Riu Guanacaste: RIU Guanacaste

I fell in love with this resort. We have been to numerous RIU resorts in Mexico, Dominican , but never Costa Rica. The resort is getting a little dated but does not retract from the many lovely amenities there. 5 * for me.

Riu Guanacaste: Great resort!

Always Friendly faces, great food and service! Grounds kept really clean. Pools are going to start needing work soon as pieces breaking etc. Washrooms stuffy and need more ventilation and work as well.

JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort and Spa: Dreams Las Mareas was a hidden gem

Loved the whole experience: the staff was friendly, the food options were great, the grounds and the beach were lovely for walking, the suite was spacious and clean, the monkeys and the birds were all over the place at the resort and plenty of excursions were available off site to see even more. The sunrise hike coordinated by the resort was a nice opportunity to see the area, it was a good little trek but pretty steep! Good idea to wear proper footwear ?

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Riu Palace

The grounds and lobby were stunning.The rooms were very tired and need updating.It was musty smelling.All our clothes had that stale smell. Air conditioner needs cleaning as we felt that was where the meldew smell was from.

Barcelo Tambor: Nice resort

The resort was very clean, so were the rooms. The resort was very child friendly, food was pretty good. Service was pretty good in the restaurants and at the bars. The nighttime entertainment was alright.. 8pm til 9pm was a children's program. The info on day trips and help was ok.. unfortunately the resort is far away from the rainforest, volcanoes and a long ride from the airport. But it is overall a very nice place.

Riu Guanacaste: Riu Guanacaste

This was our 2nd time at this hotel. Staff and location are still awesome! However the hotel is looking old, and needs to be refreshed. Given the new hotel being built across the street I’m hoping this will happen. Food is decent, but no where as good as many other RIU locations.

Barcelo Tambor: Costa rica

The outside and grounds were beautiful. Inside rooms need some housekeeping. The 4 hours on a bus after a 5 hour air was a bit much on terrible roads. Front staff are much to be desired. Stupid, ignorant an rude. First impression and first people you meet should be adult and professional. I would go back to Costa Rica, but not that resort.

Barcelo Tambor: Amazing Resort

Disappointed at the female front desk staff.No welcome, made no eye contact and never spoke to anyone. When they were asked where our room were located they just pointed. When we checked out it was the same, never spoke, no goodbye or how was your stay Hope to see you again, nothing The bar tenders were all eager to serve, smile on their faces. The housekeeping staff were friendly. There was a wide variety of food at the buffet and was good. The resort was clean, well groomed lawns. My favou [... read more]rite was each morning was watching the parrots, listening to the hollering monkeys The massages that I had were amazing by each lady, excellent top notch service Also, the gentleman that booked our excursion was amazing, friendly and knowledgeable.

Barcelo Tambor: I would NOT recommend

I've never written a review but thought it was important to share. The trip from the airport was a 4 hour drive through extreme winding roads. I spoke with other guests and everyone complained about the drive. We booked a half hour flight from close by airport back to international Airport to avoid this drive again. $150 per ticket. The resort was exceptionally nice. Pool are was very comfortable and clean. The downfall was the bars. Minimum bars and bartenders. 20 minute line up everytime you  [... read more]wanted a drink. Under staffed but bartenders worked non stop trying to keep up with demand. Food was not good at all. Same thing every day. Buffet was large but exact same food every day. The "speciality" restaurants were fair at best. I guess they thing anything will taste good when you've been eating the same food day after day. We found out our last day that they didn't offer bacon for breakfast except in the "premium" speciality room. After paying over 2000 dollars per ticket bacon for breakfast should not be for premium guests only. Ridiculous. Brought new bottle of sunscreen . We ran out so went to gift shop. They were asking 72 dollars for small bottle. We took a cab to store and bought 3 times larger bottle for 24 dollars. Evenings. It was absolutely ridiculous. The pool closes at 7:00pm. Table tennis and mini golf, closes and ANY resort activity closes at 4:00pm. They have a nightly show on stage with dancers. They were entertaining for the first night or two but it got old after that. So after dinner there was no swimming, no entertainment and minimum bar service. The place has soooo much potential but with the drive to get there, the weak food and the lack of things to do, I would not go back as it's not worth it. I've been to Barcelo in Rivera Myan in Mexico. I would go there in a heart beat rather than return to Barcelo Costa Rica. Very disappointing. February 15-22 2024

Occidental Tamarindo: Wonderful people!

We did enjoy our stay, the staff were incredible. We could tell there is new management and slowly changes are happening to the resort. The kitchen exhaust fan was repaired so it was not so unbearably hot while eating at the buffet. The teppanyaki restaurant cooked a meal and that was my salt intake for the month. We did not try the Italian restaurant. We are hoping on their list of what to do is trim the trees. There were a few windy days which knocked down some large dead branches. Lucky n [... read more]o one was hit by them, but it was close. The staff was very kind and gracious. The Valentine’s Day meal was okay. The rating of 3.0 stars is what this place should be rated at.

