JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort and Spa: Amazing Family Trip

We had a great time at the Dreams Las Mareas with our 4 kids ranging age 9 to 15. Food was exceptional, rooms were comfortable and the grounds were well maintained. We booked a trip to Costa Rica for the excursions, and although they were a bit of a drive away from the resort they were well worth it. We plan to return in the future and would highly recommend this resor.t

Riu Guanacaste: Amazing Vacation in Costa Rica

The resort was beautiful, the grounds were green and colorful very well maintained. The pool was huge and designed for all ages. The entrance foyer was very welcoming with free Wifi and always a fresh flowing breeze. The rooms were spacious, well maintained and the cleaning staff were great. The food at the restaurants/buffets was excellence. The bartenders were amazing and more than willing to make a drink of your liking. It is an excellent family resort. On the not so positive side, the  [... read more]resort did not have any Rye, e.g. Crown Royal, Canadian Club, Wisers, etc. It was available for a price at the Casio and Disco, but was not available at the resort - disappointing.

Riu Guanacaste: Riu - 2 Time, Amazing Staff, Perfect HOT Weather

We were at this resort about 6 years ago, beautiful resort, amazing staff! It is in need of some updates but still a great resort. The food is consistent, tasty and a large variety. Beach is clean and the dark sand is a nice change and ALL the staff are top notch! We really like Costa Rica, been there 5 times and will go again. Can't go wrong with the weather ALWAYS HOT HOT HOT!! :) If you have stayed at any Rius, you will know what to expect, layout similar, food for the most part cons [... read more]istent and the staff at all the Rius are great. The three we have been to are very similar. We loved the Riu Palace in Montego Bay and really wanted to go to the Palace in Costa Rica but it was sold out but looks awesome. Hope this helps you make a decision on where to stay! Pura Vita!!! :)

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Beautiful Resort!

The property grounds were all kept and clean. The ocean view from the rooms was amazing! Such a pretty place to vacation. The staff were fairly friendly, the rooms were clean and the food was delicious! Certainly a great place to get away enjoy the sun and some wildlife. Would absolutely recommend. Only suggestion for people looking for some more exciting excursions, they are about 4 hours away from the hotel. Keep that in mind while booking if you're looking for mountain/ volcano adventures.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Wonderful Vacation!

The Riu Palace was so much more than expected. The rooms and grounds were immaculate, the food delicious, and the shows were fun. The people that worked at this resort were kind, friendly, and accomodating. I would definitely recommend this resort and Costa Rica, in general. What a beautiful place to be.

Secrets Papagayo Resort: Great staff, helful and considerte

Food is excellent although the choice of restaurants is somewhat limited. The japanese and Italian restaurants are excellent. There is a great selection of wines although they are over priced. Local performers are quite good and the 'party maker staff' add a lot. The entertainment center and staff are quite helpful and accommodating

JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort and Spa: Dreams @ Christmas

