CC Beach Front Papagayo: Great staff, food and quiet location!

Tip: the accommodation in the older guest rooms need much improvement. Request for the newer rooms when booking. The staff was great. Food was good. Beach was good. Pool was good. Everything was good except the older rooms. Great place to relax!

Riu Guanacaste: Need more daily activities

Overall the resort was ok. Food was ok, good variety. Rooms were good and the resort was clean. Disappointed in the lack of daily activities especially for children. There is a small children's area, but was geared towards very young children and does not allow parents in. Considering there is a long rainy season, there needs to be more activities indoor and out. This is a good resort for adults, but not ideal for those travelling with children. Had an incident with a staff member assaulting a f [... read more]amily member. Need to have much more stringent background checks on staff.

Riu Guanacaste: Good resort

Great... food and restaurants needs some work as well as the bars. The service was great. Too short time. The location of the hotels wonderful. We enjoyed the servuces and people. The pool and bars closed too early...minutes to 6.00pm

The Westin Reserva Conchal Golf Resort & Spa: A delightful experience

The hotel was lovely and the setting was perfect. I was very impressed by the staff. Everyone was so helpful and pleasant. They made an effort to remember our names and said hello to us each time they passed us. There was no request too big and everything we asked for came in a timely fashion. Their English was fantastic and I can't say enough about their desire to please and accommodate us. For an all inclusive we were very impressed by the food. The beach was great and so was the location. Aga [... read more]in I believe our trip was as pleasant as it was primarily due to the fabulous staff. The made sure we had a seamless experience. There were shuttles to move us around the property but we chose to walk and experience all the beauty and glory that is Costa Rica. We were greeted by monkeys and coatis' and sharing the pathways with iguanas made us feel like we were really getting the best balance of natural environment and modern conveniences. Overall it was a perfect trip and would definitely recommend this property for families and couples or friends looking for a wonderful place to vacation.

Dreams Las Mareas Costa Rica: Good resort

Overall a good resort, some things to note was the prices of paid amenities were expensive, service was good with some but not with all, food was great, area was great but far from any town visits, overall a solid 4.0

The Westin Reserva Conchal Golf Resort & Spa: Great resort for nature lovers

Set within a nature reserve, you don't get the clear cut views of the ocean like some other more modern resorts. You do get animals in their natural habitat though and its wonderful. I love sitting by the pool and listening to birds and monkeys and watching the friendly iguanas. Staff is warm, friendly and try their best to please. Loved the Riu Palace too but prefer the Westin for the nature.

Occidental Papagayo: Beautiful resort

Amazing views from every direction. Not for the elderly or handicapped due to the stairs. Food was great, staff was amazing and the tours were worth every penny. You need to get off the resort to get the full enjoyment of Costa Rica. Hotel had monkeys, birds and iguana's roaming around. Would definitely return to this resort. Very clean and safe country to visit.

Occidental Papagayo: Amazing , Beautiful Hotel with Wonderful Staff!

Wonderful, helpful, friendly staff. Beautiful grounds. Cleanest well kept resort I have ever been too! LOTS of stairs and walking though so those with mobility problems should not go here. Food was good, Lots to do. Can't say enough good things about this resort. Will definitely be back!

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Absolutely stunning resort

Honestly, we loved everything about the Riu Palace, and after exploring the Riu Guanacaste (next door), we were very happy that we chose the palace. The grounds were amazing, the food was amazing, the pools were great and the staff was all extremely friendly and helpful. The cost of the photos that the resort photographers took was a bit ridiculous ($15 PER PHOTO to put them on a disk - with nothing printed) but that's my only complaint. Also, if you run out of sunscreen, there are people in t [... read more]he lobby with a tub that offers left over sun screen OR take the taxi boat into Coco Beach and you can purchase brand name sunscreen for $11 at the pharmacy... (To avoid payin $40 at the souveniour shops by the resort)

Dreams Las Mareas Costa Rica: bad location

food was so so . bland . the rooms where great . staff was excellent . location was at the end of the world . then 10 miles further activities are available but expensive and another long trip to get to them .

The Westin Reserva Conchal Golf Resort & Spa: The PERFECT vacation from beginning to end!

We absolutely fell in love with Costa Rica and this resort. We upgrade to the Royal Beach Club package and felt like royalty with access to the adults only pool, concierge, etc. The entire resort was beautiful, it felt very exotic and so lovely. The food was incredible. We loved EVERY meal we had all week long. The beach is stunning. So peaceful and such raw beauty. We enjoyed the sunset every evening. We can't wait to return to this resort and to Costa Rica!

Occidental Papagayo: Outstanding Resort and trip

The hotel was awesome. Beautiful grounds, super friendly staff, great food and abundant wildlife right on the resort. Monkeys, iguanas and many different birds. The staff were all very helpful and friendly. The resort is quite hilly so be prepared to walk up hills and steps. It's not bad at all and there are shuttles readily available to take you from place to place. The ocean was beautiful and warm.

Secrets Papagayo Resort: Superb Secrets Papagayo!

This has become our favourite resort after many, many trial runs. Lol. We loved it from the beginning. The staff were so sweet and friendly, one of the best we have encountered. The buffet was absolutely fantastic, especially with their breakfasts. There was even a coffee 'shop' called Coco Cafe for early morning coffees, smoothies, and baked goods. The evening restaurants were lovely, especially the Seaside Grill with its sunset dining! Golf carts are necessary since the resort is spread out bu [... read more]t the wait for one is not long and the drivers are very friendly. Bartenders at the two pools were so gregarious and talented. We are beach people and so did not like the volcanic sand and so stayed at the pools, which was no hardship. Our oceanfront room was small but comfy. 'Loved the room service box which was accessed by both the employee and us without having to meet! Quite unique. An IPad on a night table gives all the info about what is going on in the resort at the touch of a finger. Wonderful. We have already booked for this December! Kim Hartlen from TripCentral out of Halifax is the best T.A we have ever had! We live in Ontario and get the same excellent service from her as do her DownEast customers!!!

