Occidental Papagayo: Disappointing resort

This was the most expensive all-inclusive I have been to and for the money we paid, it was a great disappointment. By no means is this a 4 or 5 star hotel, more like a 3 if I'm generous. The hotel has reduced its service to the bare minimum. I would say the cost should have been $1500-$1600 not $2200!!!! King bed in the room when 2 beds were requested. The manager response was they only advertise king but this is not true, their site lists king or 2 double beds. Another excuse was that there's [... read more] only a few and it's on availability when you CHECK IN, not when you book your vacation (no sense). A small single was shoved beside the king as an alternative. Very small buffet which is OK if it's good food, but it was not. The food was bland, cold and generally the same thing every day. Usually there were only 3 fruits, 3 desserts per day. Ice cream was set out in bowls and if they ran out, too bad for you. A la cartes were hard to book and we only rec'd late bookings. Of course we arrived to empty restaurants so why did we have to take late bookings? They've cut back on staff - only one drink server at the main pool, and sometimes only 1 or 2 in the restaurant. Hard to get mimosas (a staple at breakfast usually) and even asking for champagne at dinner was a no no - they would charge for it even though you could walk through the lobby and get it at the bar. The entertainment team (which finally showed up on Thursday) played some games but other than that, not very enthusiastic. The rooms need TLC; they had running toilets, faucets ready to break off, no water pressure in shower, key cards constantly not working. I will not return to this hotel nor recommend it to anyone.

Secrets Papagayo Resort: Trip

Resort was small and quiet. Not a lot to do on the grounds but super relaxing! We all ended up with a stomach bug ;( the restaurants weren’t anything special but the market buffet was GREAT!! We’ve stayed on another resort a few years ago and liked it much better ;(

Occidental Papagayo: Lovely weather, not a hotel for group getaway

The views at this resort are one of the best selling points along with the majority of staff. The weather also helps This resort would not be a great location as group getaways due to the fact that there are only 10 rooms in the resort have 2 beds, despite there indication of deluxe bay view having 2 beds or king. This would be designated a couples resort not adults only. The rooms need some updating. Wifi intermittent and most of time not functioning in the rooms, malfunctioning room key cards [... read more]. The food at the buffet was mediocre and service at the beginning of the vacation was pretty sparse. Difficult to get into the a la carte restaurants with line ups every day. Of all my vacations with my girlfriends, this was my most disappointing.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Riu Palace - Beautiful Place

It was our second time at this resort. Loved it the first time. Both vacations were a week in length. The only issue we had was we booked a jacuzzi suite well in advance but were still put on the ground floor. No privacy there. We attempted to use the jacuzzi and red ants and their larvae blew out of all the jets. Never used it all week. Complained to the front desk about the ants and the cleaning staff were sent in about 15 mins. The issue here is that they started cleaning the room instead o [... read more]f the jacuzzi. Lost in translation I think. Another staff came back later that evening with ant killer. Tried to clean the jacuzzi. All looked good until the following morning. I went out to enjoy a coffee and there were approximately 50 dead ants still in the jacuzzi tub. I’ll never book one of these rooms again. Wasted money!!!

Riu Guanacaste: average hotel

you can never complain about the weather that's for sure. But for smokers your in trouble ,its a no smoking hotel either you walk to the beach or behind a building, not that nice for ladies come evening ,3 bars within 50ft of the entertainment area 1 bar for the four pools. The beaches were never combed and full of venders. The food was ok, your regular resort menu, I was expecting a little of Costa Rican specialty. the rooms were kept ok clean but the toilets had no flushing power.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Excellent Experience

Was probably one of our best experiences in traveling to resorts. Check in amazing, great food, rooms very clean. The staff could not do enough for you to make the stay better. The staff that cleaned the rooms were in and out, always while we were away from the room. Always acknowledged us when walking by. Restaurants were very accommodating. Only recommendation I would make would be to look at more washroom facilities in the pool area. I would definitely have this resort on our return to list. [... read more] Costa Rica is such a nice country.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Beautiful resort

The rooms are very clean, staff is amazing and very helpful. The staff at the pools keep the drinks coming! The Krystal restaurant had the best food on the resort and the staff are very accommodating!!! My only advise is to get to the ala cartes early. They only have so many spots. For example the steakhouse only sits 100 people per night. They were already at the max at 6:45pm. The rooms only have 2 English channels fox news and CNN. The beach wasn't the best but we knew that before booking  [... read more]and that didn't stop us deter us.

Dreams Las Mareas Costa Rica: Amazing Resort

Staff were friendly and courteous. Facility was top notch and a beautiful property. 1hr and 45 mins from airport so a bit far but worth the wait. Beach area small but nice. Great place and would definitely go back again.

Occidental Papagayo: A resort with opportunity

The location of the resort is great with a short commute from the airport. The check in process was very confusing and we didnt recieve all of the welcome package.The resort is clean and the staff are friendly. However the room always carried an odour with limited space to unpack your suitcase. The food is just standard with a few moments of brilliance. External activites are somewhat overpriced and you can get better deals from the locals at the beach. Pools are great and the beach is great i [... read more]n the morning hours when the tide is out. Our stay was good but we were looking for more.

Riu Guanacaste: Large Resort

The good; very clean, good service and excellent grounds. Rooms: very average, clean and in need of some TLC. Food: Average but plentiful. Best meal of day was Breakfast. Restaurants: Buffet average, a la carte: Steak ( steak was very salty), Asian (very good), Italian (good) Beach: Never had to chase chairs down, service on beach and water was nice. Recommend bringing water shoes as a bit rocky. Shows: Average Bars: Watered down Alcohol. Premium drinks hidden under counter. Tipping: It [... read more] was almost mandatory to tip as they put the tip jar for everyone to see. Local Bathrooms: this was a poor area as there are only two public ones throughout this large resort. We averaged 8k-10k steps per day. The best part of the trip is the country, lots to do. All in all a good trip. Resort is a 4 star.