My husband and I are well traveled and have been to a lot of all inclusive resorts in Jamaica, D.R, Mexico and Costa Rica. This was our first family vacation outside North America with our 2 sons who are 5 & 6. I hope others can find this review helpful as we spent a lot of time researching and reading reviews as to where we should take out first trip. Overall we are happy with our choice to go to the Dreams Las Mareas in Costa Rica. It was our second vacation to C.R. Here are so pros a [... read more]nd cons about our trip. Bus Ride - 1.5 hrs sucks to be on the bus in the heat. The guides are nice though. The roads are bumpy and narrow. Like others posted the gravel part is extremely hard on the stomach and those prone to motion sickness should take some ginger. Grounds - Beautiful, Lush, Green, and well maintained. It was the start of the dry season so everything was colorful and beautiful. Costa Rica is a beautiful country. Pools - More than you can swim in. The resort was rather busy because we visited during the break but there was always a chair and room to play. The water was clean but always had fallen leaves and debris. Unfortunately for the grounds keepers its a constant battle because of all the surrounding trees. Cannot fault them on this. They make a good effort to keep it clean. Wildlife - We saw monkeys, iguanas (big one named coco), lots of colorful birds, and raccoons (who dump garbage cans over and eat room service plates). We went kayaking and saw 1000 puffer fish in the bay. It was crazy how many there were. We also saw baby stingrays about 15 feet from the shore at the beach. The kids found the hermit crabs to be interesting at both far ends of the beach. Rooms - Always clean and well kept. Refrigerator was always stocked. Like other people said it is a little weird that the bathroom has a class door only. The room is just one big suite. Not too much privacy except for a curtain you can pull. Another family thought it was awkward with boys who were 10 and 12 sharing a room with their mom and dad. But the beds were comfortable and linens were clean. The balconies are nice to sit out on in the morning with a cup of coffee. The tub is nice to relax in as well outside. Beach - A perfect size. Its a private beach so you don't have hundreds of people walking past you everyday. There are a handful of vendors that are nice. They don't seem to have too much competition so they are not pushy. There are nice trees to sit under for shade when the sun gets really hot in the afternoon. We always had a chair. There is also someone who takes drink orders which is a lovely touch. Kids Club - The women who worked at the Explorers Club were amazing with our kids. Probably the employees that stood out the most for me. They were friendly, active, engaging, playful, genuine, and actually played with the kids. They were wonderful. I felt very secure leaving the kids in their hands. They have a locked gate that parents can drop off and retrieve their kids. Our kids went for 2 hrs almost everyday. They handed us a buzzer (like you would get at a restaurant when you wait for a table) and the kids buzzed us when they were ready to go. Beautiful. TIP - on the resort event schedule they had a part for the kids club. It has what the kids were doing every hour. So we picked what time the boys would go and they were happy to engage in the activity. Things like zumba, sandcastle building, water balloon fights, beach time, crafts, games on the wii... etc Restaurants/Food - We found the food to be average. I wish they would have had more authentic costa rican food. Breakfast buffet was always the same. So it got a little boring. The best things was the homemade crepes and waffles. And the evening buffet only opens at 6:30 in the evenings. Way to late for kids that need to be settled and in bed by 8. The restaurants opened at 6 or 6:30 but with a la carte dinning they took even longer. There were times when food would fly out of the kitchen and times we waited 45 min for a salad. It was really hit or miss. Sometimes we couldn't get a cup of coffee or water at breakfast. Other times the cups were never empty. The ordered room service 4 times and tried different things. It was always quick (20 or 30 min) but there were not too many options. A bonus was the coco cafe was always open. So you could always grab a quick snack from there and a coffee, juice, pop etc. Overall it was a wonderful first family trip. I would recommend others to visit here. I will say if it was just my husband and I traveling we would not go to Dreams Las Mareas as a couple. The resort definitely caters to families with children. There are a lot of kids here and a lot of noise that goes along with it. We would definitely choose an adults only. I hope these tips are helpful to those planning their vacations : )

JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort and Spa: Overall - ok

Overall we were a bit disappointed by the resort on this trip. It really all came down to the level of service. We went just before Christmas this year and there was literally no staff. The bars had 1 person making drinks - getting a morning coffee was super painful and getting your own was really not an option. The room fridge was rarely stocked and this resort claims great room service options...not the case at all. There were some positives - the pools were very nice and the grounds were b [... read more]eautiful. The food in the restaurants was really top notch as far as resorts go. The buffet however was a huge disappointment for breakfast and lunch. Our room was very nice and bed was fairly comfortable. The pool walk-out was also a nice feature. Overall - my family was MUCH happier at the RIU Palace in Costa Rica last year even though it was not as highly rated.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Great Resort

Large property with the sister property next door. All the staff that we encountered were super friendly and helpful. The food and alcohol choices were amazing and varied. The pools and beach were great also with plenty of seating.

Riu Guanacaste: Great resort

This was a great resort. Very clean, friendly staff, great food. lots of jungle around the hotel with wild life. very secluded and big beach. many excursions and activities near by. perfect location.,

Riu Guanacaste: Rui

The hotel was very adequate for our needs, except there's no shampoo/cream rinse. Unfortunately, the nettles in the water stung me which kept me out of ocean. Pool side loungers were plentiful, activities great. Just need to show up 15-20 minutes early for a la cartes. Restaurants were excellent! Personally, I like to use ocean so I wouldn't recommend this hotel for this reason.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Beautiful, lush resort

This resort and the staff exceeded our expectations. The grounds were kept lovely and very clean. We asked for joining rooms by the pool; we got exactly that. The hotel is done in a very modern style. The rooms were spascious and very clean. The food was great (lots of seafood). We will definitely return. The only downside were the beds; not comfortable.

Wyndham Tamarindo: Great trip to Costa Rica

The hotel, Esplendor Tamarindo was really nice. Updated features and modern look and feel as well as very nicely maintained grounds. There were some minor areas to improve on but overall great accommodation and lovely staff.

