The Westin Reserva Conchal Golf Resort & Spa

We have had an amazing experience here!! The staff have been very friendly and helpful with every interaction. Covid-19 protocols being followed have reduced the numbers of restaurants and bars open, but we’ve never felt out of options for good food and drink. Room service is prompt and friendly, pool is lovely, but the best by far is the beach here. The water and sand are beautiful, and you’ll meet Erik Garcia in the famous blue shirt there, who can hook you up with the most wonderful private tours. We’ve gone on a 3 hour private ATV tour of the area and surrounding 5 beaches, a 2 hour private jet ski tour, and a private snorkeling tour of a nearby island. All were super fun, personalized, and led by knowledgeable and friendly locals. Bring cash and you’ll save money and have a great personalized experience when booking with Erik. The Westin has been such a great place for a couple to get away from the craziness of life and enjoy the beauty Costa Rica has to offer. We’ve loved seeing the wildlife here on our walks, from monkeys to birds to iguanas and coati. We highly recommend the Westin Reserva Conchal!!!

I just finished writing another review for a hotel in La Fortuna that got 5 stars so it isn't often that I would rate something at 3. We stayed at the Westin April 13th-April 17th with another couple that was celebrating their wedding anniversary. We expected so much from all of the reviews and since we were both Marriott/Bonvoy members we expected a lot from Marriott. Before I start with the breakdown, it's important to note that none of our complaints were due to covid restrictions or to personal staff. I'll mention customer service in a few minutes. Check-In - This was where our disappointment started. Typically, you are warmly greeted by hotel staff at a Westin upon arrival. This did not happen. There were 3 stations open, much confusion on where to go and no one to direct you. We were given a key and a small map of the resort and were told all information was on QR codes throughout the resort. More on the later. Dysfunctional Dining Reservations System - Please note that this was a disaster that needs to be fixed immediately! If you plan to stay at the all-inclusive resort, know that you are not guaranteed a spot in any of the a-la-carte restaurants. Someone described this perfectly in an earlier review as the Westin Hunger Games and this is absolutely true! We read that review before coming to the Westin and reached out to our travel agent prior. He said we couldn't make reservations until check-in so we waited. He must have made the call for us earlier in the day, so when we checked in, I asked about reservations. She said all of the restaurants were full and that our agent had arranged for 8:30pm dinners at some of the less busy ( in our minds, less desireable) restaurants. The seafood and Asian restaurants were completely unavailable. When I said we were not happy with the choices made on our behalf, she said there was nothing she could do and suggested the buffet each night. She also gave me a special phone number to call once we were in our room. I thought she was very rude and simply wanted us out of the way. I did not get her name. Once we checked into our rooms, we were to call Dining to see if they could help. The problem with this was that the phones did not work. I would call the dining number and reach housekeeping or valet or the front desk. They would try to transfer me but the number would either disconnect or go to a busy number. I sat for over an hour trying to reach someone that could help. After expressing my frustration, I was finally able to change 2 of our 3 night reservations to places we wanted to eat. Before anyone can say this was covid-related due to staff of seating, that would be incorrect. Most of these restaurants are open air and we were never crowded at any seating. In fact, at the Asian restaurant, we had the whole side of the restaurant open. This dining arrangement/situation needs to be worked out asap. I've seen posts in several forums going back several weeks before we arrived detailing that this was an issue. The room - We booked a room in the Royal Beach Club section of the resort. It's about a 9 minute walk to the beach. It is an average room with an above-average bathroom. The whole resort is showing some age and just doesn't have the natural appeal to the region. In other words, the room could have been anywhere, it wasn't customized to reflect Costa Rica in any way, very bland. We weren't told that we had access to a private lounge until I read it online the second or third day. The lounge only had coffee and water so it wasn't a great loss. Still, even with covid, some special treat could have been served. This wouldn't have differed from being served in a restaurant or togo. We did not have a coffee maker in the room and getting room service took up to 45 minutes so my husband went on the last two mornings to get coffee from this "perk." The QR Codes do not work - This is important because this highlights our main complaint, lack of communication or effort from front of house to guests. Going back several weeks before we arrived, people complained about the codes not working. It was not fixed when we were there so they know this is a problem. The QR codes are used for a variety of things. This is where you are to get restaurant dinner menus as well as a room service menu. It is also where you get the daily activities. We unfortunately got a paper copy of the daily activities around 5pm in the evening after all the activities were finished each day. Out of our entire stay, the staff only got us the paper the evening before we left. Same with the room service menu. It was this lack of communication or any attempt to fix the problem that was so frustrating. Management - I did want to speak to the manager about some of the problems we encountered. I planned to go to the main office but the manager found me by the pool. I told him my concerns and he offered to send champagne to our rooms. I told him we didn't want champagne but that we wanted him to know and fix the problems. We got champagne that night anyway. I'm appreciative of the gesture but I was not looking for "free stuff." I sincerely wanted Westin to fix the problem for one reason... the staff that worked there was phenomenal and deserve better! Customer Service was Excellent! The only thing saving this review from a 2 star was the staff. This is also where my frustration comes from the most. Because upper management won't fix the reservation system, the phones, the ATM, the support service system, the QR codes, this all reflects poorly on the resort. Some of the amazing staff I wanted to mention: Gabriel Alfado Bartender - he was fantastic! He was so friendly and made sure he took care of everyone at the bar. He also had to run food so he did an excellent job at balancing everything out. Zarlech Jimenez Bartender Daniel Roderick and Allen at various restaurants - great attention to detail and friendly Jairo Vargas, Juam Riuz, Norman Vall - all excellent customer service. Hope this review reaches the right people at the resort and the problems can be fixed soon. We were there with very few other people at the resort, my guess 20% capacity and it was not operating well, I can't imagine it would be able to run at full capacity with these issues. Ugh, I hate to write these types of reviews but I also wouldn't advise going there with the problems we encountered.

My wife, son, and his wife stayed at the Westin this last weekend and found the services excellent, people friendly and rooms clean. We ate at the restaurants where food was also amazing. The beach is public with vendors and souvenirs . We found local sellers who offer massages and tours very friendly. We used Erik G who wears a shirt and a hat for our tours We went on a catamaran trip, at his recommendation, with #LazyLizard tonight and had a wonderful time. Thanks to everyone that made our weekend magical.

Erick Garcia had the best prices on tours! He is on the beach go find him! He is wonderful!! We did Catamaran on Lazy Lizard And Volcano and Mudbath tour!! You won’t be disappointed he is friendly and will assist with any questions

What a great resort. I’ve been to many all inclusive resorts around Mexico and the Caribbean. This resort is by far has the best grounds and has a beautiful layout. The pool is huge and has a lot of wildlife (being a reserve). The animals don’t bother you and are fun to see. The beach does not have waves and is very child friendly. You can also get massages on the beach for $20. They aren’t the best massages, but for $20 it’s worth it. The drinks are great. Service isn’t quite as attentive as Mexican resorts. Servers aren’t quick to do refills and aren’t as attentive. We did some excursions on our own and through Erik on the beach. He was very attentive and got us to where we needed to go through Aaron. The service from the staff here at the Westin staff has been great from the front desk and room service. I will definitely be back!