Riu Guanacaste: A Middling Experience

This is a huge resort - 1,300 rooms. The grounds are beautiful, but we felt there were not enough pools. The beach is rocky. In February, the surrounding area is rather bleak. The food was very good..

Hotel Villas Playa Samara: Just Perfect!

travelled with adult Son and Wife, (stayed in two Villas), loved everything about this hotel: friendly staff, wonderful villas, great food and perfect location..... will definitely return next year!!!

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Excellent resort all around.

Staff excellent. Over the top decor for Valentines day . Lovely. Always clean and food plentiful with great variety. Shows were entertaining with lots of variety. Never a grumpy staff member. Like family.

Riu Guanacaste: Absolutely amazing resort

Amazing resort ! Spotless and very friendly staff. With amazing food and drinks and guarantee sun shine ever day . What more could you ask for . We'll be going back ! Highly recommended. Entertainment was amazing also .

Occidental Tamarindo: Lovely resort.

Grounds are lush and beautiful. Rooms are large and well maintained. Only one buffet restaurant where the meals are quite monotonous. The beach is very rocky right in front of the hotel and swimming is limited due to high waves and strong currents during high tides. Large swimming pool with adequate seating at both pool and beach. Staff is pleasant but English very limited.

Hotel Villas Playa Samara: Hotel Villas Playa Samara

Great villa, fantastic staff and the a la carte restaurant was phenomenal!! Note to those travelling - this resort is 2 hours from the airport, and therefore most excursions will take 2 - 2 1/2 hours to get you there. But it is a great place to go and relax and enjoy the hot sun :)

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Nice Resort but not 5 star

The hotel was very nice, very clean. The beach was good but not a long walking beach and the hotel is in a very remote area and there are not any towns close by. the dining room staff need more training, service was very inconsistent. The staff were for the most part very friendly. This is a very hot country and very expensive.

