TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

So we typically go to Mexico for our anniversary trip but decided to do something different and it didn't disappoint! This may not be the big white sand beaches of Mexico but this place is beautiful! We are very glad we booked this one on a whim! Geo, who we met upon check-in, was so helpful throughout our stay and was always checking in on us to see if we needed anything. Great guy! The drivers on property you will see a lot of. The property is large and hilly so walking down os fine but going back up can be a chore at times. Shuttles are running all the time and you don't have to wait long and someone is there. Howard and Ruben are two of the drivers that we interacted with. If you are lucky, Howard may give you mini Spanish lessons like he did for me! Bar service is GREAT! Tasty drinks and COLD beer! Imperial is the beer at the property, I always want to know what beer I will be having and this one is pretty good. Randy, Carlos, and Fernando are 3 of the bar tenders/servers that you will interact with. These guys are a lot of fun and keep your glass cold! We really enjoyed the grill. My husband loved their hamburger and I loved the chicken tacos. "Machete" the cook, was a good sport and cooked it up good. Food at the resort was better than other all inclusive I have stayed at. Property is staffed appropriately and you don't find yourself in need or want of anything. We sat through the presentation and it was good. I know it isn't for everybody but if you do it I am sure Alex and Andy will be just as accomodating for you as they were us. There is an office on-site to book excursions through. The excursions looked great but we just wanted to relax around the property without driving anywhere. The people were super nice and we did use them for our transfer from and to the airport. So, excursions. We did book a jet ski 2 hour tour through some guys at the beach. Owners name was either Jeffrey or Jonathan but our tour guides were Orlando and Alex. I absolutely would so the jet ski tour again. We saw monkeys, sea caves, and other things along the way. Another couple snorkled and saw 5 sea turtles. This was a small tour but really fun! Overall I loved this trip and will be going back sometime. Make sure you educate yourself about the weather there. We typically go to Mexico for our anniversary but booked Secrets Papagayo and I didn't know anything about Costa Rica. May is the beginning of their rainy season but it wasn't bad, sometimes a rain would blow in but I didn't hate it. It was humid so forget fixing your hair! Just go, you will love it and their staff!

The staff was so wonderful and kind! Very helpful and accommodating! The facilities were beautiful! Our plunge pool room had a fabulous view with great amenities! I loved the black volcanic sand!! So many different wildlife species to see as well!

It was a perfect place to end our holiday. After travelling around CR we spent 6 nights relaxing at Secret Papagayo. Our accommodation was away from the main area but near the quiet pool. This suited us. Walking along the beach to breakfast when the tide was out saved walking up the inclines. There are inclines but there is transport available. However we always walked to and from the restaurants in the evening. Some accommodation is higher up than ours and I suspect walking in the considerable heat might be uncomfortable. The staff are the stars. Attentive and cheerful. We enjoyed the buffet at the Market Restaurant as there were plenty of healthy options. There are plenty of more indulgent options too, but I liked the choice. For a more cuisine experience there are other restaurants to choose from. Iguana and Coatis roam the grounds but are harmless. The pool areas are clean and tidy. I think maybe getting a sun lounger could be challenging in the high season. The morning yoga classes outside overlooking the sea was a great start to the day.It was a very enjoyable stay and would recommend it to my friends and family.

Just home from our stay. This vacation was so relaxing. The resort grounds are absolutely beautiful, great food and the entire staff is so hard working and accommodating. Pura Vida

