot fun jumping from limb to limb. We did walk the beach to town, about 30minutes, go early it is hot.If you walk back make sure you begin your journey before the tide comes in, otherwise you may find it difficult. Cabs are easy to get and it is a 5 minute drive. Rages from $6 - $12 US depending on the number of ppl. Its worth it to exchange US to their currency. You will get more value for your money. See horses are on the beach everyday and in town, they walk right up main street!! Town is safe, everyone is wonderful. If you are looking for some comforts of home, go so Nikki at Arriba sports bar. AWESOME!! http://arriba.isamara.co/#/Arriba If your looking for an ATV excursion go so Issac and Christian at the OUTBACK adventure. They will take care of all your needs. https://outbackquads.com/ If you are comfortable driving in the country, rent a car, drive to all the excursions and pay a minimal fee $10. I would definitely return to this resort!!!

BYOT-Bring your own towel!

First visit to Costa Rica, amazing country, the town of Samara is super hipster. LUV Burger is AMAZING organic vegetarian food! As for the resort Playa Samara Villas. We learned very quickly to hang our beach towel each day as there were many people who went 3 days with no towel at all! The food is decent but it is the exact same thing every day. Open air buffet so there are a lot of bugs flying in the food. Updated rooms are very nice but the older ones are filthy. (ie couch and curtains) L [... read more]imited drink choices and the bartenders are definitely not in a hurry. It would be nice if the hotel offered kayaking or paddle boards inclusive. Chair shortage so get it before 7:30 am on the beach. I would not return to this resort but I will definitely visit Costa Rica again and stay in hostels.

Great Value

We were not sure as we were suppose to be in the new sister resort but choose to go anyway. We like small resorts. We were very happy we did. Resort was better then expected. We had a one bedroom Villa. Had living room, kitchen, deck, lovely big bedroom and bathroom. The bed for me was not that comfortable. The buffet was limited. Always found something to eat or went into town for a snack. Bar was limited. No premium drinks again we would just pick up what we wanted in town. Service was good, t [... read more]he staff worked hard and did their best. It goes high on my list as I would return. Costa Rica is beautiful and clean. Walked the beach everyday to the town. You need water shoes here. Beautiful to see the natural beauty. Horses walking on the beach, the monkey’s, beautiful birds and butterfly’s. Lot’s to see and do. I will return to Costa Rica.

Nice but noisy, rooms very nice, food ok

I did have a good week at this resort, but - Construction - so very noisy - after all i was there to rest. I was disappointed about that. - Food was not the best, and sometimes trying too hard to be "american" when really Costa Rican real food would have been great. - Maybe propose nuts and cereals in the morning rather than cold cuts? - Hard to get coffee/tea/cream sometimes... Plusses - Costa Rican are very nice people, and I found them really honest, which was refreshing - My room w [... read more]as really nice and clean. The odd bug, but nothing serious - Beautiful beach, although the water was not the cleanest... I guess with all the fisherman boats around, it's normal. We went on a different beach one day, and it was simply gorgeous! The bus ride to get to the resort was great, but the bus ride back to the airport was horrible. The driver, a young man, was not feeling well we were told. However, when I complained he was going over the limit and people were getting sick, he basically slowed down a bit and stopped going crazy around the bends. However he ignored the speed limits! i am not usually so sticky about speed limits, but when it says school zone and its says 25km and he goes 60km/h, I get concerned. Or when he goes 80 in a 40 zone, I am worried. Although I told the guide about it, he continued driving like that. I felt it was arrogance that comes with being young... Once he passed someone and got back on the right right on time, with the car coming the other way beeping his horn big time! Taking unnecessary risks really. I feel this driver needs a talk for sure. Thank you. C. Devaud

Absolutely Amazing

Loved this place. Very small resort, easy walk from our cute little villa to the pool and the ocean. Our room and the resort were kept very clean. The food was great! Always a good selection and variety. Chicken, beef and fish always tasted great and were cooked in different ways. Lots of fresh fruit and salad selections. We have been to many resorts, but the staff at this resort went above and beyond any resort we have been to. Fransella and Danni at the front desk, Sergio from Monkey  [... read more]Tours, Remi from Monkey Tours, Marcos the bartender at the swim up bar and many others that I just can't remember their names. We had a few glitches with our air conditioner and safe and they came within 15 minutes and had things fixed up. We loved the beach. Water was clear and warm. We were able to walk the beach into the little town of Samara. Beautiful walk along the ocean. A few rocky patches, but I was still able to walk in my bare feet. The beach in front of resort was beautiful sand and waves for swimming. We walked 10 minutes down the road from the resort to another beautiful beach. Very peaceful place to relax and fall in love with Costa Rica.

Perfect for us!

