Riu Guanacaste: Beautiful resort!

We absolutely loved this resort...very clean, spacious, loved the buffets. Wonderful, helpful staff. The only negative for us was the room. We are a family of five and the room did not accommodate us well...

Planet Hollywood Costa Rica: OK. I'm impressed.

This resort addressed several of my pet peeves with all AI resorts; 1. Trying to get a table in a buffet restaurant. PH has a receptionist at every dining area entrance who asks your room number, any allergies, sit inside or outside, and takes you to a table. She then unfold a cloth napkin to form a V, which lets wait staff know that the table is taken.A waiter comes around usually within 30 seconds and takes your order for coffee, tea, juice, wine, etc. It's typically on the table when you ge [... read more]t back from buffet with a plate of food. Very efficient. 2. People "reserving" beach/pool chairs. This PH had so many chairs, that even with many towels on unoccupied chairs, there were still lots of unused ones. A sign clearly stated that personal belongings/towels would be removed from the chairs by security after observed non use, but it was not an issue. 3. Trying to get reservations in the theme restaurants. Very simple; you didn't have to. Just show up at the door, and again, give a room number, inside or out, and here's your table. Including Japanese, a steak house, Italian, Tex-Mex. There's also a "Burger Joint" near the pool, serving only burgers & fries, plus an outdoor BBQ at lunch time. All the food was very good. The room was spacious and very attractive, with wood, marble, indirect lighting, lots of movie channels on tv, a comfortable king bed. When we arrived, they directed us to walk a red carpet towards the front desk, the lobby staff applaud, offered us a welcome drink, and then checked us in within minutes. There's a steep hill between the lobby and the pool/beach area but electric shuttles run up/down all day & evening. One more plus, the guest ID wrist tag is a quarter sized plastic disk on nylon cord; that's the room key. The beach is fine black sand, which is not as attractive as white, and gets very hot during the day. I measured 60 deg C. The air was 34-36 during the day, the pool was 30, ocean was 25 on March 6. Only a couple of minor negatives, a few times it took 3-5 minutes to get a drink at the lower pool bar, the staff put washing used glasses ahead of serving drinks. All the staff are very friendly and courteous. One last thing that I found out after arriving at the hotel, there's a $29 usd p/p departure tax collected at the airport. You can use a credit card but that costs an additional $5 usd. Not a huge amount but it cut into my usd cash I brought to spend.

Planet Hollywood Costa Rica: An excellent choice!

Wow! Had an amazing stay. I was hesitant at going first, but in the end, I'm more than satisfied & would go again. Being a newer resort, there are still minor kinks to be worked out, but none that would ruin a vacation. Close to airport - 30/35 minutes - BONUS! Food was very good plentiful & varied, breakfast buffet even has a gluten-free station. Liked that reservations weren't required, other than the Teppanyaki dinner show. Grounds are very well maintained. Entertainment was good & differen [... read more]t than your typical Caribbean Island shows, a refresh. Rooms were modern & spacious with plenty of storage, always cleaned & stocked. Shower pressure was very good. Staff is amazing & go out of their way to accommodate any requests. Pools were very warm as well as the calm ocean. Sand entry to beach is scorching, so be sure to wear water shoes or flip flops. I really can't find any fault. Go, enjoy, relax & PURA VIDA!

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Outstanding

The Riu Palace in Costa Rica was truly outstanding. Lovely well kept and clean grounds. Excellent staff and restaurants. A resort that gave you good value for your money. Beach however should have more shady spots for sunbathers. Water rougher than we are use too. Very hot but breezy.

Azura Beach Resort Samara: Great Getaway

The resort as noted in trip advisor is not completely finished. To begin our holiday we were upgraded to the honeymoon suite! Not a bad start! From that moment on we had a great time. Yes there were some wrinkles and you might have had to wait a few more minutes to place your order or get your meal but they are offering a very good deal. The resort is beautiful, beach is lovely and the pool area is well laid out. I would highly recommend this resort and expect they will work out some of th [... read more]e small problems. Staff are fun and very hard working. This is our second time in Costa Rica and we had an amazing vacation

Villas Sol Beach Resort: Great resort

I really loved the resort. Room was really nice and clean. The view is beautiful. The resort is on a hill. The food was good but only has 2 restaurants which was fine by me. It has a relaxing vibe. The beach is nice and I saw howler monkeys in the trees. I would defininely go back.

JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort and Spa: Amazing hidden gem

Great resort, great food, the buffet was just as good as the a la cartes, clean rooms that are very nice and spacious. Enough pool areas for everyone and lots of greenery to keep it feeling private and quiet.

