Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica

Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica
4.054.054.054.054.05
4.05 based on 21 reviews
#7 of 12 hotels The Monarc.ca popularity scale (#1/15) classifies all the hotels of a single destination according to the number of grades received on 5 and the total number of reviews. in Liberia
Rated 5 stars
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Great resort

, Toronto, ON
2022-08-03
First all inclusive I have stayed at. Went for my honeymoon, my wife loved everything about it, the food, the drinks and the service! The staff was unbelievable and so helpful with everything. Did activities everyday, was just a ton of fun [Details]
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Certified

Nice Resort

, Woodstock, ON
2022-02-10
We totally enjoyed our 1 week stay at this resort. All the staff are very friendly and helpful and the food was excellent at every restaurant. They are generous with their serving sizes, so you will not go hungry. They are also open to changes to the dishes on their menus. The beef tenderloin, steak and Salmon at the Seaside Restaurant were delicious.
Be prepared to climb some hills if you want to walk around the resort, but there are always shuttle vans available to take you where you want to go. We both have injured knees so we had to use the vans a little more than we would have liked, but that is certainly not a fault with the resort.
We spent extra money for the preferred package, but we are not so sure it was worth the money. You can book the cabanas a day ahead, make reservations at the Japanese restaurant, have breakfast and lunch at the Seaside Restaurant, and get premium liquor in the lounge but in hindsight we paid to much for what we received.
If we had one complaint it would be about the pools. The main pool which is beautiful does not have enough chairs. Even if you arrive there at 7 am, all chairs are taken. We spent much of our time at the smaller quiet pool so we could sit near a pool. With the exception of 1 day, they do not offer drink service to your chair in the quiet pool. Even this pool is lacking in chairs if you get there after 9 am. Also the bar at this quiet pool has much shorter serving hours. They close at 3pm. The chairs and some of the umbrellas at this resort could use some TLC.
The wifi is great all over the resort. Not once did we have dropped service.
The entertainment staff do a great job, are extremely friendly and helpful. [Details]
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The strong points
Friendly and helpful staff, good food
The weak points
Not enough chairs, and some of what there is needs repair.
Sanitary measures
They do a great job with sanitary measures.
Certified

Secrets Papagayo - Costa Rica

, Smithville, ON
2020-01-09
Limited number and variety of restaurants. 4 restaurants to choose from. Service and food was excellent.
Close to airport - 30 minute drive.
Kayaking and snorkelling were included and available right at the beach.
Beautiful scenery and views from the pool area, Seaside restaurant and room.
Very well kept resort.
Service was exceptional.
They oversold the new year's eve dinner and screwed it up by overbooking and the entertainment was disappointing. [Details]
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The strong points
Beautiful views of the ocean/bay. Room and facilities were immaculate.
The weak points
Hard sell on a time share immediately upon arrival. We felt cornered and thought it was part of check-in. Very annoying and upsetting. We feel we overpaid for the value received. They oversold the new year's eve dinner and screwed it up by overbooking.
Certified

Best Vacation Ever

, Candiac, QC
2016-05-03
The room and view were both beautiful. We loved being on the quieter side near the spa, Aqua Grill and beach.
The only minor thing about the room was the toilet was wobbly and the deck and deck furniture could have been cleaned upon our arrival. A ceiling fan would be nice so you could turn off the AC and open the sliders and listen to the ocean. [Details]
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Certified

Great place to stay and relax

, Brampton, ON
2013-08-14
We stayed in room 126, it was a bit further away from the main area but still close enough to walk too. Overall, it was a really nice experience and the food selection was quite good. [Details]
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The strong points
Friendly staff; quiet resort.
The weak points
away from the town; shuttle service is slow in the evening
Certified

Fun Times!

, Sherwood Park , AB
2013-03-29
Very friendly quite quick check-in. Peak-a boo ocean view room was close to pools, beach and restaurants which was ideal. All food was great. Nice family oriented resort. Had a relaxing couples massage. Kayaking was great. Lots to do if you want. Rooms were great. Lots of birds reptiles and howler monkeys. Would return! [Details]
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The strong points
overall experience, staff, restaurants, spa
The weak points
nothing really, we are not picky like some travelers! PURE VIDA
Certified

Relaxing stay

, Lisle, ON
2013-02-13
Overall a good stay. Quiet location and calm beach. Quiet hotel.

Loved the setting. Stayed in a bungalow and liked the garden setting, in spite of only a partial view of the bay. Cute bungalows had more character than the "hotel rooms" that came with the view. Personal choice.

Spa area VERY quiet!! Felt like I was in a library and had to be perfectly quiet. Not for us personally but would be excellent for someone wanting a quiet holiday away from noise.

TAKE NOTE:If you are a person with physical disabilities or have kids with lots of gear in tow, make sure to get a room in the area closest to the main pool, that way you don't need to "bus it" with the shuttle to your room. Even when a shuttle drops you off at your room, many rooms require a walk up an incline or stairs to get to. Stepping onto the shuttle can be difficult if you are short too.

