Great Resort

The public areas are good, dining area is great, swimming pool is great and the room is good as well. Enjoy all the facilities and our stay over there. Great location and it walkable to downtown Tamarindo

Amazing resort

The resort is old but it is maintained well the staff do an exelant job their and the beach is amazing . You feel safe their food is great people are great ! Pool is clean and if their is any problem at all it would be only to bars you might have to wait in line for a drink sometimes .

Some good,some not so good

This is a bit of a tough review to write,as I prefer to be a positive person and give my reviews that way too. However, honesty is very important too. The positives: our room was amazing, we upgraded and booked a suite, the view of the ocean was a little compromised by palm trees,but the room itself was all we wanted. Very firm mattress,which I love,and my wife who can sleep anywhere on anything had no complaints either. We couldn't see monkeys from our room,but we certainly could hear t [... read more]hem. The staff are very friendly,but I feel in some departments overworked ( will elaborate further down) however one bartender was a real grump every day and this could have been due to the overworked part that I will get to. JP,Rubi and all the bartending staff at the pool bar are great. Too bad there wasn't a swim up bar,as you have to make sure you're dry so the tiles don't get too slippery. The not so positives: the lobby bar where the grumpy bartender worked,only has one person on duty, and this person has to get their own ice bags,clear glasses,make drinks etc. and when there is a crowd it can become overwhelming. Support staff should be added. Bar hours are from 10am until 130 am but you have to travel the resort to get to the earliest and the lastest. The buffet has some good and some underwhelming products. We were all hoping for a bit more seafood options,but the fish dishes were very good. The cooking stations prepared omelettes to order as well as tacos etc.,and we liked them,but again,with only one person working,the line could get long. The two a la carte meals were good and enjoyable. We did get down to the ocean daily,and the sunsets are beautiful. I would go back to Costa Rica most definitely,but I think in all honesty,our group is thinking of trying a different resort next time.

NOT WORTH THE MONEY

I don't normally rate trips because truthfully you can't make everyone happy. However when you can't get a coffee cup, or the pop fountains and cappuccino machines don't work. Nor have to ask for a glass of water to have it smacked on the table because you are an inconvenience oh and lets not forget getting napkins. There was truthfully ONE great server there who was happy to help. Bar staff unfriendly and short staffed often....which I get why they may not be happy. That though is not my fault. [... read more] Now according to the girls that booked this part of the promotion for booking early was Bathrobes, champagne in your room upon arrival, premium alcohol. Of which none of that was given. When questioned about it the response was I don't see that. Would I go back to Costa Rica yes would I go to that resort no and would I use trip central again. JURY is out on that. Even our Rep indicated this hotel has more complaints then any other hotel.

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.

Very nice and comfortable

Cleaning of rooms needed a little work,.................................................................................................................................................................

Not 5 star maybe 3

. My husband and I took our grandkids age 11 and 4 for 10 days. I am not fussy and understand that everything is not going to be magical and I am OK with that . I am going to start with the positive. Grounds were beautiful,Tamarindo was 20 min walking distance (nice shops and food). The beach was a great mix of rock and sand, with shells everywhere. Great for surfing. The rooms were outdated but who spends there Vacation in the room? (nobody) They were also clean and the beds were not that [... read more] bad either.The fruit, smoothies,pancakes and omelet station were great! Negative..the food was not 5 star, the grill was fabulous but there was never any seafood served. No kid friendly meals. The snack bar served hamburgers, hotdogs and fries every day and they were not anything my grandkids were happy about eating.They did have pizza and it was good one day but horrible the next?? I was truly disappointed that the website mentions kid friendly there were no activities for kids and only had water exercise everyday at 1 or so. They did have a ping pong table and a warped ball for the pool volleyball net. The average age of people in this resort were 47-70.

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.

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.

Go to this special place and enjoy

The physical beauty of this location was exceptional. We made a point of checking out when low tide was and walking the beach either to the right to Tamarindo or walking to the left through kilometres of almost empty coastline to sit in the tidal pools and watch the pelicans fish. Our room was spacious and airy. The people who worked in the resort were kind, competent and professional. The food ranged from very good to delicious. We went on several excursions to Paulo Verde and then to Rio C [... read more]eleste. Seeing capuchin monkeys, sloths and crocodiles was very worthwhile. Costa Rica is a democracy and has excellent healthcare and educational systems. I loved this country and this experience and recommend travelling there.

Not as advertised

Food was okay and room was decent. Beach was more rock than sand. No dive shop on site. Beach had lots of chairs but used more by locals than guest. Great place for surfers. 2nd trip to CR. First time was to Rio Guanacaste. If I ever go back I'll go there.