Barcelo Tambor: Remote..beware land trip from airport!

Very remote but clean, beautifully landscaped resort. Food fair, repetitive, but best fresh fruit ever! Beach good for long walks. Majority of guests Costa Rican, EVERYTHING in Spanish, only English speaking at reception and customer relations! No Air Canada rep at resort for info. Have to find everything out yourself! Approx. 4 hour trip from airport , construction through mountains scary, drop offs, only yellow and orange tape markings,narrow winding gravel road, hairpin turns, for 20-30 km  [... read more]of it and driver going fast! Clouds of dust from large trucks made for poor visibility at times! Stressed on arrival and AC rep contacted twice via phone refused to give another option for departure! Cannot recommend land trip until road finished, unless come by ferry, as most Air Transat guests. Lonely, too, if social, as only a very small number of English speaking guests. Kudos to the 2 Customer Relations guys for their support and calls to AC rep. This is apparently common for them with Canadians arriving at resort by land from the airport and they agree with our concerns! Even an Air Canada pilot at resort on vacation was refusing to travel back on land with his family. Left before we knew his outcome!

Occidental Papagayo: Beautiful place and people

Enjoyed just about everything at the resort.I have to say the beach was not the best,too many pedlars and, jellyfish in waters. The people on the resort were wonderfully kind and respectful.The meals were wonderfully tasty, both in the buffet and a la Carte restaurants.

Riu Guanacaste: Absolutely beautiful resort....The beach not so nice.

The grounds were beautiful. The employees were very professional and efficient. I did not have to wait for anything in the dining room or the restaurants. I met a lot of wonderful people while travelling alone. Unfortunately, when I was leaving, I asked for someone to come to my room to assist with my luggage. The man who came asked if I was alone and I said yes. He immediately took $20.00 from the table which I had left for the maid. I tried very hard to make him understand that what he  [... read more]had done was wrong but he just laughed and would not put the money back. He kept saying "too much". Upon checking out, I filed a complaint with the front desk and they provided disciplinary action to the man immediately. When I saw him again in the restaurant before I left, he was angry with me. When I paid that much for a vacation, it is unfortunate that this incident even took place. It left me with a very bad feeling. Otherwise, I have no complaints. It was lovely.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Fantastic Resort

We recently stayed at the Riu Palace in Costa Rica. Our experience at the resort was nothing short of fantastic. The staff are all very professional and personable. The rooms are always well stocked, clean and comfortable, personally we loved the shower with lots of room, water pressure and the rain shower head was a great touch. Pools are beautiful and it was very enjoyable to walk along the beach, nightly entertainment was also enjoyable. Both my husband and I really had a fantastic stay, [... read more] there are so many excursions to choose from you could never be bored! We will definitely recommend the resort and location to all of our friends and family.

Planet Hollywood Costa Rica: Great resort!

Beautiful hotel and resort. Food was good, service excellent. Do not purchase trips from the beach vendors, it is a rip off. Rooms are very nice, air conditioning blowing directly on the beds is poor design.

Riu Guanacaste: Not bad!

After having issues with the toilet in our room, I placed a call first thing in the morning hoping to have it fixed when we got back from our outing...it wasn't! On the other hand, the front desk had it resolved within the hour of my going down to talk to them.

Riu Guanacaste: Amazing Riu Guanacaste

Costa Rica is an amazing place to visit, and Riu Guanacaste is smack dab in the middle of all that you would want to see. The location of the hotel, on the Pacific coast, allows an array of day trips and activities for all interests. The hotel itself has a beautiful pool, with big palm trees all around. Howler monkeys visit the area on a daily basis, along with iguanas, making our stay here most enjoyable.

Riu Guanacaste: Overall Awesome Resort

The resort is situated in a beautiful location....nothing nearby other than the Palace resort next door which was great. Big resort but did not feel big. Food was good - buffet was our choice every night - lots of selection for even the pickiest eater. Rooms were kept clean. The only minor recommendation we would make is the entertainment - started off good and as the week went on not so good - last night was a Rock Show - totally confusing. Despite this we still loved it!

Riu Guanacaste: Wonderful Vacation!

Except for one disappointment we were extremely pleased with our stay at the Riu Guanacaste. Registration was quick and we were given a room we requested on a middle floor. Room was nicely appointed and the view lovely. The hotel grounds were lush and tidy..lots of huge swaying palm trees. The beach is large with sufficient trees to lounge in shaded areas and lengthy enough to go for nice walks. All of our meals were great with a wide variety of choices and locations to dine. Service in these [... read more] areas was very good too..staff quick to clear away dishes, reset tables and keep foods replenished. Evening entertainment was typical but still lively and fun to watch. We quite enjoyed all the wildlife in and around this resort..lots of iguanas of many colours and sizes, birds, 2 types of monkeys, sea turtles and even a sea snake! Now for the one downfall..there is only one pool. There is a pool bar. People sit there all day..which begs the question..where are they eliminating those drinks? It was a big turn off for us. Other than the pool this resort is perfect!