Punta Leona Beach Club and Nature Resort: Virtually PERFECT

This was our 3rd visit to Costa Rica, and our 16th visit to the Central American-Caribbean area during the winter season. We had an all inclusive plan. Yes, the complex is very large, but the shuttle bus is regular at 30 minutes for those who prefer not to walk. From the Selvamar apartments, the walk to reception is at most 10 minutes and the the Mantas beach, an additional 5 minutes. The pool is on the way from reception to the beach. The shuttle bus from Selvamar to Playa Blanca is a 10 minute [... read more] ride, with AC. STANDARD ROOM: 2 double beds, very comfortable to sleep in. AC that is efficient. Generous sized fridge. Very easy to use and generous sized safe in room, large enough to fit passports, wallets, iPad, additional lens and a professional camera with a 400mm lens attached!! By far the best safe I have ever seen in a resort. Cable TV with 70 channels, including about 6 in English including CNN. Several other languages and lots of Spanish, including multiple sports channels (where language is less important). Washroom door we kept open so that it was air-conditioned. Steady access to hot and cold water. Shampoo and soap as well as towels and face cloths provided. Hair dryer in place. All electrical outlets took NA 120 V, no converters needed. Tap water was safe to drink. Two bottled waters provided at arrival. MEALS: Carabelas restaurant for breakfast buffet, lunch and dinner is only a minute or two from most Selvamar rooms. Very good food quality. Superb coffee. Very friendly, attentive service. Fresh fruit and vegetables +++. El Grill is at the far end of Carabelas. Reservations required but no cost if all inclusive. Superb quality a la carte. Beef and fish wonderful. Very attentive service. Leon Marino restaurant, a la carte for lunch and dinner, also very good. Huge portions. Pizza superb, for example. Playa Blanca restaurant similar to LM, fewer selections. BEACHES: Playa Blanca one of the best in CR. Firm sand, does not blow in the wind. Interesting rock features on either end of the beach. Lots of shade. Lounge chairs in shade, cannot be moved. Can rent umbrella and 2 beach chairs, $USD14 for the day. Not really needed unless one is obsessed with baking in the sun. Beautiful warm waters. Occasional surfing activity, depending upon wind and waves. Mantas beach, nearest hotel. Same warm water and rental arrangement. Special water play area for kids, costs extra. A good beach for strolling. Strong winds will bring in jellyfish. POOLS: One smaller pool in Selvamar, nearby the apartments and good for a dip, but often in the shade. Large adult pool near beach and near Leon Marino restaurant. Beautiful grounds, interesting shapes to the pool, very warm water, not deep, great for swimming and aqua fit exercises. Nearby large pool for kids! Both pools have reasonable number of lounge chairs, but again, as at the beach, secured in place by chains so one can only move the umbrellas, not the lounge chairs. Drinks can be taken to the poolside from nearby bar. NATURE: many different kinds of trees, vines, flowers all around the resort. White-faced monkeys are a regular presence at Carabelas, really entertaining. Netting protects eating area from the monkeys. Lots of iguanas on the property. A few racoons. On this visit, we did not see coatis or armadillos. Birdlife fantastic. Local scarlet macaws nesting very close to main road, one would be very unlucky not to see them. Other birds on the property include toucans, motmots, trogons, hawks, osprey, various shorebirds, various smaller species. 615 AM bird walk with naturalist Alex is excellent. He also conducts a very interesting tour of the butterfly area and a night walk (scorpions, spiders). The latter requires proper clothing, so be forewarned that you will be turned away if not in closed shoes and long pants. PEOPLE: Punta Leona is geared largely toward local Costa Ricans, especially Saturdays and Sundays, which would be good days to take day tours outside the resort, as the pools and beaches will be more crowded on weekends. Many of the staff have limited English, though this is not an issue at reception or at the restaurants. A limited Spanish vocabulary would help. For us, the heavy CR influence was really nice, as we felt like true visitors. Outside groups included Canadians, Americans, Germans and a few other Europeans. A nice mix. So why is the title only "virtually perfect"? Finicky in-room internet connection (even though it is free to use). Bar Cafe 1492 (beside Carabelas and the Selvamar pool and apartments) was only open on Fridays and Saturdays during our early February visit! Only one evening of local entertainment. A few more evenings of entertainment would be welcomed. Overall, a superb resort that we will visit again in the near future.

Allegro Papagayo by Occidental: Excellent Resort

This hotel is excellent. The staff make it a five star! They are always willing to help and always have a smile. The rooms are spacious and very clean. The ocean water on the bay in warm and the beach is nice. The disco is fun at night. Ask them to play rock a and roll otherwise you will just get techno music! There is not a lot to do at night so bring dice or cards. The Mango Martini is the best. They do not water down drinks. Just be aware there are lots and lots of steps and steep his because [... read more] it is built on a cliff.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Very good resort

Very clean and well maintained room and grounds. The floors in the halls, rooms and walkways outside were washed every day. The pools and pool areas were also well maintained every day. The food was very good in the restaurants, especially in the buffets - loved themes. The entertainment was also very good..

Occidental Papagayo: Great Time!

This resort is well laid out on the hills leading to the beach. The staff are outstanding and exemplify what service is. The food at the buffet was a great mixture of areas of the world and local cuisine. Occasional evening entertainment would bring this resort to the next level, it would be a great chance to display local customs and arts.

Riu Guanacaste: Terrific resort

Great pool, very clean, courteous staff - numerous excursions available, terrific pool and bar service, lots of lounge chairs in sun or shade. Beach nice to walk along but with a strong surf. Rooms immaculate with well stocked mini bar. Extensive food selections for all meals with attentive staff and a fun entertainment program.