Hi fellow travelers! Just back from Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica (let's call it SP for short) and here's the review. There ARE some things you really need to know before you go to this spot, and while I know this review may be a bit long, please do read it so you're really well informed about your vacation choice. I'll also post some photos along with this review. So grab your favourite beverage, relax and happy reading. :) DISTANCE FROM LIBERIA AIRPORT: It's about 20, 25 min give or take. Not a bad drive at all. (Important note: if you are booking air and your hotel stay separately, make sure you land in Liberia Airport, not San Jose!) ARRIVING AT SP: A very warm and friendly welcome in an open air lobby. Staff had us checked in in no time whatsoever. We got the room we'd asked for. THANK YOU VERY MUCH to the Concierge who answered my email and accommodated my request, which was a bungalow near the quiet pool.) Appreciate that very much. GETTING AROUND: *** This is important. *** The resort is massive. And it's not just "hilly", it's really, really hilly! Steep! Roads run throughout the resort and you're picked up by these colourful vans that take you to wherever you need to go in the resort. Why is this important? Because if you are a person with mobility issues, believe me, walking around is really tough. I can walk and it was too hot to take on some of those hills! Also, if you have issues getting in and out of a vehicle, remember that you'll be doing precisely that because you'll need the van to transport you around the resort. So the vans pick you up at designated spots. You hit a button, and you request the van and it shows up. Sometimes, it takes a little while, and sometimes, it's there right away. Please be patient. It's a very large property and there are only two or three working at any given time. They WILL show up, so just remember to be on vacation, relax, and look forward to it. TWO POOL AREAS: There is the active pool (which is near the lobby and restaurants) and the quiet pool which is a good mile away (no, I'm not joking!) and that is near the spa and one restaurant called AQUA which serves breakfast and lunch. Yes, the distance between the two areas is a good two or two and a half minute van ride. BUT you can walk the beach between the two areas in much faster time, so keep that in mind. More on the beach in a bit. TIP: If you want a lively environment, hang by the main pool. If you crave a more quiet environment, choose the quiet pool by the spa. TIP: If you are going to spend a lot of time at the quiet pool (as we did), request a room in the 300 or 400 block. We were room 304 and it was perfect because it was extremely hot there, and every now and then I had to go the room and cool down. ** Important ** The spa pool only has ladders to get in, no sloped "walk in" or whatever it's called. So if you have a mobility issue and can't do ladders, keep this in mind. The main pool has a sloped walk in which makes it easier to get into the water. ABOUT THE ROOM: Okay, we chose a bungalow king suite, and got room 304 (again, thanks SP Concierge). It looks just as advertised and is nicely renovated. There is no tub in a standard bungalow, but a large walk-in shower. The toiletries are lovely and plentiful. Towels thick. Bed very comfy. TV has all you need - Netflix, BBC, CNN, Fox, etc. The fridge is filled with water, juice and pop. Small issue: yes, the shower leaked. I'd read that on other reviews. Believe me, it's not going to ruin your vacation. Just shove the bath mat right up there and it'll sop up most of it. It's an older resort and I guess they should re-caulk the shower doors with silicone (or whatever it is they do) but truly, nothing to sulk about. No shortage of hot water, the toilet and hairdryer both worked, and they had a steamer for clothes, too. TIP: Make sure your room has an umbrella. They have lots so just phone and order one if you don't have one. Why? Because if it pours (which it did one night for about an hour) and you don't have an umbrella, you're going to get soaked running to the little bus stop (er, van stop!) to catch your ride to the restaurants and bars! Yes, that happened to us. Lesson learned! We just didn't think about it. Part of the adventure of travel, I say. But still. Just take a look in your closet and make sure one is there. ** Important ** A lot of the rooms are themselves on a bit of a hill, so you may have to walk up stairs or a sloped pathway to get to your room. Also important to note is that some rooms are quite far away from either the quiet pool or main area and likely require a van ride to get to anything. TIP: Go online, and check out SP's resort map. It's easy to find. You'll see what I mean about the size of the property and how the bungalows are scattered about. The resort map doesn't show bungalow #s but when you get there, ask them to pull it up and maybe you can select your bungalow right there when you're checking in. Put some careful thought into where you want to be with respect to your bungalow - close to things or further away? RESTAURANTS AND BARS: I'm not going to get into this "such-and-such was our favourite!!" because we're all different and