Liberia

I travelled with my youngest son and niece both 24 years old. The hotel was a great vacation for the 3 of us. It is a beautiful all inclusive resort, cleanliness is above perfect. The staff is always available to help in any way with a smile and thankyou. I did find the bartenders in the Cowboy Cafe more interested in their own conversation and only able to do one task at a time and no sense of urgency, but again in another country. Every where else in the hotel was not like this. It was disappointing to have to line up to 4 of the restaurants and not be able to make a reso like the Steak house. Having to be down at the entrance of the restaurants by 6 opening time to be sure to get a seat was a little rushed after a day at the beach. Also not having an egg station where you can have personalized eggs prepared was a bit disappointing. Had to ask the waitor at the Steak house to hold off on our order as we felt a bit rushed in there. There is alot of walking at this resort so for someone that has issues with this it is not recommended. I did see alot of young kids on scooters their parents had brought for them to get around the hotel. And they were very respectful while riding them. The beach is quite hot on the feet, we did find an area to the far right side that we put chairs under a tree and enjoyed ourselves. Also had innertubes to enjoy the waves for the day. Also a good idea to go to the Watersports hut and reserve snorkelling equipment for the following day otherwise it is not available. And it is a really great area at the far right side of beach where the rocks are...puffer fish and more. I do encourage anyone going to a RIU to download the app and become a member, any issues we had in our room...ie fan and air con, we sent a message thru the app and was somebody in our room fixing it within 25 mind. Also sheets needed ect. We also booked into the hotel the night before our flight which made it faster when we arrived at the hotel...allowed on the app. Go down the beach and see the monkeys around 730am...bring a ziplock bag from home, go to the breakfast buffet and grab some boiled eggs or watermelon. They love it. Dont try mango as one of the monkeys got a piece from my niece and he threw it back at her lol. Bring at least 3 to 4 cans of 60SPF spray sunscreen and one bottle of cream 60SPF. A hat for the pool and purchase a sun shirt from the family at the beach selling them. Average 2 for $20 U.S. Grab a beer or cooler from the airport for the bus ride to the hotel as you need a drink. If you need to purchase coffee beans it is extremely expensive at the airport, they sell on the beach. Get a room facing the large green slides in the kids area as it has amazing sunsets... Enjoy your trip...

Our stay at Occidental Papagayo on June 28, 2026, was a mix of wonderful experiences and some disappointments. The resort itself is absolutely beautiful — clean, well-maintained, and surrounded by breathtaking views. The scenery was truly unforgettable. The front desk staff were extremely friendly, kind, and accommodating. As a cancer survivor with some mobility limitations, I was unable to manage the longer walks around the resort, and the staff went out of their way to help me with transportation and make my stay more comfortable. I truly appreciated their compassion and support. Unfortunately, the food was the biggest disappointment. As a vegetarian, I found the choices very limited. Many dishes had pieces of ham added, including salads, vegetable soup, and pasta salad, which made it difficult to find suitable options. The menu also seemed to repeat the same foods throughout our stay. We only discovered the upstairs snack bar on our last day, which was unfortunate because it would have provided more variety. For the price paid, I expected a better selection and more attention to vegetarian guests. With such a beautiful resort and amazing staff, improving the food variety and accommodating different dietary needs would make this an even better experience.

Carts to get you to/from places around the resort were prompt for pick up. Food was excellent with a large variety. Japanese was our favorite Al-la-carte. Housekeeping needed some phone calls for top up of minifridge/toilet paper/bathroom towels. Beach was well shaded but not good for ocean swimming (we watched someone come up that got bit by something and was bleeding alot) this turned me off from going into the water. No seagrassum which was nice!

Two weeks, perfect location, outstanding staff and guest service. Sunsets legendary. Day trips from resort numerous, varied and well done ( used Viator and direct bookings but resort desk available). All inclusive package with garden/pool view. Only “negative” comments being limited variety of food choices with basic flavours. The resort is tired looking with definite areas requiring upgrade/repair particularly pool and the rooms which are dated. Cleanliness everywhere could be improved, both public and room areas. Not at all a “yuck” factor but easily enough to correct and enhance the experience.

Gorgeous hotel and excellent service, food

This hotel is operating at about 50% or less than what they are offering. Several major health violations. The pool is a major health and safety concern - water is not above the jets or being filtered by the pump or skimmers (only time you do this is when you are closing your pool - but this pool had covers over the jets and black gunk in the skimmers - ie they have not been used for a long time)- only thing circulating the pool is the waterfall, only way they have to clean this pool is using a skimmer bag to remove leaves ( I have a pool this is not ok). This pool should be closed until they can properly fill it and filter it using the pump and skimmers - pool staff sprinkled chlorine in the pool while people were swimming and we only saw them using a sump pump to vacuum it - but that is not filtering! In a commercial pool - this is seriously hazardous - not just because the water isn't being filtered - but also because they are not taking accurate measurements to determine what chemicals are needed. We also got serious ill (we still are sick) from the food - or improper food care - we often had fruit in the am - that tasted like onions or garlic - so food safety isn't being adhered to either. We were not the only guests that got sick - several others were as well. Also this hotel only had about 12 guests max at any time and only one resto was open (some of the food seemed fine - but after we got sick - we weren't really interested in the food), and only some of the rooms are available - the rest have doors open without locks and no furniture (back in family villas). Our room was not what we paid for (the photos are really of one room - everything else is older) but i admit -i really don't normally care about the room - i don't expect to spend my time there - but it was very old, dated and there was one room next to us that had been fancied up for the photos. The staff were very nice, they tried very hard - but there is no management presence here and nothing is being done to repair anything - real lack of any kind of management leadership at all - I think this hotel is in transition - the owners are not here and don't seem to care about how bad it is - or they are just waiting for someone to buy it - all of my complaints are really about the owners and really Nolitours (Air Transat) and iTravel2000 - should not offer this hotel again until they can guarantee there are no health violations and the pool is fixed. WIFI worked fine for us (no charge).