I think this hotel has an issue with its advertising. Let me give the first sentence from the hotel's own website, at time of writing: "Whispering palms, a beautiful beachfront, lush gardens and laid-back tropical rhythms make the Best Western Jacó Beach All Inclusive Resort an inviting gem for your Costa Rica beach getaway."

To me, that meant a relaxing place I could read on the beach and could have my meals and drinks sorted out.

WRONG. This is a 24/7 party. Replace "laid-back tropical rhythms" with "high-volume, upbeat Latin music." I've heard 50x more Pitbull and Daddy Yankee than Bob Marley, whether I wanted to or not. The music plays at all hours of the day and night, reverberating from the bass-boosted speakers into every room and spilling out on to the beach. That's right, no reading on the beach for you. There is a carefully-place speaker near the second pool angled to cover the area not covered by the central speaker at the main pool. This second speaker's angle delivers thumping beats and the live DJ's exhortations to gyrate all the way to your beachside chair.

Above I wrote "all hours of the day and night." Let me give a more precise schedule:

8 AM: Construction workers start hammering. Surprisingly, this is the thing I'm most OK with. Maintenance has to happen.

9 AM: Music at the pools starts. You're awake now, if you weren't before. Enjoy your breakfast & coffee within the blast radius of the main pool speaker, pointed directly at the resort's restaurant to ensure your conversation is drown out.

10 AM: DJs get on mics. They are louder than the music.

8 PM: The music finally ends. Peace at last?

9 PM: Nope, no peace. The disco starts. THE DISCO STARTS. There is a small dance floor/bar area, and the main speaker here is pointed INWARDS, TOWARDS THE HOTEL ROOMS. The disco goes until 1 AM, including another live DJ once again exhorting gyration to those sick beats you can't ignore, even if you want to.

1 AM: Blessed silence. You can hear the whispering ocean waves. It's actually really wonderful and peaceful. No time to enjoy it, though, as you need to get to sleep ASAP. There are only 7 hours before the hammering will wake you up.

I'm a Puerto Rican guy, so I kind of get this schedule. This is what a good time is in most Latin cultures. Music is part of our way of life, and within that culture there's really not a reason for it to be off if you're supposed to be relaxing. A lot of this resort's clientele are Latino families enjoying a vacation together.

But there's a reason I didn't go to my family in Puerto Rico for my vacation, and that's because I was looking for something different. Something with "Whispering palms, a beautiful beachfront, lush gardens and laid-back tropical rhythms."

Which is why I say that this hotel's problem is one of advertising. I see some other reviewers have complained about the music, but that's ultimately not the issue. Plenty of guests here probably look at the music schedule and get excited for a fun weekend. Those of us who are appalled by it are just not the target audience, and were lured in by the advertising.

I want to close out by providing some brief comments on key services:

Food: The food is fine. Go for the local stuff - rice, beans, fish, fried plantains, etc. It's not bad at all. +Drinks: The drinks are strong and use fresh ingredients. There's some decent liquor behind the bar, if you ask. You can get a beer, too. Overall excellent for an all-inclusive. +Service: Excellent service, just excellent. One of the most friendly and helpful staffs I've ever met. My suspicion is that the people leaving negative comments about them may have either met them on a bad day or may be the sort of people who bring negativity into their interactions. +Location: Right in walking distance of the whole town, 1-2 minute walk to the beach. Perfection. Rooms: Look, it's a garden-style hotel on a beach in a tropical country. The rooms are designed to clean sand and combat the depredations of humidity. Their worst quality is that they don't keep the music out.