Hotel Livvo Mirador Papagayo

“Overall very good.”

We had a week at the Mirador in mid March. Had a great time overall with a couple of gripes. It’s in the perfect position for us - far enough from town to be quiet but close enough to walk. Takes 15/20 minutes to the marina and same again into Playa Blanca. It’s a lovely walk with plenty to gawp at… more

We had a week at the Mirador in mid March. Had a great time overall with a couple of gripes. It’s in the perfect position for us - far enough from town to be quiet but close enough to walk. Takes 15/20 minutes to the marina and same again into Playa Blanca. It’s a lovely walk with plenty to gawp at and there’s a market twice a week in the marina (Wed/Sat) which is worth a look round. Town is nice with lots of cafes etc and plenty of souvenir shops. Ideal if you need a bottle opener shaped like a willy or a fridge magnet featuring your pet dog’s breed! Our hotel room was good. Plenty of space and a pool/sea view. Had a fridge, safe and kettle. Tv with most English terrestrial channels, a 3 pin socket and a USB. Would have preferred a separate shower rather than over the bath but it was quite powerful. Pool area was nice and always plenty of beds. Our problem was the catering. Trouble is, it’s an extra large (XL) hotel with a lot of guests but the dining room is only large (L). Therefore at peak times it is BUSY. It’s like an enormous ant’s nest with people rushing hither and thither, swerving left and right to avoid oncoming plate carriers. Don’t forget to keep hold of your knife and fork unless you want your plate taking away. They are ruthless! Having said that the waiters/waitresses were good fun. Special shout out to Leidy who was always smiling. We weren’t mad keen on the food either and ate out a couple of times despite being half board. It was a similar experience in the bar which was usually full inside unless you wanted to sit directly in front of the huge television. Not recommended when Champions League is on. Despite the above we had a great time at the Mirador Papagayo.

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“Just one thing.”

An excellent location for us as a couple, The pool areas,room, entertainment, staff, were all really good.We stayed half board fortunately as the food,apart from breakfast, is a letdown It would appear that a cost-cutting exercise is in place. You wait to be allocated a table even though there are… more

An excellent location for us as a couple, The pool areas,room, entertainment, staff, were all really good.We stayed half board fortunately as the food,apart from breakfast, is a letdown It would appear that a cost-cutting exercise is in place. You wait to be allocated a table even though there are plenty to spare,is this due to a shortage of staff,plates,cutlery? Plenty of Pork and fish if you like that, but the evening meals are generally uninspiring canteen-type stuff.We had evening meals out more often than we intended.

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“Food Disappointing”

I agree with the gist of all the reviews I have read. Am staying currently at the Mirador Papagayo and the rooms, pool and hotel grounds themselves are good and well looked after. The views are lovely as is the position, being a delightful 10-15 minute walk along the seafront paved promenade to the… more

I agree with the gist of all the reviews I have read. Am staying currently at the Mirador Papagayo and the rooms, pool and hotel grounds themselves are good and well looked after. The views are lovely as is the position, being a delightful 10-15 minute walk along the seafront paved promenade to the Rubicon Marina (then another 15 minutes to Cala Blanca itself). The food offer however is incredibly disappointing. This must be a budgetary decision to use the cheapest, blandest food provision. The buffet meals are tasteless, poorly cooked and lukewarm. To make matters worse the dining area resembles a department store cafeteria and I have no idea why when the rest of the hotel is unquestionably 4 star. Fortunately we only chose half board. Breakfast is fine and we swapped to have lunch so that we could go to the marina in the evenings where there are some lovely restaurants. I feel sorry for any guests that chose the 'all inclusive' option. Not only is the food disappointing, the wine choice is by 'colour' only and the beer 'on tap' looks disgusting. There are many reviews saying the same things and it seems the management are doing nothing to change things. This could be short sighted as they will lose a lot of potential customers. Such a shame as everything else about the hotel is commendable!

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“Restful week but some issues”

Check-in was rather slow but we were given a glass of fizz. Our room was very nice, bathroom needed some updating but we had an excellent shower. The pool area is great, plenty of beds and most areas had sun all day. The pool was slightly heated but not enough. We were all inclusive and breakfa… more

Check-in was rather slow but we were given a glass of fizz. Our room was very nice, bathroom needed some updating but we had an excellent shower. The pool area is great, plenty of beds and most areas had sun all day. The pool was slightly heated but not enough. We were all inclusive and breakfast was great but lunch and dinner were poor. Meat was poor quality, fatty or tough, apart from the roast chicken we had one evening which was very nice. We used the spa one day as the weather was poor. The spa was great. I had a massage which was excellent, although I wasn't asked to provide any medical details which I usually am. I had a pedicure, which was advertised as 55 Euros. When I went to pay I was charged 65 Euros as I had gell Polish on my nails which they removed. They only had regular Polish when my toes were repainted. The pedicure wasn't great, nail varnish was a little messy. I went to my salon at home today and they were appalled at my nails. They had not removed all the gell Polish underneath the regular Polish but had actually made a hole in one of my toenails where the gell had been filed off. I would not have a manicure or pedicure there again. Entertainment was ok but was literally for about an hour. Once the show was over the lights came on and everyone had to leave. I think it would have been nice if there had been some music so that we could have danced or had a drink after the show. There were beautiful views, nice walks to the marina but would I go again? No! It was a restful week but not a 4 star hotel.

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“Great views, poor hotel”

To sum this hotel up, I would say it's a 3 star hotel with 5 star views. The views are absolutely stunning and the hotel is just a 10/15 minute walk from the beautiful Marina Rubicon. The pool area is lovely. Spacious, lots of sunbeds and great views yet again. We had a junior suite with sea vie… more

To sum this hotel up, I would say it's a 3 star hotel with 5 star views. The views are absolutely stunning and the hotel is just a 10/15 minute walk from the beautiful Marina Rubicon. The pool area is lovely. Spacious, lots of sunbeds and great views yet again. We had a junior suite with sea views which was spacious, the balcony had chairs and sunbeds. The bed was large and comfortable along with the pillows and bedding. It was also great to have a walk in wardrobe. The room was however quite dated and to be honest not that clean. It was in need of modernising (marks on the walls and furniture, tears in the curtains and also a hole in a bed sheet!) The bathroom was also very tired, dark and had no extractor fan meaning it was very steamy, the shower was also not in great condition. The air conditioning was also very poor, we had both units on and it was still hot. Bearing in mind it was March not the heat of summer. By far the biggest disappointment was the food and restaurant. Which was essentially like a school canteen. The food was basic but also bland, dry, luke warm and generally not well cooked. I think if you can't even cook an egg or chips you have no place in a kitchen. The restaurant was noisy, chaotic, dull and a very uninspiring place to be. I hated being in there. We had breakfast and dinner ( half board) and the menu was largely the same daily. Even the desserts. which looked largely bought in, were tasteless and bland. Quite honestly people staying at the hotel deserve better than the rubbish being served up. I didn't expect Michelin Star, just basic food cooked well. But basic food cook badly is unforgivable. We walked to the marina which has lots of restaurants so we didn't have to eat in there as much. I would certainly not go back to this hotel. The good points are simply out weighed by the bad. Let's not forget that this is supposed to be a 4 star hotel! I have no idea how it has achieved it. And looking at the past feedback it would appear nobody is acting on the feedback given.

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