We had an amazing family vacation here. It was the perfect spot for 21 of us aged 7 months to 64 years old. After a bit of confusion with the rooms when checking in, Andreas went out of his way to make sure it got settled promptly. We soon found our way around the resort which is the perfect size and very well laid out. The pool is a very good size and never was terribly busy. The wet bar was great except the bartender, Marcos was at times overworked. Though he never hesitated to serv [... read more]e you your drink with a smile. Marcos was awesome. His drinks were over the top! Our villa was absolutely perfect for what we needed. The bed was very comfy and the a/c was much appreciated and needed to sleep. We were happy with the dining room. Food was good and even sometimes great. Always plenty to go around. The staff were excellent, especially Eduardo who always seemed to go out of his way to please us. At times they seemed a bit overworked but they always served you with a smile. I don't think I have ever seen such hard working staff that were so happy. The entertainment in the evenings was very good. Unfortunately it ended a bit early at 9pm. We went out to the bar The Flying Taco in Samara a few times as we weren't ready to stop the party at 9pm. It was lots of fun and just a short 7$ taxi ride away. The beach was always clean. The water, although nice and warm was a bit murky I found. We much preferred to take the 5 minute bus ride to Carillo where the beach is amazing and the waves a lot of fun to play in. The security guard at the beach front area (I believe his name was Brenev) was the nicest guy. He was quick to answer all our questions, joked around with us and always had a smile. My family did a few excursions. One was off shore fishing and the other was zip lining. Both were very good and worth the price. Also huge shout out to Raphael who does the kayak tours. He was so kind and helpful when it came to educating us about Costa Rica. His knowledge of the area abundant and was much appreciated. In general I would say I was completely satisfied with my stay here. We were all sad to leave and hope to go back maybe even next year. It was worth the 2 hour drive from Liberia which was part of the adventure! The staff really made it a great experience but it is also a beautiful location. We felt extremely safe and travelled many times off the resort to Carillo and to Samara. I never felt uncomfortable and the locals were always friendly and accommodating. I would give our vacation a 5*+ because of the resort/staff and location. I would give the resort a 3.5 - 4*

Good resort, needs more bartenders

Staff are super friendly and helpful, however there is only one bartender at the pool bar which means that he is constantly working like crazy to cater to everyone's needs, the very least would be to have 2. Villa was nice , however didn't get new towels on 2 of the days. Food was ok, considering it's a resort. Atmosphere was good however there lacked activities during the days , they should have someone animating or something to get people moving and meeting one another , rather than just every [... read more]one drinking in the pool . I could see water aerobics in the morning due to the average age of clientele . They had big fires on two occasions on the beach, however I think most guests were not made aware which resulted in a handful of people going . Pool was very hot. Final and most important remark, there is a big resort addition being built right next door , so there is noise all day from construction. We also met guests that were duped and had booked rooms in the new addition, even though it hadn't been finished. Ownership seems to be misleading people...

Amazing Hotel

During our stay the visit was so pleasant - the room was very clean and spacious - we were in 3505 villa and outstanding staff that cleaned our room - we really enjoyed the food and there was plenty of it for everyone - the variety was very good - the a la carte restaurant was also very good - the grounds were so clean and very nice to see how the staff looked after the grounds - we both love small resorts and this had everything that we needed and then some

THE PERFECT VETAWSY

Upon arriving I was nervous but the minute you step off the bus they have people making sure every need and question is answered. Every little detail is tended to the people that are amazing I had tons of questions which they already had the answers to before I even asked the resort was the up most refreshing environment. I felt safe I felt comfortable I felt relaxed. The staff were the up most friendliest and helpful. The food was an amazing assortment of flavors and textures and even if there  [... read more]was nothing there that appeased your appetite they, accommodated your needs

Relaxing Resort

We were in villa 11A which I highly recommend. We went Mar 4/18-Mar 11/18. Beautiful weather and landscape. Resort was not busy which was fine for us. There is construction next to the main building (a new resort) and there was construction noise not overbearing but there. Food was ok, nothing remarkable. Looking at previous reviews, we were apprehensive on our choice, but we were not surprised either way...good nor bad. A new guest services manager and a new food and beverage manager had jus [... read more]t started a week prior to our visit, so perhaps improvements will be in the future. Housekeeping was adequate. There are only 2 bars, the pool and main. Pool bar closes at 6pm. Time for us to get drinks was not terrible, but we did have to wait. I would expect if the rsort was busier waits would also be longer. The grounds were nice, except for the pool and main building area. Lots of birds and bird do-do. At no time during the week was the patio/pool area washed down....which would have been nice. Staff were great with special recognician to Andre (front desk), Thaddius (new guest services manager) and Victoria and Marco (pool bar). Beautiful area, 1/2hour walk to Samara of 15 minutes to Carillo Beach which is beautiful. With some attention to food and drink and cleaning the grounds, this would be a huge benefit to the guests. Definately 3 to 3.5 stars, better food would bring it to 4 plus. But anything higher would require renos to most villas and increased guest services.

Excellent location

Location can't be beat - on one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica. Beach is over 3 km long with the resort at one end and the little town of Samara at the other about a half an hour walk away. The water was warm and the sunsets were amazing. Grounds are well kept. The resort is upgrading the villas and a number of them have been turned into rooms which allows them to increase their occupancy, There was a buffet and an a-la-carte restaurant. Food was good but service was spotty and [... read more] you would have sometimes wait for plates or cups. The bars tended to back up and waits for drinks could be lengthy. This could be solved by adding an additional bar-tender and dishwasher. The drinks, once you got them, were good. A sister resort is being built next door and how much this impacts your say will depend on the location of your villa in regards to the new resort. We had to go to the front desk every day to ask for towels and face clothes. When they arrived at our room they were fresh from the dryer, obviously they need to increase their supplies. Staff were generally friendly and when asked would do their utmost to comply with your request. With the great weather, beach and location you can enjoy your stay if you don't let these inconveniences bother you.