Riu Guanacaste: Riu Guanacaste - Nice resort, very full

Resort is nice set in a bay on the pacific coast of Costa Rica with a lovely dark sand beach. It had been very recently (last 3 weeks) expanded by 300 rooms to 1000 rooms and they were all occupied the week we were there so it was pretty busy. That said we were always able to get a pool lounger and there are lots of both shady and sunny spots. The bar was busy, but again we got served within a few minutes and the drinks were the usual tropical selection. The original rooms which we were i [... read more]n are dated, but a decent size. However, room service was spotty at best and we had to ask to get towels changed and the beds made - not the best so they probably need more staff to cope with the resort expansion. Food was OK, not fantastic, but the buffets all had a good selection. The a la carte restaurants were all over subscribed with no reservations so we needed to line up 30-45 mins in advance of opening to get a seat. Not great! We used Frank the Tank for our excursions and can HIGHLY recommend Frank and his team, they are fantastic - better pricing than Nexus and wonderful guides. We travel fairly extensively and still find Mexican resorts the best. The Riu rates about 3 stars vs 4/5 in Mexico. Overall an acceptable resort, but expensive compared with better resorts in Mexico.

Riu Guanacaste: Amazing Resort

Resort hasn’t let me down, everything was up to par again.. 1 only thing would be the resort activity app, schedule not always followed Everything else great, will go back again, bar services great, the new building with new rooms and pool excellent,

Wyndham Tamarindo: Great resort

The hotel had decent breakfast’s. The restaurant part is excellent food and is reasonably priced. The house keeping is not the best dirty bathroom sink and toilet. The bathrooms are also a bit too small.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Great service

The service at the hotel was great (staff was very attentive and friendly) and the hotel was clean. The building itself was a bit dated. We were in a junior suite and the jacuzzi tub in the hotel room/open concept bathroom (only the toilet is behind a closed door) may not be convenient for all groups of travellers. When I asked to switch rooms, I was told that all rooms are the same. Not sure this was accurate given the size of the resort, but maybe there was nothing else available at the ti [... read more]me. The food was good, especially the stations where they prepare meals in front of you (e.g. omelettes, wok station, etc.). There was the usual fare, but also healthier options. The food at the Japanese restaurant, Tokio, was excellent. The steak at the steak house was also very good. Room service delivery was prompt but the food (nachos) arrived cold and soggy. Overall, we had a good time there, and would recommend it to others.

Occidental Tamarindo: Adequate Resort

The hotel was ok, the beach a little rocky. We found a nicer beach 5 minutes away. Pool was fine. Our rooms was clean. I have been to nicer resorts and I have been to worse resorts. This resort was fine. Nothing special.

Occidental Papagayo: Don't Waste your Money

•Food was horrible, I've had better food in Cuba •Resort lost power and a/c went out multiple times •Not all inclusive-hidden fees •Very little to do on resort itself •Staff was rude and unhelpful

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Some good, some bad

Typical Riu - beautiful outdoors space and pools and substandard rooms. The beach isn’t very nice and the water was too rough to go in. As it’s a public beach you need to pass through an area of stalls selling trinkets and excursions before you even get to the beach. There are several pools and all are very nice. Be aware - people are leaving their towels in chairs as early as 7 am and there are not enough chairs to go around. The staff are wonderful- very warm, helpful and friendly. We were tra [... read more]velling with a baby and 5 year old they were always acknowledged as we moved around the resort. We ate at all the Ala carte restaurants and the food was quite good. The buffet was typical but the tacos and tostadas were outstanding. Our room was very outdated. There was a tub in the middle of the room and the sink and shower were in the main room also offering no privacy at all. The room smelled very musty every time we entered. The lock on the patio door was broken and the screen door didn’t close properly. The beds were small - definitely not double size. The electricity seemed very weak as a phone didn’t fully charge despite being plugged in all night. Costa Rica is a beautiful country and I would definitely like to visit again but I wouldn’t stay here again unless they did a major renovation.

