W Costa Rica - Reserva Conchal — Hotel in Cabo Velas

This review is long overdue and I'm still struggling with how to start it! Magical? Incredible? Gorgeous? Picturesque? Every single one of these adjectives apply and then some when it comes to the W Costa Rica! We went for our 20th Wedding Anniversary and couldn't have picked a better place to celebrate.

Now, we had never been to Costa Rica or Central America in general, but there's a reason Costa Rica was tabbed as the Top Destination of 2024 by Travel and Leisure Magazine.. ok, now into everything that made this place special:

Location: The W is situated in Reserva Conchal, roughly 90 minutes away from the LIR airport and the closer you get, the more beautiful it becomes. This place is truly gorgeous in terms of its scenery as it is built inside of a mangrove forest, and since it was rainy season, everything was green, lush, and full of color - I cannot stress how it felt like you were looking at pictures in a book when you walked around the resort. Because your on the most northwestern side of the country bordering the Pacific Ocean, the views are absolutely stunning. Just look at some of the pictures attached which show the view we had from our room every day! It's also incredibly safe as the Reserva Conchal actually houses a number of private residences as well as the Westin All Inclusive Resort. There are two separate security points with gates - one to enter Reserva Conchal and another to enter the W. Suffice it to say, only people who were staying at the W were at the W - it routinely took 8 minutes by car to go from the initial entry point to the W itself.

Room: We opted for a Spectacular Ocean View room and it was worth every penny. We happened to be in Tower 1 on the 3rd floor and our balcony view of the Pacific Ocean was nothing short of incredible. Starting each morning by seeing the gorgeous blue ocean, mountains, and abounding greenery across the area was just breathtaking. We were there for 9 nights and honestly, it got harder and harder to want to leave when it was time to come back home! Since we had our kids with us, we had 2 queen beds that were quite comfortable. The bathroom had dual sinks, dual showers with a view of the ocean, and a private toilet. They offer turn down service every other day, which was a nice touch when we got back to our rooms in the evenings after a long day at the pool, beach (more on that later), or excursions.

Food: You're going to hear this as a complaint from a lot of people and I'm honestly a little perplexed on this one. There are 3 different areas you can eat at the W - Cocina Mercado, Zona Azul, and Latitud 10, but you're likely eating from Cocina Mercado 90% of the time as they offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Not only that, but the W offers different cultural tasting experiences across Cocina Mercado and Zona Azul (i.e., Indian Night, Peruvian Night, Taste of Guanacaste to name a few) which were quite good, the Taste of Guanacaste in particular as it was authentic cuisine local to the area as the W is located in Guanacaste Province. Is it expensive? All things considered, yes (Latitud 10 significantly so), but that certainly didn't diminish the quality or taste of the food. We tried each of them and split most of our time between Cocina Mercado and Zona Azul - but what we discovered on the tail end of our stay was that you could totally opt to go off-resort and try local restaurants. We did that twice (and honestly, I wish we had done that more often - lesson learned for next time!) and those local restaurants were amazing and were definitely lower in cost than the options at the W - the Patagonia Del Mar is a must try!

Service: This is where the W really shines. The staff at the W truly embody the Pura Vida lifestyle! Everyone knew us by our names, made it a point to check in on us, and would go out their way to accommodate us. From Lucy, Rosi, Rocio, Javier, Karina, Maria, and Lisbeth from Cocina Mercado to Aaron, Bernice, Yossi, Gerrardo, and Ivonne at Zona Azul, they knew our preferences, meals, drinks, and made us feel at home while...

Where Luxury and Hospitality Take Center Stage

From start to finish, the W set the bar high and then exceeded expectations. This was a family vacation to celebrate my wife and me turning 40, and we chose to take our kids along. So, with that in mind, we decided from the start to find somewhere kid-friendly, with good meal options and amenities, centrally located for excursions, but with plenty to keep our children occupied while we enjoyed the first days in our “fifth decade” by the pool with drinks in hand. The W Costa Rica hit all the marks and then some!

Located on the expansive Reserva Conchal, just a couple kilometers south of the town of Brasilito on the Brasilito Bay, the W is set furthest back from Ruta Nationale Secundaria 911, along the shore in the reserve between a beautiful white sand beach and encompassing coastal jungle hills. Also in Reserva Conchal are a Westin, sister resort of the W (with available all-inclusive options), a full golf course and Playa Conchal Club, and several other private residential areas nestled in the Reserve’s hills. As we rented a car from our debarkation in Liberia, the 4 km drive from the main gate of Reserva Conchal to the W may have been a little confusing had we arrived in the dark, but the GPS easily overcame the reserves turns and roundabouts. Also, no need to worry about renting a car if you’re not as adventurous, as there were shuttles available from LIR to the W and Westin, among other Reserva Conchal attractions.

