Andaz Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo

This is a tough review to write because taken just as an upscale hotel, Andaz does pretty well. Let's start with the positives: 1. First and foremost is the staff and service. Every staff interaction we had was overwhelmingly positive; everyone was kind, friendly, and helpful. Being able to text requests via whatsapp is a massive convenience that everywhere should copy. Yes the resort is hilly, but being able to text for a golf cart ride that shows up within 5 minutes takes care of that. 2. The quality of the room itself was excellent; our two bedroom suite was well designed, felt new, and felt decidedly upscale and premium. My family had plenty of space in the two bedroom plunge pool suite (which is a plunge pool suite with an adjoining studio added on to one side). 3. While food in the "default restaurant" (Rio Bhongo) was decent, our meals at the other two restaurants were very good, albeit pricey. 4. We spotted a good amount of wildlife; howler monkeys, iguanas, and pretty birds. OK so if the staff and the room were great and the food was solid, why only four starts? This is where it gets a bit more philosophical. What is the Andaz Papagayo? Is it a tropical beach resort? If so, it's not a very good one; the on-premises beach is muddy and small. There is a better beach on offer, but to get to it requires either a boat ride (which runs on a fairly limited schedule) or a van ride. Even this better beach doesn't hold a candle to a garden variety beach in Mexico or the Caribbean. Is it a Costa Rican destination? No; Papagayo Peninsula on which the Andaz (and Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton) sit is a glorified gated community for rich tourists. Literally there's a gatehouse just to get onto the peninsula, and all the hotels are additionally gated behind it. Once you're in there, you may as well be at any warm destination hotel; you're completely divorced from any shred of actual Costa Rica. Is it an upscale jungle/rain forest resort? No, that's Nayara, which not only does all the resort parts exceptionally well, but actually feels like you went to Costa Rica. So yeah. Andaz Papagayo is a very nice hotel with an outstanding staff, which from a functional and operational standpoint earns it a solid four stars. The fact that it's isolated and lacks a great beach prevents a fifth.

Beautiful resort. Hyatt Andaz at its finest. Monkey's everywhere, it felt like we were in the jungle. The pools were fantastic, and the Beach resort was nice. We did the cabana experience one day and well worth it. Food and drinks were good, in particular dinner at Ostra. Mostly seems like a family resort. Tons of walking and steps, so not ideal for challenged individuals.

A beautiful resort with very friendly staff. The view is incredible. Breakfast buffet was delicious and a very good spread. Our kids absolutely loved the pools. I highly recommend Andaz Papagayo to anyone considering staying at this resort.

As long as your expectations are realistic, this large lux resort does a great job. Prices are high but we thought decently aligned with the value delivered. Although it's quite large you never really feel it's crowded--even when it was a full capacity as it was a few of the days we stayed. Always able to find loungers at the pools and the beach -- never a need to rush out at 6AM and reserve spaces. The entire staff--front desk, poolside, restaurants, cleaning--are almost universally polite, friendly and helpful. Service requests made via the app attended to within minutes. Reservations for meals are made via the app and as long as you do it a day before, never any issues. Gym and spa were great - we did a Sound Healing with Yarina ($40 PP) and loved it; repeated it a couple of days later. There is a lot of walking involved which is fine if you're in to the exercise and able to climb stairs. Otherwise you need to call for a shuttle cart and guests we saw waiting for carts did not look thrilled with the experience. Take a look at the resort map on the website and request a building that makes the most sense for you. We were in #4 which was perfect for us since near the adult pool and the spa (but a 10-minute walk to breakfast). So far as the realistic expectations: the resort is very isolated so plan on eating meals here (you could travel to adjacent resorts but same crowd, menus and pricing) -- everything has been built is past 15 years or so for tourists (mostly U.S. tourists) and there no existing local infrastructure or culture. On the other hand, it's 30 minutes from an international airport with non-stop flights to most of the U.S. and very reliably sunny warm weather during the dry season. We stayed four nights - and that was just about right. After that you'll be repeating meals at the same four restaurants. If you've seen White Lotus, you'll get an idea of the overall vibe but they do it extremely well here. BTW we are two gay men and no issue at all - met other LGBT couples staying at the resort with same positive experience in case that's of interest to you!

This was a very nice vacation with outstanding staff and facility. Everyone was friendly and eager to help. Restaurant staff was efficient but made you feel right at home. We took advantage of the complimentary kayak and floated out in the bay for more than an hour. Definitely one of the most relaxing vacations we have had.