Riu Guanacaste: RIU Guanacaste

We enjoyed our stay. The buffet was big and plentiful. The specialty restaurants were not great. The entertainment staff really didn't engage with us. There were a lot of themed nights. The shows were amateur. The location was very remote which was good and bad. Lots of natural beauty but you couldn't grab a taxi and go see anything. Everything had to be arranged with a tour which was expensive. Having an open air Lobby and social areas limited our nighttime activities because it was way too hum [... read more]id. The rooms had a musty smell and the toilets had a sewage smell. The pool was huge and fun. Loved seeing the monkeys. The landscape was clean and gorgeous. Fun to see huge iguanas and monkeys. Scary to have raccoons on tables and jumping out at you at the steakhouse. Water pressure for the shower was terrible, hard to shower. Room attendants were great, very attentive and did a great job. General upkeep of the hotel, was good. Waterpark was nice to have. You feel a bit captive because you don't have access to a local city and the hotel doesn't allow taxis in. Didn't encounter any friendly outgoing staff. They all seemed annoyed to be working.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: PHENOMENAL RESORT!!!

This Resort is absolutely Stunning..from the moment you arrive. Food is Incredible.. restaurant Exceptional.. Excursions from Sunwing Rep was easy to book.. Fabulous Excursions.. we did the mega combo premium package.. 17 Zip lines.. Horseback Riding..Lunch.. Spa.. All the Guide were Amazing. We travel alot and this is By Far the Best Excursion we have ever been on.. ATV tour was Exceptional as well.. Room immaculate.. Resort Grounds Immaculate. It is worth the PRICE!.. A PHENOMENAL EXPERIENCE.

Riu Guanacaste: Treble trip

First I'll never try any resort in Costa Rica second i'll never try flight with any plan under name of Sunwings staff rude disrespect and their behaviors was such as you owed them! About resort hotel if you wanna waste your time and money it's upto you try it then you" ll regret definitely. I read reviews before booked this package but i gussets maybe people wrote with purposes reviews then i did big mistake and book this thurible trip!

Azura Beach Resort Samara: Really good time

We had a great time at this resort. The only downfall is the trip from airport. Be forewarned it is a solid 2-1/2 shuttle ride. It wasn’t terrible bc it gave us a chance to see other parts of the country. Axel and Jocelyn were amazing. Some other staff were not great - but I’ll focus on the positive.

Dreams Las Mareas Costa Rica: Fantastic Resort, no complaints

This hotel was beautiful from the rooms to the grounds, to the food, to the staff. I travelled with my 6 year old, and he loved the place too, everyone was so kind to him and helpful. Food had something for everyone and never a long wait. I went for the swim up room and definitely a game changer, so when the heat go to be too much for the little we could go back to the room and he could nap or go in the pool at the room as it had some shade. I would 100% revisit this resort.

Occidental Papagayo: Worth a visit

Resort was lovely, our room was clean, functional , comfortable beds and a well stocked mini bar. All the staff were amazing friendly, polite and always with a smile. Our room was a fair hike from the main lobby and I blessed the shuttle driver every day. With the heat and humidity it would have proved a challenge to walk that distance there and back. Our main grimace was the buffet, an abundance of food but pretty much the same every day and looked like a variety of left overs re-invented. How [... read more]ever we were never hungry. I would return to the resort. We enjoyed our vacation very much.

Occidental Papagayo: Would not return

This hotel is definitely not for anyone who likes to keep moving. There was essentially nothing to do here unless you're made of money and able to pay for excursions (for which you had no choice but to book through the hotel) and all of which were expensive. The pool closes down at 7, and there were only an hour long piano/guitar show in the lobby every other night. I will say the rooms were clean, however I slept terrible as I kept hearing wild animals running over the roof. Turns out the ANIMA [... read more]LS were actually IN THE CEILING of our room, which wasn't fixed until the day before we left. The food was mediocre at best, and the restaurant areas were not ideally situated throughout the resort. Would not return here, and would not recommend it unless your preference is to sit and drink at the pool every day until 7pm. We waited 4 years (due to a cancelled trip due to covid) to take this vacation, spent a lot of money to go here, and feel like we did not get our money's worth at all.

Occidental Papagayo: Needs improvement

Lots of wildlife on the resort which is great. Most of the staff didn't seem happy at all. Room was in rough shape, buffet way too small. Sitting area a little small. No coffee before 7am. Beach isn't accessible during high tide.

Secrets Papagayo Resort: Mind blowing

I consider this resort my second home I will come back again for a much longer stay!!! The staff was amazing and lots of daily activities that keep the guests entertained and the Amstar team was very convincing of choosing the best excursions Costa Rica have!!!!