everyone likes different things. I'll give you the facts and a couple of meal recommendations, but trust me when I say, they're all good and no one is better than the other. They're just all different. There is MORE than enough dining choice for everyone for this 200-room resort. All restaurants are air conditioned EXCEPT the Seaside Grill (which is open for lunch and dinner). Also, they all have outdoor patio seating as well. No reservations for any restaurants. It's first come, first served. TIP: Men ... if you loathe the thought of wearing long pants down south, who can blame you? Just wear your Bermuda shorts and dine on the restaurant's patios instead of going inside. TIP: The restaurants get busy after 7 p.m. It's not the worst thing. They give you a buzzer thing and you go have a glass of wine (bars very close by!) and by the time you've got your drink, you're getting buzzed. (Get it? Buzzed? Getting buzzed? Okay, that was lame. But I tried!) I'll start with Aqua, by the quiet pool. Nice to have it there since as I mentioned, van ride to the other restos and bars. AQUA serves lunch and dinner and has a bar of course. The food there is great. Salmon fettuccini at lunch was great, as was the beef carpaccio sandwich. Dinner had a fabulous beef tenderloin with mashed potatoes. But the menu is good and has enough variety for everyone. I just can't remember all that was on it. The Italian restaurant (up by the main pool area) had a great menu, too! And yes, there is steak there. I had black fettuccini in a carrot sauce with shrimp which I could live on. The buffet is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and had a great array of food. Seaside Grill for lunch and dinner is open air and you dine with a beautiful view of Papagayo Bay. (Note: If you're Preferred Club, you can have an a la carte breakfast there.) The Barefoot Grill is the place to go for your standard by the pool fare - burgers and such. All the food was great. The Japanese (Hitmisu) is the only one we did not try. PREFERRED CLUB: We did not do the Preferred Club this time so I can't comment on it other than to mention the Preferred Lounge is up near the front of the resort by the shops and theatre. THE BEACH AND WATER: Papagayo Bay is beautiful. The sand is that dark volcanic sand. So please bear that in mind...it's not the white powdery sand of Punta Cana or Cancun. But it's gorgeous. And it gets VERY hot during the day, so bring beach shoes. The tide goes in and out. Papagayo Bay is blue, shallow and you can go in. To me, it looked more like a big lake but it was really gorgeous. A lot of people went snorkeling there. STAFF: Where to begin? What a lovely bunch of hard working and friendly people. I should start writing names down to mention them here but rest assured, everyone was so nice to us. Especially those van drivers who take us from here to there, always with a smile on their faces. Please tip them because they work hard and they deserve it. AIR CONDITIONING: Okay, first and most important thing here - the air in our room worked like a charm! It was very cold. And believe me, you'll need that down there! Never an issue. Also, all the restaurants indoors were beautifully air conditioned. Unless you are a Preferred Guest (with the air conditioned Preferred Lounge) there is no other air conditioned area. So you read that right - all bars, the main lobby, they're open air. Does it get hot? Yes. Sometimes you'll get a breeze, sometimes you won't. So just be prepared to spend a lot of time outdoors! OTHER: ** This is an older resort, having been originally a Hilton until Secrets took it over. Secrets did a great job of renovating and decorating, but it is still showing its age just a bit. For example, some stone work at the quiet pool is missing some stones. Some steps (a lot of the brick ones) are wobbly. Some stair railings could use a fresh coat of paint. The bathroom showers leak a lot (a lot of people at the pool told us this same thing about their room). Will this ruin your holiday? Absolutely NOT. Go down there with a knowledge that you're going to meet some amazing people, have great food, lounge at stunning pools and that's all it takes to have a good time. I think that about covers it. Here's a quick summary: *** There is a lot of walking - up and down hills, stairs (e.g. to get from the pool areas to the beach) and a lot of distance to cover in this resort. Also, getting in and out of the van may be challenging for those with mobility issues. Carefully check out the resort map and speak with your travel professional or email SP if you have questions or concerns. They are pretty good about getting back to you. ** No air conditioned bars or lobby. The only air conditioned lounge is the Preferred Club one. ** Sand is black and hot. Don't even try walking on it with your bare feet during the day! ** Staff are amazing. All of them. ** Yes, it's an older resort and needs some TLC in some spots, But trust me, the resort overall is beautiful beyond words. Okay, now I'll share my photos. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop me a line as I'm always happy to chat and share information. I wish you a great vacation, wherever your passport takes you! Sue