Azura Beach Resort Samara: Resort is Okay

This is a smaller resort and the the rooms were okay. Getting hot shower is a challenge. Only one pool and one restaurant so if you are looking for more flexibility then this is not the place. Need more staff to man the two bars and the bars are on the smallish side. Pool bar is fine but need something closer to the beach. Only place to get food is at the restaurant so that is also not ideal. Staff booking the excursions need to be replaced.

Fiesta Resort: Great Resort!

This resort was very clean, grounds were well kept, adult pool was amazing, food was good with lots of variety, staff were friendly and spoke English well. The cookie given at check in was a nice touch.

Hotel Villas Playa Samara: If Not For the Staff.....

Location, location, location. People, people, people. the greatest strengths of this resort. The beach was clean, quiet and peaceful. Virtually everyone from dining to mtce. were warmly receptive. The food was remarkable and surprisingly never repeated in our 10 day stay. Simple evening entertainment during dinner was a perfect blend of variety. Indeed on Valentines Day there was a fabulous beach bonne fire, entertainment, blankets and drinks. This resort COULD BE SO VERY MUCH MORE however. I [... read more]t's infrastructure is weak. No loaner bikes or paddle boards as advertised. Bed linens and towels are old, grey and thin. Water and power supply are oddly sporadic with no backup generators. Guaranteed water will be off at night time a few evenings per week. important to know if you 'need' the toilet. We experienced a 5am-11am planned power outage by the local hydro, for which the resort make no apparent backup plans. Phones are non-existent on site. Our washroom a breeding ground for small black winged drain moths. It would seem this older side of the resort may be a cash-cow for the new development adjacent. The departure tax was a conundrum. The TripCentral agent did not know that the tax was pre-paid by Air Cananda, basic information that would have save waiting in a hot line at Liberia.

Best Western Jaco Beach: Nice resort

The Hotel was clean and nice but a little far from the beach. The food was good, the rooms were very clean. It is close to town. My only complaint was that the entertainment didn't speak English only Spanish.

Azura Beach Resort Samara: Hotel Villas Playa Samara

This is a smaller hotel with lots of potential. Some of the rooms have been upgraded while some still need some TLC. The food was good most days but I think they changed chefs half way through the week and the quality went down. The servers were very nice & the staff were good. The manger on the front desk was not very helpful when it came time to redeem our vouchers from Air Canada. We had to call Canada to get this sorted out. Even when they were told that we had vouchers the guy that was ther [... read more]e to book our excursions was slow to get this done & we had to push him to book them. It was like they didn’t want us to use the $500 before we left. As it was we did not use our full amount.

Azura Beach Resort Samara: Not open yet

We stayed at the sister resort (Hotel Villas Playa Samara) from February 13th to the 20th. Construction continues on the new resort every day, but it does not look near completion yet. The Villas resort was exceptionally clean and well kept. The rooms were spacious and the beds were very comfortable. The food was great every day on the buffet. Some of the meals at the restaurant were not hot when they arrived. Pizzas were excellent! The bartenders at the pool bar kept the drinks flowing. The sta [... read more]ff were all friendly and helpful. We enjoyed our stay, but still wished the new resort had been available.

Punta Leona Beach Club and Nature Resort: nature at your doorstep

If you like nature Punta Leona is for you, if you are looking for action, go somewhere else. Playa Blanca is a beautiful as Manuel Antonia NP without the crowds. It is a long way into the resort from the highway so it is rather remote. No shopping.

Riu Guanacaste: Great Resort

This was a great resort. The grounds were beautiful, food was very good and no problem getting into the restaurants. The bathrooms, hallways, etc. were always clean. The beach was a bit rocky but good.

Riu Guanacaste: Beautiful resort

Beautiful rooms .excellent staff.grounds and pools perfect ..food excellent drinks perfect .I can't say enough how perfect this resort and location for lots of excursions I loved everything thank you to Taylor Curtis my travel agent also I will go back

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Great Quiet Resort

The entire resort was great from the rooms to the pools and the beach. Although we didn't spend much time by the beach due to high winds while we were visiting the pools were fantastic. Plenty of room, you didn't have to fight for a space many chairs available even in the afternoon. The only complaint we had was that the food wasn't amazing, it was OK but we couldn't say "wow that was great", it was just regular food that didn't have a lot of flavour. However, we had friends stay at the  [... read more]Guanacaste Riu and I can say that our pool and resort was WAY better, I would have been dissapointed if I had stayed at the Guanacaste and saw how great the Palace was. It's worth the money to stay at the palace.

JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort and Spa: so friendly but dfinitely just a 4 star, dont wste money on perferred club

just came back fron two weeks in dreans costa rica..beautiful weather, fantastic staff ecspecially Jimmy.elisabethPauola. Meyda. beautiful scenery ,but dont waste money on perferred club really isnt one..still had lots of kids in the perferred club//grab us the first hour for their time sharing gimic, was 4 hours long not 1hour and a half.very dangerous at night as the paths are not lit up very well..could not se where we were goning most of the time. buffet was lousy ,I mean food was edible but [... read more] very little selectom.anything from the store was twice aS much as I have ever sen,sadly the store at the aIrport was exactly the same. a la carte restaurants were not bad, asain ,mexican and steak house were great. the maid was terrible the only thing she did was make the bed ..the counters were never wiped down..no night life at all. I dont mean to sound so picky or anything but we have ben to 6 riu hotels.. white sands pakkadium. grand Pricess hotels//royalton hotels///snd this didnt come close to any of those other .Pther then the maid the sta ff were amazing so friendly and willing to do anything for you /

Riu Guanacaste: Awesome!!

The hotel was beautiful! The grounds were well manicured and kept clean and beautiful to look at. The staff were so friendly, always smiling and eager to help you out! The rooms were large and clean. We loved the outdoor hallways and layout of this hotel! The food was very good! We definitely recommend this place!

Beach Break Resort: Great Resort. Just what we were looking for.

Nice and simple, but everything we needed. The staff was friendly and helpful. Food was good, and sometimes great. Nice and close to the beach, but far enough away from Haco that it wasn't too busy. Some Costa Rican's eating and staying there too, which I like.

Riu Guanacaste: What a place to be at "WOW"

If you wanna see the howler monkeys, zipline good times with great people great food. Wonderful staff.what a wonderful place to be. Did not wanna come home. Don't forget your SUNBLOCK you'll need it. ENJOY

Best Western Jaco Beach: Great resort on the beach

It was a gem to find! A smaller little hotel/resort right on the beach! The location was amazing, the food was great, not 5 star of course but really good. The staff were fantastic too, everyone was friendly and helpful. Can’t wait to go back!!

JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort and Spa: Perfect Vacation in every way!

Hotel room was clean and spacious with beautiful patio or balcony. Food on resort was incredible!! Especially love the 24 hour Costa Rican coffee and gelato bar! The beach was gorgeous!!! As were the pool areas - so much space. Amazing all around.

Hotel Villas Playa Samara: NOTHING BUT MAJOR COMPLAINTS!

This Hotel/Resort was grossly misrepresented by the Air Canada Vacations Sun Collection Brochure. It was not a 4 star, or even a 3 star hotel. They did not offer the promised extras like non-motorized water sports, bicycles, boogie boards, stand-up paddle boards, deluxe renovated rooms, or preferred room location. There is a brand new hotel being built right against it (50 feet away) and we had constant dust, and construction noise 7 days a week from 6:30 am until 9 pm daily. We did not get move [... read more]d to a renovated room with promised TV, ceiling fan and mini fridge until day 4 of our vacation. There was not an Air Canada employee as our destination representative. The Rep. worked for a company called Swiss Travel Costa Rica and only act as an Air Canada Rep., and we don't feel he could do anything to help us with our complaints and problems. We have forwarded a detailed complaint letter to the Trip Central customer service email (customerservice@tripcentral.ca)

Riu Guanacaste: Unforgettable vacation

The trip from start to finish was great. We had a quick check in to allow us to get to the buffet on time before closing. On booking we had upgraded our room and were not disappointed. Beautiful view of the ocean and the well kept grounds. Did not get even get a chance to try all the a la carte restaurants as the buffet alone was exceptional. Friendly , helpful staff. We had beautiful weather and the excursions we chose were not disappointing in the least. We would definitely stay at thi [... read more]s resort again in the future. No complaints at all.

JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort and Spa: Wonderful time and a great resort!

Really had a great time at this resort, it was well maintained, beautiful, great food, nice staff and clean rooms. The pools where great and it wasn't hard to find spots any time throughout the day. The restaurants were a nice dining experience as well.

Hotel Villas Playa Samara: Laid Back & Relaxing Resort

Hotel Villas Playa Samara is the smallest resort that I've been to, but the amenities (restaurant, pool, bars) were on par with the number of guests. The staff were welcoming and friendly, our renovated room was very nice and spacious and the food was great! The beach was by far the best thing about the resort-expansive, very clean and not overly crowded. I would suggest they invest in more lounge chairs for the beach area-it was nearly impossible to find a chair after 7am (this was also due to  [... read more]the fact that some guests saved chairs and then didn't use them).