Occidental Papagayo - Adults only - All Inclusive

“Not a “full-service” all-inclusive experience”

The resort is secluded, not really near anything. Beach access. The Best part: There are wonderful people working here, that will be so kind and helpful. The Rest: You have 2 restaurants to choose from. Italian, Asian. Both restaurants were good. The “Grill” is available for dinner 2 nights/we… more

The resort is secluded, not really near anything. Beach access. The Best part: There are wonderful people working here, that will be so kind and helpful. The Rest: You have 2 restaurants to choose from. Italian, Asian. Both restaurants were good. The “Grill” is available for dinner 2 nights/week. We did not dine at this one either Friday or Saturday. You can book the restaurants once for every 3 days of your stay. If they have availability, more often. The Buffet is breakfast/lunch/dinner. Typical Costa Rican (rice, beans, vegetables, protein) they do vary the dinner a bit by “theme”. Always salad fixings, dessert, fruit, etc. seemed like they always had pasta, too. You can order cocktails, etc, at Buffet. The snack bar is open when buffet is closed during the day. Usual stuff. I did not eat anything. Salads, pizza, breads, fruit. Just go grab. We opted for a premium level room. Highly suggest that you do the same. With premium you get a nicer room, patio/balcony. You also have access to the lounge for premium patrons. Worth. It. (Quiet. Air conditioning, snacks, good drinks). WiFi is good there. I have food allergies. The food at buffet is not labeled with ingredients. No one explained anything. You have to assume it’s cooked in butter. No GF bread available for breakfast, lunch, dinner. Costa Rican food usually does not have wheat - but dairy is part of their diet. The restaurants were better with sharing GF/Dairy free, and did provide dessert that was fine. If you are concerned. Advocate for yourself. I should have. And I regret that I did not. An important note: there are fees to use some facilities. Kayak, bicycles, tennis courts all require a separate fee - per hour. If you go on the kayak tour during the activity offered by Resort, you can go without fee. The On The Beach tour folks were fun. They are in the lobby and easy to work with. We booked our excursions with them. The upside is that you don’t have to run to 5 other hotels to grab anyone else. They can get you to Coco Beach and back. The closest “souvenir” shopping. The tour guides provided excellent information. We particularly enjoyed the coffee/cocoa/sugar cane farm tour. We also took the tour to Miraveilles. Horse ride, walk through jungle, and volcano crater tour. Mud bath. Hot springs. Really quite a nice experience. Yes, you’ve seen comments. You get one pool towel, per person. You can swap for fresh. We did not see washcloths in our room. I even left a note to ask. In Espanol. The water will never be “hot”. If you don’t get anything but absolutely freezing water, go the opposite direction with the handle. It will eventually warm up. Kind of. Costa Rica is warm. You don’t need a scalding shower. This resort is billed “easy living” — It is NOT full service/5 star. You get what you pay for. No one brings you drinks at the pool, even the swim up bar. The main pool I found to be quieter. Unless it was Water Exercise time ;) The shop in the lobby is priced pretty crazy. I forgot my hairbrush. Basic $7 brush = $25 (can of OFF bug spray = $37) We enjoyed the people, our room was nice enough. Very clean. The resort is starting to show its age. That being said, we saw folks doing work, so perhaps they are working to improve the rooms. We noticed usually in the evening, sometimes during the AM. The power goes off. It comes right back, but was unexpected. Keep in mind, Costa Rica is fairly environmentally friendly. Recycling, water is conserved, etc. There are also several animals at the resort. We saw Raccoons. They attempted to follow us into our room. Very clearly they’ve been fed by others. There is a resident iguana by the pool. Small lizards. And the little crabs! They are kind of funny. They are everywhere. Harmless. Surprising at first, but it’s a jungle. There will be bugs and things. We found a small scorpion too. We stayed at another Barcelo property in Mexico. That was a “Royal” property. Occidental is several steps down. I found that if I asked nicely, I got what I needed. Most of the time. If you didn’t ask. You did not get offered anything. It is very relaxed there. You need to speak up and advocate, nicely, for what you want. For English language folk — if you do not speak even a little Spanish, it can be difficult off property. Many people only speak a very limited amount of English. Just a heads up. For my friends who enjoy sparkling wine. They don’t have any. Seriously. None. If you are ok with the level of service as offered, this will work for you. If you expect more from your resort - this is not that. Be aware. Be informed. Price matters for the level of service and expectations. It is a lovely property.

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