Beautiful property but***

I love that this was a beach front property and you can catch the sunrise/sunset. Most of the staff were friendly, I find some of them to be either very shy or afraid of people. My room had it's challenges from a leaking sink to a shower glass that covers nothing, so I had to stand very close to the wall not to flood the room. There was entertainment but I was too tired at the end of the day to stay up for that, yes I am an early riser. The food was alright, I didn't starve thanks to all the fre [... read more]sh fruits but otherwise the buffet was average. Same thing was served at dinner with a different sauce. I am a a moderate picky eater, but I always found something to eat. It was impossible to get a napkin even after going over to ask, they would continue to put napkins on the table where no one was sitting. Made no sense to me. The A la carte is impossible to book, you have to be at the restaurant between 3-6 to make a reservation. Went 3 times and just gave up as there was no one ever at the restaurant. Alejandro made a great omelette in the mornings so I was fed at least one good meal a day. Drinks were good, I am not a big drinker. Gustavo made a great mojito. This is definitely not a 4 star resort, I met others who have been there before and they were very disappointed with this trip. There seems to be no proper system in place to manage the guests. The only way I would recommend this place is if they price is cheap, otherwise go somewhere else. One last note, please have your room key when you check out. I had left mine in the room and had to go back to get it cause they wanted to charge me for a stupid key card. Yes, the know how to ruin the end of your trip. :(

Tragic

give it one star, black mold dirt filth rooms poor drainage, pool furniture filthy black mold serious cleaning power wash and bleach. Never towels, when you get one old bad condition. Food selection very limited and poor mostly same daily , no plates utensils napkins mugs, tables linens never replaced you eat over mess, coffee machine empty, along with many other things no staff, ensuring a positive experience. 2 specialty restraunts lacked the same food quality and service.  [... read more]poor training and lack of staff. door keys never worked and this is was your fault rude vile ignorant front desk staff with attitude dont care, nor really know english. 3 hr ride from airport then 1.5 hr to check in. 30 min walk into Tamarindo very hot, beach town , tours you needed to 12 hr or more to do a tour as it very far distance to do anything. very tired resort, corporate greed on Baracelo providing less than minimum for an all inclusive I know where covid came from Think again sadly others we met felt the same way. would never go back nor entertain staying at any other resorts they own

Not recommended

This hotel was probably one of the worst i stayed at, they have so many rules, 1 pool, no drinking at it! Snack bar is re deep fried food! cold burgers, the only decent food was at breakfast! the hours for the breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet is not correct! they clean up half hour early! The staff was ignorant and not accommodating at all! It’s supposed to be all inclusive but if you want more beer for your room you have to pay! if you want anything other than their alcohol you have to pay  [... read more]5$ a shot! 2 towels and a hand towel in the room only! Totally Do Not Recommend!!

Highly recommend

We truly enjoyed our 10 day stay at Occidental. The staff are courteous and work diligently to keep things clean and attractive. Masks are still mandatory to enter buffet in lobby and basically any staff interaction. A fact of life right now so no point getting upset about it. a 2 km walk to downtown and as much as we loved the action and shopping there we were happy to have the distance from the noise and activity. Absolutely no complaints about the food. Nicely presented and again due to COVI [... read more]D precautions the buffet was picked for you by pointing out what you want. Lines moved well and enough staff to help you with it. Great tours in the area and surfing lessons were fun. Will definitely recommend and hope to return someday.

Our second visit was a disappointment...

This was our second year in a row going to the occidental tamarindo. Things have gone drastically downhill. There are next to no staff anywhere, so the service was very poor. Tables full of dirty dishes, long lines to the beach bar. Dirty and broken beach loungers. But the deciding factor as to why this will be our last visit was the food. It was actually awful this time. Simple cooking like scrambled eggs, and rice were horrible. It’s as if the kitchen staff is untrained. The choices we [... read more]re plain and the same almost everyday. The meat and fish was at times inedible. Such a disappointment as we really loved this place last year. We will not be returning and cannot recommend this resort. 🙁

Nice resort

The resort is very clean, we had a great room, with a beautiful balcony that faces the ocean, although hard to see the ocean with all the trees, but I’d rather they were there than being cut down for a view. Food was good, can get a bit of the same though. Great natural beach, fun to watch the surfers. Only down side is a little far out for a lot of the excursions, but still had plenty to offer.

Costa Rica All Inclusive

This was our second trip to Costa Rica. The hotel is nice, not too busy, clean with some really nice hardworking people. The rooms are nice enough and kept tidy, we had a broken air conditioner so moved rooms once we realized it wasn’t a quick fix. The buffet is typical all inclusive, so gets a bit boring after awhile. The a la carte was quite good with fresh fish options. We went out for some dinners to get more variety. We never had trouble getting chairs by the pool if we got there before 9 [... read more]ish, the beach is lovely if you go swim over to the left of the hotel, especially at low tide. The sunset on the beach is unparalleled! It’s worth tipping the right people early, Carlos works like a mad man by the pool. It always pays to know Spanish in Costa Rica, and this hotel isn’t any different. It was nice to have a real international mix of guests. Overall we prefer smaller boutique hotels but this is a good option if you want to mostly set it and forget it on vacation.

Amazing

I absolutely love this resort! The location is perfect just a five minute drive to town where you can shop and enjoy beautiful restaurants on the beach. The staff was great and very helpful. This resort is small and very clean. The entertainment was very enjoyable during the day and evening. The buffet restaurant had many very good food choices . Most of all I loved the beautiful beach, the sunset on the beach was amazing!! I will definitely return to this beautiful resort !

First time, not last time

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at this lovely resort. The grounds were very well kept, the iguanas were very interesting to watch. The food was quite good, lots of variety and well prepared. The rooms were very clean. Tararindo is a little bit out of the way when you go to do an excursion, ~1 hour to get to Liberia where you meet up with the other part of the group. A "full day" excursion can translate to 16 hours but the country is so beautiful I really did not mind.