Beach Break Resort: Quiet Resort

Mediocre resort. Room we had needed attention. Shower door leaked hence bathroom a pool of water each use. Food was filling but repetitive. Grounds nice. No night music. Good if one just wants to chill. Ability to walk into village great.

Riu Guanacaste: Fun Time

I would give overall a 4 star review. The grounds were kept in extraordinary condition, the food was good with much variety to choose form everyday, drinks were great and overall service was great. The bedrooms are a little outdated and long elevator wait times. There are nicer beaches in Costa Rica compare to the resort that you can visit by leaving for an excursion during the day. The beach resort was very rocky but you are also located on Pacific waters. Overall, I would definitely ret [... read more]urn.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Great holiday

The holiday was great. The rooms were good and the grounds were well kept and enjoyable. The service was great throughout. The food overall was good. We were disappointed in the steak house as the steaks were not up to quality north American standards whenever we had them. We eventually stayed away from them. The food at the buffet was always good, especially the breakfasts. We did wonder that given you are selling to Americans and Canadians to a large extent why the television channels had onl [... read more]y English CNN and Fox with no major US network exposure. ESPN would have been nice to turn on in the evening after the day was done.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Great resort

Plenty of enthusiastic staff, lovely amenities, clean pools, wi-fi worked. Buffet breakfast was especially good. Really professional nighttime entertainment. Best thing for us was that they obviously pay attention to cleanliness and food and water safety - we didn't get sick!!! I was also impressed with the country as a whole - emphasis on education, health care and the environment.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Superb Resort

This was our 4th trip booked thru Trip Central to this amazing Resport, about a 35-minute ride from Airport. Alls Rooms are spacious and well maintained, with the Refridgerator stocked with the Beer and Sodas of our preference. The grounds were perfectly manicured, and the pool waters were warm givin the consistent weather in January. In addition to the 4 ‘specialty’ restaurants common to all Riu Palaces, the daily Buffets at breakfast, lunch (@ the Italian) and dinner provided a great varie [... read more]ty of excellent choices. We booked 2 half-day excursions thru the local Nexus Rep, one to the River where we saw a wide variety of Birds and beasts (crocks, iguanas, ...), with the only complaint being the bumpy backroads. The other was to the eco-site next door, where we saw local animals (puma, jaguar, ocelot, ... sloths... and some smaller critters), birds (including Toucans and parrots), snakes, frogs and butterflies. Not to miss. Avoided the Zip-Line...it’s on the agenda for next life. In addition to pools with frequent drink service there, the walkable dark-sand beach stretches for miles. And as an extra bonus, saw 1-week old turtles released to ocean, and met families of monkeys just a short walk from the hotel. Of course I didn’t feed the monkeys from my hand, because that would be against the law! We will go back again and again. As a minor complaint, the cable TV was terrible...they do not offer US Networks, or any NOrth American sports stations. With the vast majority of occupants English-speaking, about 36 of the 40 available stations were in Spanish. My wife, however, was thankful, and reminded we weren’t there to watch TV

Beach Break Resort: Stunning views!

Absolutely the best and truest Costa Rican experience we could have hoped for! The resort was close to Jaco town where shopping and restaurants were available. The resort staff were simply amazing, friendly, accommodating and just super pure and happy people. the dining view was spectacular and the beach amazing. Definitely will be returning! Thank you beach break resort the most amazing time ever ! Pura Vida!

Occidental Papagayo: Awesome resort!

The hotel and the whole experience were wonderful. The grounds are beautiful and well kept. We dined at the Italian and Oriental restaurants during our stay. The Italian was amazing and except for the mains that were a little bland, the Oriental was good too. We definitely frequented the main pool and swim up bar which were perfect. All of the staff went out of their way to make sure our visit was what we expected, especially the bartenders! We plan on going back to Occidental Papagayo soon!

Riu Guanacaste: One of the best resorts we have been to

Overall this resort is great , food was great , clean , entertainment was good and the best pool we have ever see . Just had a concern with the pillows , they need new pillows and the rooms are a bit dated .

Planet Hollywood Costa Rica: Great resort

Beautiful resort with very friendly and helpful staff. Lots of food choices to choose from. Was amazing to see monkeys running around freely on the beach. Only disappointment was our ice machine wasn’t working, we mentioned it on day one and it never got fixed.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Average Resort

The resort is beautiful and very well kept. It was very clean and felt very safe. Pools and beach are excellent. Very clean and well kept. Rooms were oddly decorated and very run down with a very strong musty smell. Loved the shower though, it was a great set-up! Food was felt to be sub-par. It was “good” and there were no issues, but the buffets were very much the same every day and many times it felt as though the food had been sitting out for long periods of time. The a la ca [... read more]rte restaurants were nothing special and the food was just “okay” in comparison to other 4 or 5 star restaurants. Staff was excellent. Everyone was so friendly and helpful and went out of their way to get to know us well to provide excellent service. Evening entertainment was okay. Typical resort shows and very average. Day-time entertainment was lacking. The most active time felt to be around 4 or 5 pm, but this was the end of the day just before the pools closed for the day. It just felt to be odd timing, and was not properly spaced out during the day. For the price, star rating, resort chain reputation, and previous experience at a Riu Palace in another country, expectations were not fully met. We “may” return to this resort, but would be open to trying others in Costa Rica. We would likely still recommend the resort, however, as there are no real major complaints.