If you have already read an article about visiting Costa Rica, you must know that we have almost everything here! Costa Rica has small and long beaches; we have waterfall hiking and volcano hiking. Costa Rica has a lot of fauna but at the same time a lot of flora! It is the same thing in hotels, we have small boutique hotels, but we also have big all-inclusive hotels. This time, we are going to review the big all-inclusive hotel. We are going to check the Occidental Papagayo hotel.
How to get the Occidental Papagayo
The hotel is in Guanacaste province, 30min away from Liberia’s International Airport and 3 hours and 30min away from San José. If you are flying to Liberia, you can arrange a shuttle with the hotel, rent a car or take a taxi from there. If you are in San José, you should take the road to Liberia and deviate to Playa del Coco and Playa Hermosa.
Here is the exact location of the All-Inclusive Occidental Papagayo.
If you are driving from San José, I recommend stopping to enjoy more natural beauties.
Llanos del Cortes Waterfall: This beautiful waterfall is just 5 minutes away from the highway that takes you from San José to Liberia. If it’s a warm day and you feel tired in the middle of the way, this is a great stop!
Poza Los Coyotes: This fantastic property has a turquoise water river that you will never forget. If you are visiting the Occidental Papagayo, you will have to deviate a bit on your way, but it’s worth it!
Ponderosa Adventure Park: Like Llanos del Cortes Waterfall, this park is on the way to Liberia. You’ll have to deviate just about 5 minutes from the highway. This park is the only park in Costa Rica with African animals and a safari. You’ll be able also to see a great waterfall and much more!
The All-Inclusive Occidental Papagayo
Going back to the review of the hotel. It’s important to highlight the fact that this hotel is adults-only. So many activities, food, and facilities are oriented to that. I visited this hotel with my girlfriend and my parents to have a relaxing time off.
We arrived a bit earlier than we thought, but the hotel people allowed us to spend some time in the facilities while we waited for the check-in (2 pm). From a scenic standpoint, the hotel is stunning; it’s located on a hill, so it’s not so friendly for people with low mobility. They do have some golf cars, but usually, everyone walks everywhere and I did hear the mobility was an issue for some visitors.
The hotel is not new or has as fabulous facilities as the Planet Hollywood or Westing Conchal, but it is well maintained.
Activities to do
While we waited for the check-in, we went to the activities room by the larger pool and walked around the entire facility to find out what was awaiting us.
Daily activities
The Occidental Papagayo, like most All-Inclusive resorts, has a recreation/activities department that is always looking for visitors to have fun. They offer daily activities like pool volleyball or handball, archery and shooting, kayak, morning stretching, and a few more. Even though the guys working here are super cool, the activities are not as fun as other hotels and some board games are old or they don’t even have them (they didn’t have UNO).
Pools
There are two swimming pools; the big one is the first one you will see, and it’s the one that has all the activities. There are plenty of chairs to take a sunbath and rest. The only thing is that there are phew trees around there, so there is almost no shade. There are some umbrellas for the chairs but too many.
The second pool is a bit downhill from the main pool. This pool is smaller and has a “pool bar” where you can order drinks and drink in the pool. This pool has more trees closer, so there is more shade. Almos right next to this pool, you will see access to the beach.
Beach
For almost all of us, this was the best surprise and the highlight of the trip. I didn’t have high hopes on the beach in front of the hotel because the beach was not good the year before I went to Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood’s beach was like a lake with murky water and black sand. But Occidental Papagayo’s beach is entirely different! It has clear water and white sand. It doesn’t have a lot of waves, but this is because it’s inside of Culebra Bay.
The beach was a bit similar to Playa Conchal, the beach of the Westin. It was a bit more crowded by locals, but there was enough space for everyone!
The hotel offers some chairs on the beach (no umbrellas) but there are no members of the hotel staff there, so you will have to grab the chair and put it back.
Others
The hotel also has a couple of pool tables, a ping pong table, a well-equipped gym, spa service, and a tennis/basketball court. It is important to highlight the fact that the courts look a bit abandoned (i didn’t see anyone playing there in 4 days).
Besides this, between 7-10 pm they usually have someone playing live music or doing a recreational activity. The days we were in the hotel, they had a couple of nights someone playing live music, and the other day it was karaoke night.
Restaurants
The Occidental Papagayo has 4 different restaurants and a couple of lounges/bars. They have L’Buffet, which is open every hour that offers buffet food. Every night they have a theme (Caribbean, Peruvian, Mexican, etc…). They also have the Snack Bar, the restaurant by the pool with more limited options (more like salads and fast food).
The hotel also has two other restaurants (D’Oriental and The Italian) located in the same place. The Italian has delicious options; we enjoyed our dinner a lot in this restaurant. D’Oriental, on the other hand, wasn’t as good as we expected. For diner, they also transformed the Snack Bar into a Steak House restaurant, which was average but at least better than the D’Oriental.
Overall, I think the food was fine, even better than the Planet Hollywood but not as good as the Westin.
Other places to visit near the hotel
Even though the beach in front of the hotel is nice, I would recommend visiting more beaches if you visit Costa Rica for the first time. Here are some beaches I would visit if I’m staying in the Occidental Papagayo:
- Playa Calzón de Pobre: Crystal clear water less than 15min away.
- Playa Tamarindo: The most populated beach with many nice restaurants and nightlife.
If you want to check more nearby beaches, check the beach map.
I also recommend visiting Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, La Leona Waterfall, Barra Honda National Park, and Poza Los Coyotes.
Main Pros and Cons Occidental Papagayo
Pros:
- The price is a lot better compared to other all-inclusive resorts in Guanacaste. I thought it was a good cost/benefit balance.
- The beach is fantastic.
- From a scenic standpoint, the hotel is beautiful.
Cons:
- The hotel is a bit old and there are some parts slightly abandoned (mostly the recreational zones).
- The food quality could be better. Especially the D’Oriental restaurant.
- Not friendly with people with low mobility.