Punta Leona Beach Club and Nature Resort: interested one

awesome place for everyone. We will go backrooms were clean . The people were very helpful and the cabs were cheap and helpful too. The nearby cities were clean and the people were very friendly . we ha d a great time thanks

Riu Guanacaste: Wonderful resort

This resort was very well laid out. Very easy to find all the restaurants and the facilities the hotel offered. The food was excellent in the buffets and the Italian was our favorite for the ala carts. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I would definitely recommend this hotel and can't wait to return to Costa Rica.

Villas Sol: Great Location

The hotel was very good even though it is only a 3.5 star resort. The rooms were clean and very comfortable. We had a king size bed and it was very comfortable. The hotel part of the resort is the best place to stay admit is close to everything and doesn't require you to use the shuttle every time you want to go to dinner or the bar as the hills to the villas are quite steep. The food at the buffet was good and even though it lacked variety it had enough to satisfy everyone. Met one woman who ha [... read more]d food allergies and the resort accommodated her by cooking her a special diet. There was an el la carte restaurant and we were entitled to 2 dinners there in the week and the food was very good. The beach is about a 10 min walk and there is a shuttle which runs every 10 mins or so if you prefer. There is no bar at the beach for the resort but they do have water and soft drinks free of charge there. It is a good break from the alcohol while you have a refreshing swim. Beach is about 2 km long and safe during the day but not recommended at night due to the wild life that comes out at night. Waves were a reasonable size and very swimmable. We did 2 excursions which we booked through Air Canada at the resort and they were great, very good way to see the country side and animals. There was many animals at the resort, monkeys, iguanas and lots of cats and birds. Even with all the animals around they didn't bother you and were very well behaved. Only complaint we had was that Air Canada didn't have any info in the lobby about pick up times in the lobby for our return home so we had to rely on one of the other guests who called the Air Canada representative to get the details. Over all enjoy it very much and will definitely return.

Barcelo Tambor: Beautiful resort and beach!

Our vacation was pretty much perfect. Nothing but sunshine and blue sky. Resort was beautiful. The staff were friendly and helpful. The food was fresh and delicious. Lots of birds and other wildlife around. Very natural setting. Not commercialized like so many other places we have been to. It is a long trip to get there though if you go by bus and ferry. I would recommend to go by small air plane from San Jose to the resort. It is only a 30 minute ride compared to 5 hours by ferry. I would go ho [... read more]me by ferry though because you do get to see a lot of the country and stop to shop in a small town on the way back. But either way it is a great place to vacation.

Riu Guanacaste: Love It!!

The layout of this resort is well laid out. Restaurants and Al Cartes are easy to find and are close to one another. No problem with booking a reservation. The pool has lots of space with lots of seating in the water and around the pool area. Rooms are large and clean but the beds were on the very firm side and pillows are small. The staff around the whole resort are extremely pleasant and willing to please and speak really good English. They are very helpful as well. The nightly entertainment i [... read more]s very good and the daytime pool entertainers are also. Will definitely be returning to this resort.

Riu Guanacaste: Very nice

Grounds very well kept. Beach good use some tlc. Rooms nice. Pools lovely. Food very good with a nice selection of fruits and vegetables every day. Drinks plentiful and well made. Resort is a distance away from nearby towns. Shade plentiful, weather hot!

Riu Guanacaste: Rough Edges but Great Vacation Spot

Beautiful hotel and grounds, top notch buffet, great bars, great excursion options. Terrible a la cart restaurants, air conditioning didn't make the room dry, just cool and damp, they water the grounds with grey water which smells like feces, after hours food is awful and when it runs out you're out of luck.

Punta Leona Beach Club and Nature Resort: Enjoyable week

Room and deck were nice, private, clean, Wifi was fine. Our room was close to buffet and to smaller, quieter, shaded pool. Buffet was adequate and Le Grille good and well served. Took local bus into Jaco for a day. Did a crocodile tour on Tarcoles...Jose was great guide. Did a ATV ride with Vista La Suenos tours...good value. All inclusive worked well for us. Friendly staff. Busy with locals on the weekend...no chairs,etc. at the beach pools.