Secrets Papagayo Resort: To small and crowded for secrets

We arrived at this resort on April 4, though we had found a perfect resort. Three day’s later it came crashing down. There was an influx of 150 people, who were rewarded with an all inclusive. This resort is small and everything is centrally located in this area. They did have a quiet pool. Which they wouldn’t play any music at all. It’s different when people know each other, the atmosphere totally changed. The staff at this resort are fantastic. There just wasn’t enough room for all the guess t [... read more]o spread out the main area was just to crowed.

Riu Guanacaste: Great resort

My family of 4 had a great week at Riu Guanacaste! The food was amazing! The service was fabulous! It was super clean but when we first got there the room smelt musty. We think it was from the humidity. We asked for a "family room" which ended up being a king bed with a single. We had to sleep 3 in the king to make it work for us. We are all in great health so the long walk from our 5th floor room to the main area wasn't a problem. My children's (age 11 and 13) favourite parts were the waterslid [... read more]es and the evening entertainment. There are elevators that broke down about 5 times during our stay, but they were always fixed quickly. The beaches are all public so be ready for the locals who want to sell their wares. There are some boutiques just outside the main entrance that are open for shopping daily, but they are grossly overpriced. There are lots of excursions that can be taken from the resort with ziplines in their backyard. We are all longing to go back!

Barcelo Tambor: Well kept, kind staff, good food and lovely scenery!

My 4 teenage kids and I loved this resort. It was clean and very will kept. Loved the pools and the staff were always kind, even of they didn't speak English, we always managed. Overall a great experience! Pura Vida!!!

Hotel Villas Playa Samara: Cute quiet resort

. Loved: Communicating with the front desk via WhatsApp. Wifi throughout the resort. Staff No fight for chairs at pool or beach Heard howler monkeys twice but did not see them. Beach was clean. Some coral in the water but it wasn’t hard to walk in. Warm pacific water. Pool was clean. Quirks: figuring out the shower. Some days we ended up with hot water coming out of the shower head but cold water coming out of the handheld sprayer lol. Not a big deal to us. Room key s [... read more]topped working twice which leads into the third and last “issue” With the room key not working I was able to gain entry easily through the patio door just the way the balcony lined up. We notified the hotel and they came and fixed it a bit but still didn’t lock. This wasn’t an issue for me- I didn’t fear for our safety at all. Short power outages a few times. Drive to hotel ended up being closer to 5 hours - this was related to traffic and not the hotel or driver. The way back to airport was more accurate, closer to 2.5 hours. Also this is a me issue for not researching it enough prior to going but I did find CR to be more expensive generally than most other countries I’ve been to. They have 13% tax and as a Canadian the exchange was 0.38 cents to the dollar so this ended up being quite more than I thought. As another example the taxi ride to Samara (3.2 km from hotel) was $12.00 usd (not including tip/tax) each way and if you want the taxi Driver to wait for you it is $25.00 usd an hour. Probably cheaper alternatives but I didn’t have any need to go into the town this time. Amstar was the company air Canada works with and we were shuttled from the airport to hotel with them. There was wifi in the van. No air Canada rep on site but available by WhatsApp and they were easy to reach. Excursions: we booked 2 through the resort and they were both great. We did the adrenaline (zip line, horse ride to waterfall, tubing, hot spring/mud) and I would recommend this to anyone that wants to do a ton of activities in a day. It was about 2.5 hour drive one way. The second was a pottery and river tour at national park. The pottery part was short and interesting. The river tour also great, we got to see white faces monkeys crocodiles iguanas and many birds. A couple we spoke to had booked some excursions off resort and said they were significantly cheaper. Food - breakfast and lunch typical buffet. Dinner had to be by reservation but was also buffet lol. I heard that you could book 2 dinners at the restaurants next door at the adults only azure restaurant. Entertainment- there was a few different people singing/ playing guitar a few times during the week we stayed. Not your typical themed big loud activities like larger resorts. Store- expensive but to be expected. We bought coffee and chocolate and had it shipped home. We haven’t received it yet but it’s only been one day since we have been back and it can take 15 days. Didn’t realize we packed expired sunscreen, I had a reaction and had to buy sunscreen here and it was $32.99 USD before taxes. It was the same price at a gas station/pharmacy when I checked another day. We booked last minute all inclusive through air Canada. All was well with in that regard.