Wyndham Tamarindo: Great hotel

This hotel was really nice. It's up on a hill with an amazing view. My only complaint is that the shuttle down the hill finishes a bit early - 8:00 p.m. The rooms are spacious and clean and the breakfast is good. Most of the staff were helpful.

Secrets Papagayo Resort: Second time, almost as nice!

We still enjoyed our vacation at Secrets Papagayo. We had a fabulous oceanfront room which had a great view and was very private--we were in the room right beside the one we had in April. We like how the resort has two rooms only per bungalow! The sad thing was that a few of our favourite employees from April have moved to other resorts. However, we thoroughly enjoyed some of the new ones, especially a driver named Eduardo. He made getting around the resort lots of fun. The Market Cafe [... read more] was still wonderful for breakfast but we also finally had breakfast at Aqua, which was very close to our room. We should have gone there more often! Lunch was also good in the Market; our last evening at the resort we had a Chinese buffet for dinner there, which was delicious.The Seaside Grill was still nice. However, we really regret dining at the Japanese show table. Our chef had almost no personality and the food was just satisfactory. Portofino was supposed to be a lovely birthday dinner for me on our night of arrival. It was such a letdown. Other than the fake rose petals on our tablecloth, no special thing was done for the occasion (like a cupcake).... Our waiter was so condescending and gave us poor service. The evening would have been a disaster except the lamb was excellent. Sadly, we returned again for the lamb but it was cooked differently and not as good. The main pool area is very busy and loud so we enjoyed our loungers at the spa pool. The one serious drawback to this resort is the beach volcanic sand, which is dark and dirty on the feet. The bay does not look inviting so we have not ventured into the water. We did walk to the right as you face the water when the tide was low. Water shoes are a must as we had to cross over rocks to get to a "long" section of beach further down. Alas, no monkeys were to be seen. The Preferred Club was very good for a drink before and/or after dinner. Caesar continues to be the best bartender there. Kim Hartlen, our travel agent, did a superior job getting us this booking and we are pleased with her service so will use her again!

Hotel Villas Playa Samara: Samara is a gorgeous place!

Our stay was very pleasant.The staff at this resort is really nice and accommodating and the food and drinks are great! Samara is a gorgeous beach community so go exploring and you'll find some real gems. They really should clean up the beach surrounding the hotel, it's a pity that it isn't really usable.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Amazing Resort & Friendly Staff

My husband and I stayed at the resort from Dec 2 to Dec 9 and we had the most amazing time. We saw monkeys, turtles, snakes and the animals sounds coming from the trees each morning is truly something you need to get up early to hear. The rooms were clean and stocked and resort grounds were immaculate. Bring bug spray as you will need it in the evening. The entertainment was great. I have a food allergy and was very anxious about what I could eat at the resort. When I arrived I spoke with the f [... read more]ront desk and they provided me with a letter explaining my food allergy & what the kitchen staff needed to do to ensure that there was no cross contamination. I would provide to the restaurant manager the letter and he would bring out the chef who either make me a special meal or we would through the buffet and he would point out the safe foods for me. A special thank to Ramon and his team. To Jean Carlos. To William at the Steakhouse who ensured I could eat safely. To all the staff at the RIU your friendly attitude, you smiles & laughs made it a beautiful place to vacation.

Riu Guanacaste: Great resort

Great resort, food,rooms,staff ,garden and beach are well care for. Internet is only free in the reception area. If you want it in your room its $70.00 US dollar per week. It is a non-smoking resort, no smoking on balcaney or anywhere. There are four small smoking area which are not sign post very well. It took us a week to find the one in front of the hotel. I understand not smoking indoor but you should be able to smoke on you Balcaney. I would only recommend to my non smoking friend [... read more]s.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Quality vacation

This Resort me and even exceeded all our expectations - we have been to 10 Riu Palaces and we know we will unless weather is bad, we wil not be disappointed. The grounds are immaculate. The pools are spacious and the water temperature is warm. Buffet and specialty restaurants of of very good quality. Only 40-minutes from airport, located on a long, wide sandy beach with easy access to ocean. Lots of worthwhile excursions offered, and a big new zip-line is next door. Usually, monkeys can be seen  [... read more]nearby.

Riu Guanacaste: Typically Excellent Riu Resort.

My wife and I had a wonderful two-week vacation at the Hotel Riu Guanacaste resort in Costa Rica. The resort reached, or exceeded all our expectations with regard to location, accommodation, service, food, cleanliness, friendly staff, pools, beach, bars and entertainment. The evening entertainment was exceptionally professional. We cannot think of anything to complain about.