“Costa Rica is a lovely place and at first glance this hotel complimented it perfectly. The tropical vegetation inside the resort was breathtakingly beautiful. The tall trees rising above the holiday apartments were hiding all sorts of exotic birds and a family of small monkeys. Friendly raccoons were congregating around the snack bar and giant lizards sunbathed themselves in the freshly cut grass. The blue water of the swimming pool sparkled in the bright sunlight.
Having checked into the hotel we were practically overwhelmed with joy. We couldn’t believe our luck. The waiter brought us our welcome cocktails and they tasted DELICIOUS!
Then we went to see out room. Oh, dear… What is that horrible smell? There was mould everywhere and the balcony door was not closing. I am not fond of mouldy rooms, but I can survive it for a few days. A door that you cannot close is another matter. Having spent a few hours in reception we managed to get moved into our second room. It was clean but rather small, was missing a table and chairs and had wires hanging from the bathroom ceiling. The minibar was empty and the advertised safe and coffee maker were absent. On the wall of the room we found a strange square hole where the light switch should have been. Not wanting to spend the rest of the afternoon moving rooms we tried to adjust to our environment until we discovered that the cold water tap in the bathroom was not working. Back to the reception.
Another long hour waiting for our turn while other travellers registered their complaints.
Room number three was great, well, certainly great compared to rooms one and two.
We were even given a coffee maker, too bad they forgot to replace the coffee. We were never given a safe, which was fine as we were not there for long and didn’t really have anything expensive to put in it. At last we had some cold drinks in our minibar.
All the staff at the hotel were friendly and warm. They are the people who really make this hotel a pleasant place to be. Food was good enough and service mostly with a smile.
But Christmas dinner at the Asian a la carte restaurant was downright creepy. It was so dark that we couldn’t really see our food (or the menu for that matter), there were flashing lights like they used to have in 70s discos and the music was so loud that it was almost impossible to hear each other. We were given a strange cocktail which made us feel unwell. Then the waiter jumped from behind me, grabbed my shoulder and shouted “Merry Christmas” in my ear. I nearly fell off the chair.
I think the food was okay, but I didn’t eat much as all I wanted was to get out. Perhaps it is normally a more subdued and enjoyable experience and we just went on the wrong night. In any case I would not go there next Christmas.
The grounds of the hotel were absolutely lovely and well looked after. The rooms further away from reception had the best ambience and the rooms on the top of the hill had the best views.
The beach was pretty enough and safe for swimming. It was also connected to the hotel so getting there from the room constituted a nice walk. There was a friendly place on the hotel grounds where you could book your diving, snorkelling and even boat trips (look for it behind the snack bar). With a good deal of patience and some luck you could also get your beach towels from the same place.
If you woke up early in the morning you could watch the sunrise from the coffee bar next to the reception while having a chat with other fellow travellers and some friendly blue parrots. The flocks of black seagulls darting frantically from tree to tree reminded me of some prehistoric birds and their screeching cries, lingering perpetually above the sea cliffs, made me feel that I was witnessing something special, something unique. Somehow this place has touched my heart and captured my imagination. One day I would definitely like to go back.”
