Occidental Papagayo - All Inclusive Adults Only — Hotel in Sardinal

(long review) Beautiful location! Even in the peak of dry season, it was gorgeous. Very hilly, so if you have mobility issues it might not be suitable. The shuttles around the location seemed sporadic at best, I wouldn't have wanted to rely on them. We walked everywhere and enjoyed the exercise/views.

Food was truly mediocre at best, the a la carte restaurants were only nominally better than the buffet. Truly surprising lack of a variety of fresh fruit. In 7 days, they only served mango once and it was peak mango season in the region! We had to pay a cab to go to town to get fresh Mangoes. so delicious!! On the 2 buffets: the "The Buffet" (upstairs) was better than the snack bar, but lots of repetition and left overs from the previous day in every meal. Service was prompt and good at this restaurant. The Snack Bar (downstairs near the pools) had an amazing setting, but the staff there seemed very unengaged, it was almost impossible to get the grill chef to make you the grill food. The severs sometimes brought you the drinks you asked for, it was a real gamble though. We joked that it seemed like this restaurant was the minor leagues and the better staff would get 'promoted' to the upstairs restaurant. The food was basically the same as upstairs, other than the inaccessibility of the grilled food.

Local transportation: Cabs are VERY expensive. Use Uber, and make sure they have Uber to get you back otherwise you will be paying an arm and a leg. The cabs are arbitrary flat rates. We were charged $20 from hacienda blue, $15 from Playa Hermosa and both are very close, both 1 way trips. It felt scammy and not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it feels bad.

Rooms were good, clean, AC worked, beds were comfy. The upgrade to a bay view room was well worth the money. Gorgeous views. Only complaint is that every day the cleaning staff left our blinds open and bathroom door open. The bathroom is open to the outside, so lets in heat and humidity. The blinds being left opened turned the room into an oven because of direct sunlight and the AC wasn't powerful enough to overcome this. The coffee in the room was delicious!

The pools: Beautiful. Swim up bar pool (lower one) was filled with all-day drinkers, which is to be expected. The main pool, also beautiful setting, had volleyballs and some activities around it. The only complaint was the lack of shade / umbrellas. It might not be such a big deal when it isn't April and the hottest time of year. Very few people left towels on chairs to claim them all day, so that was refreshing to see. We watched a family of howler monkeys move from tree to tree and along the fence most mornings from the lower pool.

All-inclusive: Apart from the quality of the food, the hours that food was available left something to be desired. No food available before 7am, between 5:00pm-6:00pm or after 9:30pm. Given that there was very little local food and the quality wasn't great, we would have liked to see more comfort/american type options. It felt weird to eat at Peruvian night in Costa Rica and have no other options. The rotating nightly themes are Costa Rican, Peruvian, Chef (?), Caribbean, American, Mexican and Mediterranean. If you don't have a la carte reservations, then you will be eating whatever the rotating option is. Alcohol was poured strong, no concern there if you like strong drinks.

A few random tips: The souvenir shop in Playa Hermosa has Sun Bum sunscreen for the most affordable price we could find in the area, good brand + best price! Playa Hermosa is small and probably not worth a visit except for the most beach loving people. Playas del Cocos is bigger and more touristy, lots to do and gorgeous at night, definitely more of a destination. Roberto on the beach had great tour guides and better prices than booking through the hotel. 10/10 would recommend booking through him. Just go to the beach before 2pm and he will be there at the bottom of the stairs. Go to the beach after dark for a snail dance party!

Lots of pros and cons. We enjoyed ourselves but...

Went here to celebrate my wife and mine's 10 year wedding anniversary. We stayed 5 nights in the premium master suite number 901. I booked almost a year ahead of time and after taxes and other charges, the premium master suite with jacuzzi on the patio and golf cart, came to around $300 per night. Very good deal

Pros:

amazing room for the money. Amazing view and lots of room. It was also very private, so there was never any concern of people being able to see into our room or patio. The 3 premium master suites come with a golf cart for each. With the walking needed at this resort, its a huge perk.

-food was pretty good. Nothing crazy but always tasty. The buffet was small but good options, and the changing menu kept things interesting. We ate at both the oriental and the italian restaurant. The oriental was not really all that good. Sushi was inedible. However the entree was ok and the tempora fried ice cream was really delicious. Everything we tried at the italian was very good.

-the alcohol quality was what to be expected at this price of a resort. All bars outside of the premium lounge were off brand cheap liquors. The premium lounge was the only place to find name brand liquors. But even with the cheap liquor, I never had a bad cocktail. I really recommend the strawberry mojito. So so good. Lol.

-view: amazing view. The view is pretty incredible from the 3 premium master suite rooms.

-premium upgrade: worth it. Do it. Really makes a difference.

Staff: Staff were, for the most part, were very kind and helpful. Almost always smiling and waved. The female bartender at the premium lounge was great. Always joking and made great drinks. Also the chef and the room service guy were also fantastic.

Cons:

-limited number of reservations you can make. For a 5 night stay, you only can make 2 reservations.