Barcelo Tambor: Bad Service, no room smoke alarms, and people smoke in rooms

The resort and view is breathtaking. The rooms are just okay. We actually had no firm alarm or working safe. Despite asking for both! No water in fridge either. The service and food is horrible. The steakhouse served steak that didn’t taste like steak. So much so that my son asked if it was a “dog”. Yikes! No gluten free alternatives. No dairy alternatives. No pool side waiters. Someone threw up in the pool on Saturday- they just roped off that section of the pool! The grounds are very well main [... read more]tained, but that’s about it! Oh forgot to Mention our sheets had dirt on them! We arrived to dirty sheets and pillow covers! What’s more the travel agent,’Jenn, told us it was a 90 minute bus ride. It’s not 90. Try 5 hours. We lost the entire day and no dinner. Called ahead to the resort to get some sandwiches and salad in our room. While on that call the hotel informed us we only had 3 days booked and not 5! We absolutely panicked and emailed Jenn. Data and roaming charges incurred on both our phones. Get to the resort and “so sorry for the miscommunication but yea you have 5 nights”. got there after 10pm and no food. Finally at midnight we got sandwiches with bread, ham and processed cheese. Gross. I actually couldn’t eat any of it. The kids just wanted to sleep. This hotel needs to step up their game big time. Costa Rica is not Cuba but you wouldn’t know it from the food. What a waste of such a gem of a view. The package should come with a small charter flight from Liberia. Because 5 hours is NOT okay! You can go to Italy full flight in less time than it took us.

Azura Beach Resort Samara: Nice resort .

If your looking for a quiet resort , not much of a night life , its the place for you. The staff was friendly , food for a resort is good , no venders on the beach trying to sell you junk , over all a nice place. They could have a bar and snack bar to stay open a bit longer than 10 , everything shuts down at 10 .

Fiesta Resort: What a fantastic place ;-)

Had a wonderful time at Fiesta Resort.The grounds are immaculate, pool is clean. Staff are out there at dawn making sure everything is perfect for their guests. Bedrooms are large and clean and I loved the hearts and little animals on my bed every day. Huge variety of food for b/fast, lunch and dinner and snack bar open until 1am. The fruit bar so refreshing at 10am. The front desk staff is so very friendly and they printed out a map of where everything was which I found extremely helpful as I  [... read more]would get lost in a shoebox!! Communication was very easy even though I can't speak Spanish.Anytime I asked for direction there was no "over there" with a wave of a hand they walked me to where I wanted to go. I found all the staff friendly and very, very helpful. Met some really, really nice Costa Rican people at the pool and we had such fun just laughing and talking and I learned some new Spanish words. Many, many thanks to DIEGO for the amazing drinks......he sure knows how to make them ;-). Much appreciated! You and the other staff at the bar always with a smile and a kind word. Sunsets are spectacular...a photographers dream. I am a solo traveller and thoroughly enjoyed every second.......PURA VIDA!! Go raibh mile maith agat ("thank you so much"in Gaelic)

Barcelo Tambor: Barcelo Tambor

It was beautiful,I had a great view from my balcony facing the ocean. The food was good. Really liked the Steak house and the Italian restaurant. The only thing I didn't like it was a four drive from the airport. And where you check in they couldn't really understand English. So it made it hard to talk to them.

Occidental Papagayo: Wouldn’t Recommend

We spent the first week of Feb here. The resort is nice and rooms are everything you need but… Food is NOT good! We are not picky eaters and no one in our party of four was happy with the food There is a lot of walking up and down hills. They do have shuttles but they need to have them running constantly from the beach up to the rooms The beach is very beautiful and there is great snorkeling there as well. There really is no nightlife if you’re looking for that in the evening. The maid s [... read more]ervice was the worst that we’ve had in 20 years! I wouldn’t recommend this resort at all. My husband and I got sick the day before we left with stomach issues and two weeks later we are still battling them.

Riu Guanacaste: Awesome resort!

The Riu Guanacaste was an amazing resort with a great selection of restaurants with no limits on a la carte dinners. The buffet had a great variety of food at any time. Our room was clean and very spacious with a stocked mini fridge and bar! Our view from the balcony was beautiful. There were always lounge chairs available around the pool or beach. The service at the bars and restaurants was excellent. The nightly entertainment was great, especially the white party Friday night! We're certainly [... read more] planning on going back!

Occidental Tamarindo: Nice Resort

Staff was very friendly, they could speak pretty good english. I found the resort and rooms clean. Towels and stocking our fridge for our room was not consistant. I would say this is a good resort for the retired, there was not much happening around the pool or up beat music during the day. We had 3 17 year olds and a 15 year old and they were pretty bored. Food was very greasy but tasted good.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Tired Resort

Took 4 room moves before we found one that would be suitable to stay in. Old tired beds and bedding along with TV’s not working or hanging off wall. Buffet was the best food offered as the unique restaurants were lacking in food quality during our stay. Torn canopies over loungers reduced opportunities to stay out of sun.

Riu Guanacaste: Great Resort

Extremely clean. Staff were cleaning everything all the time! Food was plentiful and great. Some items might have been overcooked but better than being undercooked. Staff very friendly and efficient. I would have liked to have had beverages available on the beach but that’s the only issue. Sunwing reps were terrific too-Always available. Lots of walking. It’s a large resort.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Very nice resort

Grounds,restaurants, pools ,staff were all great. Love the bartenders at the swim up bar and pool areas. The entertainment was amazing around the pools and at night. Beautiful country would recommend frank the tank services great service