Our check-in was simple and fast, but in an attentive and friendly way in which the staff made known right away we were their only priority at that moment. The valet parked our car (included) while the concierge team took care of our luggage and shuttled us to our room. We were surprised immediately with not only an amazing panoramic view of the Brasilito Bay, but a custom cake and decorations welcoming us for our birthdays. When I say the housekeeping and concierge teams pulled out all the stops, I truly mean they left no stone unturned to provide over the top hospitality! This brand of world-class service continued for the next three days, with daily notes, decorations, and small gifts to continue the birthday celebrations.

While there are a spa and fitness facility available at the property, we didn’t take advantage of these. I did take advantage of the many hills and jungle trails for a couple of running workouts. The trails, while well-maintained, are strenuous, steep, and prone to erosion in some of the rainy season’s deluges. That said, if you like hiking or trail running, definitely check out the 8+ miles of trails on the reserve.

Two pools and three restaurants (plus 24/7 in-room dining) offer service to families or couples no matter where you are on the W property. We didn’t eat at 10 North, the W’s upscale restaurant, but had several meals at both Cocina de Mercado off the “Living Room” bar area and Zona Azul, the family friendly pool, restaurant, and bar area. Both had great food options for lunch and dinner, and Zona Azul offers special cuisine nights including a traditional Costa Rican night, sushi night, and others. While it wasn’t particularly busy while we were there, reservations are recommended. The food and service at Mercado and Zona Azul throughout our stay were great, with a variety of options that kept even our picky daughters satisfied.

The daily activities and crafts planned for the younger guests were amazing! Paul and Yuly curated 4 amazing kid activities that kept our girls going back anytime we were near Zona Azul. They had Spanish lessons, decorated cookies, made tote bags, and took part in several other games and crafts while we were there. Paul and Yuly even offered to recreate a few craft opportunities that we missed when we had other activities scheduled away from the resort. These two professionals truly made us and our daughters feel like family and continued the world-class theme of hospitality.

This place was truly unforgettable, and all because of W Costa Rica’s amazing staff. We’ll...

This was my second time to Costa Rica. I love Costa Rica. That is why this is a tough review to write.

Okay, let's start with the positives. This was a Costco deal, and we got a good deal on airfare and hotel. The first time we went to Costa Rica, we planned it ourselves, rented a car, and stayed in three different places. It was great. This time, because the deal was good, we said let's do it and just spend a quick four days.

The hotel is beautiful. The rooms are gorgeous. It is located on a private reserve. The beach is great. Okay, now let's move to my issues.

First off, know that this hotel is on a private reserve that is full of residential housing for expats. It takes, not exaggerating, at least 10 minutes from the main road to go all the way back to the W with two security checkpoints in between. This place is tucked far away. We Google mapped this place before booking and saw a little town, Brasiltio, down from the beach of the W. Perfect, we thought, if we want some authentic food from a soda, local Tican restaurants, we can just walk down the beach. No, you can't. Apparently, you have to cross a river that is waist high to go to Brasilito from the beach at the W. You must drive.

And here lies the biggest problem we found at the W. Communication. When we arrived at the hotel from the airport it was like 7 pm. We were hungry. We checked in and walked down to the ocean front restaurant. "Do you have a reservation?" No, we replied, expecting to be seated in a couple of minutes since we could see it wasn't full. "Oh, sorry, we booked for tonight." Um, okay. We went on the W app the front desk was pushing. Every restaurant was booked with no reservations. We ended up eating at the bar. Two small bar plates and two drinks: $100. Even sitting at the bar, we waited for 10 minutes before I finally asked if we could see a menu (mind you the couple down from us had a menu). The bartender slid a wooded QR code towards me to scan for the menu. I'm sorry, if I'm on vacation I don't want to have pull my phone out to scan for a menu. Give me a menu--especially when I see you have them! This was a horrible first impression for our first evening there.

Okay, we wake up the next day and say let's go to Brasilito for some food. This is when we found out we couldn't walk there because of the waist high river you have to cross. We spoke with the front desk about getting transportation there. Mind you, please Google this, it is 5 kilometers, driving to a restaurant on the beach in Brasilito. They said they can arrange that. It was $60. Um, $60 to go 12 minutes? We were highly frustrated at this point. Luckily, someone else from another reception desk came over and said you can Uber. Great. Pulled out the Uber app and got a ride for $12. Of course this was after two different times having go to the reception desk because the main security for the reserve wouldn't let the Uber driver in. We went back and forth with them to give them the license plate from the Uber app. Great choice by the way. Brasilito was a laid back beach town with some good dining options that was much cheaper than the hotel.

Speaking of cheaper. After the fiasco the first night, we remembered reading that had an all inclusive option. We thought if we are so remote and can't seem to get out of this place, and the dining options were extremely expensive, let's inquire about this all inclusive. The guy at the reception very curtly said it's $200 per person per day and handed a piece of paper to us with all the alcohol that isn't included. The paper didn't say what was included and he didn't seem to want to elaborate. Fine, scrap that.

Basically, the communication was so poor that we just kept having to ask to find out about anything. Luckily, we found they had shuttles that go to Tamarind for $60 RT. We booked that on our second full day and had a great time at a great restaurant there. The final full day we booked a river tour and a plantation visit--nice time.

It's a beautiful place, but if you don't have a car, know what you're...