-room: there were two mini splits in our room (850 sq ft, so two makes sense for uniform temp) but only one worked. Other problem was that our front door had a huge hole in the trim at ground level, allowing bugs and gekos in. It was about 2 inch wide and about 5 inches tall. Pretty ridiculous to not have fixed. It allowed w giant cockroach in.

-alcohol usally watered down but you could ask for it to be stronger. The premium lounge really should be where you get most of your drinks if you can.

-staff communication/logistics: they seem to really struggle with figuring out how to best accomplish a streamlined service for check in and resolving requests/complaints.

-fake reviews: im pretty positive they use fake reviews. Due to booking very far in advance, and wanting to make sure I made a good purchase, I have regularly read the reviews for the past 6 months or so. There is clearly a pattern and formula that is used in the fake reviews. Always 1 review made by the user, always in spanish, no profile pic, always 5 stars, almost always naming and praising multiple staff, and the multiple fake reviews are grouped together all within an hour of each other. The manager told me before I went that there were multiple locations for staff to make reviews, however, while there, I never saw any such location. Using fake reviews is a major turn off and, honestly, not needed. The resort is great, let real reviews and reviewers speak for themselves.

Upgrades: the premium upgrade was, no doubt, a great and must do upgrade. However, the romantic date package was an absolute waste of money. Paid like $150 for pretty much a extra reservation at the oriental restaurant. Pretty disappointing. I had also requested the resort help make this weekend special due to it being a 10 year anniversary. That request was pretty much ignored. So between the request and the romance package i paid for, They didnt leave chocolates, strawberries, or pretty much anything. The only extra thing done was a card left on a table, that was blank on the inside. Not even filled out or anything. Honestly made me pretty annoyed.

Bars: the bars close early except for the premium lounge. Really dumb to close the swim up bar so early...

I had an exceptional time at Occidental Papagoya for 10 days, which was my first experience at an all-inclusive south of Canada.

In booking this trip, I was extremely reluctant to stay here given some of the polarizing reviews and complaints. But, my partner and I decided to just "go for it" as the price was excellent and resort seemed to offer a bit of everything. What was appealing to us was (1) the location, seemingly a bit away from other resorts and nearby activities/sights, and (2) the fact that it catered to a smaller crowd.

What we enjoyed about Occidental: The resort gives off a vintage "spanish villa" vibe, which we loved and felt comfortable in. The resort was absolutely LUSH with tropical plants, trees, gardens, and filled with animals and critters. It almost feels like you are in a forest. We were placed in one of the "Oceanview deluxe room" (specifically room #2001, in the 20 block) which gave a stunning view of the bay. In fact, we had a couple approach us and say "How did you get a room like this?!" on our first night. Our AC worked well , the place was clean, and was decently stocked with what we needed (waters, towels, soaps, toilet paper, etc). I brought my own shampoo/conditioner, but used everything else. A lot of people comment that the resort could use a facelift -- I personally feel like this gives the resort charm, but I agree it is not the sterile, modern Hilton you may stay at elsewhere. To us, we wanted something cozy and non-pretentious, but of course clean and safe -- Occidental did it for us! There is a huge variety of food at every meal, and every day is different. There is always fresh fruit available, a large display of breads and desserts (which were stunning), at least 2-3 types of meats prepared in some style, and a number of cold and hot sides. This was one of the better buffets I have experienced with something for everyone. I also found that they offered a good assortment of local foods and American-style foods you may be used to at home. If you didn't feel like a buffet, you could instead reserve a spot at one of their 3 a-la-carte restaurants: The Oriental, The Italian, or The Grill. You're offered a 3-course meal at each, with several options that will give you something different from the buffet. We ate at the resort for all but 3 meals, and were perfectly content with that. The staff were accommodating and actively looked for ways to make your stay more enjoyable. Some were certainly more personable then others, but they all took pride in their work. At one instance our room bracelets wouldn't work, but a passing-by staff member immediately stopped to help us get in and alerted the front-desk to fix the reader battery. The issue was resolved within the hour. The best thing the hotel did for us was prepare one of the black tunas we had caught during an excursion -- it was perfectly prepared and served on a beautifully decorated platter.

Some things you should know: The beach towels are pretty ratty, so if this is important to you, bring your own. Our first afternoon, they ran out and asked us to come back. Many times we didn't even care for a towel as you pretty much dry out within minutes under the sun. The gift-shop is ridiculously priced. Go to Coco Beach for the same souvenirs at a much better price. Also, pack your own sunscreen (at least 2 bottles) - the hotel sells it at ~$40 USD. No where on the resort could you get cash/change. If you plan on tipping, bring exact change as no one can break a bill. The beach is sandy (it is certainty not rocky, as one Reviewer indicated, but contains the usual cluster of shells and pebbles that are fine to walk on). It is a public beach but quiet. Bring your own snorkeling gear to see fish swim right up to your feet among starfish, eels, sea urchin, puffer fish, etc. The resort has gentle slopes and hills. We liked the bonus exercise, and the inclines made for exceptional views. You should be comfortable with stairs, but if not, golf carts are...