TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Stayed at the Occidental Papagayo for two weeks. Overall staff are really good The resort is dated and needs repairs Had to change rooms after a few days because of the lack of air conditioning Food is okay but need to change it up Buffet is mediocre had a couple days of strong winds power went out numerous times throughout the day. No hot water on day 10 room key didn’t work one day because they checked us out by accident Any tours booked thru the resort are very expensive gift shop on the resort is really expensive $50 for a bottle of sunscreen overall it was average and we probably won’t be back

While some reviews expressed reservations regarding the restaurants, our experience, particularly at the Buffet restaurant, was excellent! The resort’s aesthetics were stunning, complemented by our exceptional lodging. The staff’s demeanor varied, ranging from exceedingly cordial to somewhat indifferent. Nonetheless, the resort offered amazing views and we would enjoy returning again!

Housekeeping less than expected but the room was tidy and well laid out. Quiet location with good security at the gates. Tours were easy to come by and well worth it. Snorkeling off the small beach was good, beware of sea urchins in the rocks.

We chose this place to celebrate my husband’s Birthday. I must say we had really high expectations on this place as this is one of the top places for tourism. We chose a premium room which gave us some “special access” to premium services and we also paid for early check in (which was really just early use of the place, because the room was given to us until 3 pm). About the food: I can only say they nailed it with breakfasts. There are not a lot of options to choose from during lunch or dinners. At night, they have different food themes (Caribbean, Costa Rican, etc,) at the buffet, however, they didn’t have a lot of options to choose. There are 3 restaurants you can order from a menu, but we never were able to get any space on it, so we could not try it. There is a “snack bar” near the pool, with the same food everyday and you can’t take the food out of the building, like if you want to have some fruits in the pool or a late snack while you are enjoying the sunset. We asked everyday to get at least water at the “mini bar” in our room, and they always forgot to re-stock it, not even in first day we checked in, it was empty. About the building: Building is old, and it looks they don’t want to invest in improving the rooms. Our shower didn’t have enough water to shower daily. AC is old. WiFi never really worked properly, it was really slow. We stayed in the 3rd floor, no elevators available. The walls of the pools were dirty. The water of the pools was always really hot, you could not think about getting refresh with the weather at the pool, it was like a sauna. The beach is really nice, you have to walk quite a distance but they have internal transportation. About the employees: Some of them were really rude, it looks like they were mad at you; but some of them were really nice (Roy was really nice). Every time we called for room service, they said they were coming and no one ever showed up. About the environment: This is a adults only, so it was really calm No a lot of activities in the pools Some nights they had some guys playing violin and guitar, this was really nice. In general, there are other All inclusive hotels in the area which I’ve been in that are way better than the Papagayo that I would recommend

My wife and I stayed here at the beginning of a tour of CR, Panama and Nicaragua. The staff are very friendly, the resort is clean and well kept, the room we stayed in had an amazing view over the bay and had evening visitors including raccoons and armadillos. The food was fine for a buffet, we missed our opportunity to book one of the a la carte restaurants. The Snack was where we usually had lunch and sometimes breakfast, and the food was good. The main pool was generally quiet and the lower pool had the bar attached to it. The only downside was one ignorant person decided their music was better than the music the bar was playing and brought their personal speaker to the pool, so we left as the staff didn't seem interested in doing anything about it. Beach was a long walk but they have a shuttle you can request to get you close. They have loungers on the beach for a first come first served situation but we didn't stay that long, it isn't a large beach and the tide was coming in. The upper pool was our general place of rest and relaxation.