Dreams Las Mareas Costa Rica: it was all a dream...

Dreams Las Mareas is a beautiful resort, the staff are all so welcoming and helpful. Monkeys come by the balconies in the morning but are respectfully ushered out by breakfast, so you'll see plenty wildlife even if you don't head out for an excursion. :)

Tamarindo Diria: Great Place

After reading a few reviews that were not so great, we weren't sure what to expect. And I've never stayed at a resort that was not all inclusive...But we had such a good time. The resort itself was just what we wanted. Staff were friendly and helpful, and housekeeping was great. This is a beach town people...not sure what you were complaining about. The beach was great and so were the pools. Lots of restaurants to choose from and so many activities offered and places to visit. We were there for  [... read more]surf and sun and luv'd every minute of it.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: beautiful resort everything was fabulous

Only complaint only one washroom by pools. Everything else was fabulous. Staff amazing as was food and resort. Le carte restaurants really good and many to chose from. Pool staff around constantly to serve drinks, high end alcohol.

Punta Leona Beach Club and Nature Resort: Quiet Resort netled in a tropical paradise

This resort is pretty quiet, at least at non-peak times. The room was clean and the AC worked beautifully. The buffet is small and has limited choice but you are able to find something to eat and the food was ok. The resort is far in from the main road so if you expect to walk outside the resort it's a long walk out. You need a vehicle for sure if you want to leave the resort. The pools were plenty and since it was quiet, we had no issues finding lounge chairs. The resort is not well layed out i [... read more]n that you need to walk long distances to get to the beach or reception. If you don't want to walk, you can always rent a golf cart at $45/day. The shuttle does go by every 30 minutes and takes you to the beach, Playa Blanca and Selvemar rooms. Playa Blanca has the most beautiful beach but good luck finding lounge chairs. They are kept tied together due to the high tide and are limited. There is a restaurant at Playa Blanca. This resort is best suited for people with young families or people just looking to relax. The wild life is pretty amazing at this resort also. If you are a nature lover, you will be happy to have went. Def saw lots of white face monkeys around, especially around the buffet area. There is only one buffet area near the Selvemar rooms. The rest of the resort offers restaurant order off the menu. The drinks were ok.

Villas Sol: it was okay not spectular

The food was consumable, not a lot to pick from. The rooms were clean and comfortable. I didn't care for the hillside resort, too much up and down. They had shuttle service, but I felt it wasn't a safe enough ride. I rate it a 3 out of 5, you get what you pay for. I won't be going back to this resort anytime soon.

Occidental Papagayo: Great Resort, Rock Star Staff..too many stairs

Hotel was beautiful. We went April 3-10, 2016 so we were at the end of the dry season so it wasn't as lush as it would be during other times of the year. We stayed in Room #806 Royal Luxury Package. Wine and chocolates were in the room upon arrival -- GREAT view! -- Room Service is free with the Luxury package. -- Wifi was available but VERY spotty, so it was better to just take my tablet to breakfast and dinner with me as there always seemed to be a good signal at reception --- Just too many st [... read more]airs to get to the room. Seriously, I can't see any senior or anyone with a disability being able to do that for a week let alone after laying in the sun and drained of energy. There are carts that you can call and have pick you up and take you to the lobby or wherever, but if you don't want to wait then you have quite a hike ahead of you. Food was fantastic and so was the variety. Staff could not have been nicer or more cheerful (Katherine "Katy Perry" is a rock star staff member...remembered everyone's names, always made it a point to speak to us, and has a FANTASTIC personality). There are many scheduled activities at this resort (snorkeling, rifle shooting, cooking lesson, archery, water volleyball, etc) but some of the equipment needs tending to (ie. archery....the arrow rest was like a plastic 3M mug hook that was falling off so it was hard to hold the arrow to shoot it). My only two complaints would be: ONE: there are NO CLOCKS ANYWHERE! This drove me nuts sicne I had no watch. There are activities that you have to sign up for and arrive at specific times. Also the snack bar and buffets close at certain hours so it would be helpful to have at least 2 clocks on the premises. II suggest one by reception for those catching buses to Coco Beach or the airport and one outside the snack bar so it is near the Activity center where you show up for scheduled activities and can be seen at the pool as well. TWO: it would be nice to have shelves in the shower. We had to line all our stuff around the floor of the shower and being low, water was getting in some of my shampoos that had paper-tear tops (like samples) rather than lids. I would suggest bringing eye moisturizer as well as there were several dry fires on the hills outside the resort and the smoke made my eyes dry and burn for the first couple of days...again, dry season issues. Rooms were cleaned well, but the last 2 days there our rooms were not tended to until around 4pm so we had no water or drinks. Also, that defeats the purpose of the nightime "turndown" other than to take our used towels from the morning. When we first arrived they came before noon, so I'm not sure what changed. Overall a great resort and we would go back again!

Secrets Papagayo Resort: Cozy resort, beautiful sunshine, friendly staff

This resort is fairly small and a bit more rustic or natural than some. It is quite beautiful with comfortable, well appointed rooms and clean, well-kept grounds. The staff go out of their way to provide good service. The weather is predictably hot and sunny each and every day. Although the menu selection across restaurants is not huge every meal was tasty. The wildlife right on the resort property is fun to see!