Azura Beach Resort Samara: Beautiful Hotel

The Azura is a beautiful new hotel that unfortunately was still under construction while we were there. We didn’t get the panoramic room we paid for, but the room we did get was nice, just no views. It was understaffed as well. We found the male staff catered to the French speaking male tourists more than the females. We waited longer for food and drinks at the bar. Very limited menus, and food wasn’t cooked as per the order.It shouldn’t be recommended at this time The sunsets were spect [... read more]acular as well as the tours!

Planet Hollywood Costa Rica: Memorable vacation!!

We had the pleasure of staying at the Planet Hollywood in Costa Rica during the week of February 18, 2019. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would recommend this resort to anyone. We purchased an all exclusive package through Sunwing vacations. The resort is new and certainly shows that. The planet Hollywood design at this resort was great and we enjoyed the Hollywood theme. The room we had in building number 24 was very nice. The mini fridge was stocked every second day with beer water a [... read more]nd pop. The room and bed was very comfortable and a pleasure to be in during the evening. The resort offers plenty of English channels to choose from on the television. The cleaning staff during our week provided excellent service in our room which we were thankful for. We ate at every restaurant in the resort and most were very good to excellent. The top being the steakhouse and the bottom being the sushi restaurant. The service provided in each restaurant was excellent. The buffet restaurant was excellent providing a good variety of food which varied every day. The pool area was great and never had an issue finding a place to lay down. The beach is typical for a resort on the Pacific ocean. The were only two issues that were drawbacks in our opinion. The infrequency of the golf carts was annoying and we wasted approximately two hours during our week stay waiting for one with the average wait 15 to 20 minutes but definitely longer at times. Being in building 24 which is the farthest building from the main reception should not matter in a resort of this quality. As the resort is built on a steep hill and the heat is extreme during the day this is an important issue.The other issue would be The sewage smell which emanates slightly from the sewage plant located beside building 15 which I would not recommend to stay in. There were a few times in our building during the evening we would get a faint smell of sewage which was unpleasant so I cannot imagine what it smelled be like in building 15. People we spoke to in building 15 did mention this to me as well. The staff at this resort provided service you would expect from a five star resort. Some spoke better English than others however we were always able to communicate with whoever we spoke to and we tried to learn some Spanish as well. I did not find one worker who was in a bad mood during my weeks day which was nice as it made our stay more enjoyable. We would like to mention the following staff which provided us with excellent service during our stay. Bill from the Steakhouse. Luis from cafe on second floor. Ivan from pool cabana concierge service. Christine from customer service. Mauricio from customer service. Erick from the Tex mex restaurant. Fernando from the buffet restaurant. Brian from the PH store Enelson at the front desk. We had a minor issue with our room which was dealt with immediately and above our expectations and would recommend bringing up any issues with customer service as they are very helpful. There is a very good gym for use as well as fitness classes every day. There is a spa as well which is located next to the gym. For excursions I would recommend booking on your first day. Sunwing will offer tours though Nexus tours. I found them to not be as helpful as the PH staff. I recommend speaking to some of the local tour operators on the beach in the morning before the Nexus orientation which was mainly centred around them selling you excursions and not really informative about the actual resort. We were misinformed regarding one of our excursions however when we spoke to Sunwing after they offered us most of our money back.The local people outside of the resort were friendly so there is no issues speaking to them as well. So in conclusion this is a definite five-star resort that we thoroughly enjoyed and would go back. I would like to say thank you to the staff for making our stay memorable.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Very clean Nice resort with good food and services. Not impressed with evening entertainment repeat same people dancing every day

I liked out room. Very clean hotel. Food was good Layout good but a washroom closer to the pools would be nice. Not the best beach but acceptable. Had a number of swims in ocean. Pools were great. I would go again if I could find a way to get there where I didn't have to use Sunwing to get there. The flight was not as described when booked. A extra stop on the way down and due to a fuel stop that was required in Winnipeg we has 3 stops to get home. Ended up getting home much later than planned.

Planet Hollywood Costa Rica: Nice Hotel

The hotel is very nice. We upgraded to Star Class and was very disappointed. If not upgrading its great but not worth the extra cost as did not feel any benefits came with the upgrade. Hotel is very clean as it is New and the staff are great!