Walking the hills to the rooms can be a challenge for some, but for the most part we enjoyed the walk. Lots of ups and downs. When we just didn't feel like climbing the hills the buses were readily available.
With our GPS we figured that the highest rooms in the resort were 250ft above the water level while some rooms were only 30ft above, so be informed about how much you want to walk and make your requests accordingly.

We don't like the "hotel on the strip" feeling, so this resort was perfect for us.
The staff was friendly and willing to please. Kind of felt "more formal" than other all-inclusives. Very professional staff.

The quality of the food was excellent and lunches and dinners were prepped fresh to order which means waiting. Count on at least an hour for lunch and dinner. Even ordering "bar food" from the "snack bar" took a half hour all the time. The "buffet" restaurant was only a true buffet at breakfast time. Lunch and dinner was a partial buffet. That means that your main course is ordered and soup, salad and dessert are buffet. Desserts weren't the greatest.

Snorkelling was our biggest disappointment. Often the water was cloudy and staffed failed to warn us, and even people going into the water after us about the jellyfish.

Pool activities were kind of lousy but that is probably because there is a smaller number of people to try and get involved so not really the hotel's or staff's fault.

We would go to this resort again. [Details]
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The strong points
Location. Quality of the food.
The weak points
Waiting on food to be prepped. Activities. Snorkelling.
Certified

Short warm getaway

, Pickering, ON
2012-12-20
Previously visited as the Fiesta.Unaware of smoking policy, until arrival,but enjoyed the visit in spite of that.Lovely resort;afew minor renovations needed.All staff were excellent; food was very good.Sun, sand and relaxation--Beds were fantastic!System of ordering main course in buffet needs attention--after finishing soup,salad,etc. order of main course still not taken twice. [Details]
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The strong points
Staff,Scenery, Shuttle service,unlimited access to restaurants,food,soccer on TV,
The weak points
Smoking policy--several other guests were annoyed by it.No money change.
Certified

Great for a week's getaway

, Pickering, ON
2012-12-19
My husband and I enjoyed our week at Hilton Papagayo. We wanted a quiet, relaxing vacation and that is what we got. I enjoyed swimming in an uncrowded situation and the choice of restaurants. The friendliness of the staff in all areas made us feel very welcome. [Details]
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The strong points
The beds are extremely comfortable and the linens are superb. The food in the specialty restaurants is excellent. Shuttle service is frequent. Spa area is lovely for those without children.
The weak points
Some renovation needed in the bungalows. The buffet restaurant is great for breakfast but the service for lunch and dinner is disorganized.
Certified

Costa Rica vacation

, Sharon, ON
2012-11-28
The hotel was fantastic. Great location, sumptuous food and incredibly friendly staff. We would go to the same resort again! [Details]
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The strong points
Friendly helpful staff. Great ambience. Great food.
The weak points
Entertainment could be improved in the evenings. Shuttles were high and getting in and out was difficult for someone with knee issues.
Certified

Great trip

, Guelph, ON
2012-04-01
Hotel was good you did have to be a mountain goat to walk as I did. Never seemed over crowded.The place is a little tired but they work at its up keep. Friendly people who work there in all capacities. Beach could be longer and if they put a new hotel beside this place then it definitely would lose its appeal and succlusion. I would definitely go back to this place.
Mike [Details]
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The strong points
Peaceful with good service
The weak points
Not really recommend for singles unless you want quiet. Many 55 plus people and young families/ just married.
Certified

Great Holidays

, North Bay, ON
2012-03-26
We just returned from Costa Rica and had a wonderful vacation at the resort. The staff was very friendly, the food was good and the location of the resort is wonderful. [Details]
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The strong points
location
The weak points
lot of puffer fish on the beach
Certified

Nice

, Waterford, ON
2012-03-05
Good hotel. Food okay. Need to be able to be mobile as built in hills. Dry season in the northern area so not as lush as I envisioned Costa Rica. [Details]
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The strong points
Staff friendly and helpful. Room was nice.
The weak points
Dry season so not as lush of an area as expecting.
Certified

A great week

, London, ON
2012-03-05
A great week at the Hilton Papagayo. Staff were very friendly and anticipated your needs. Any concerns raised were immediately addressed. A la carte restaurants were good, especially the Italian restaurant. In general, food could have been warmer. [Details]
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The strong points
Staff were amazing
The weak points
Food wasn't always as warm as it should be.
Certified

A Wonderful Resort

, Scarborough, ON
2012-01-09
We had a great time here. The staff were lovely, very polite, there if you needed them and not in your face. The food was great although one day i did get sick. I recommend Dukoral ahead of time for any Caribbean or Latin American destination, just to be sure. We went on an excursion and the amount of wildlife we saw was amazing. There were monkeys, birds and iguanas at the resort. The weather was perfect, hot but a nice breeze blowing all the time. If you are ocean swimmers I would recommend going at a different time as during December there are a lot of jelly fish. We swam in the pools instead. [Details]
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The strong points
Staff, beauty of resort, food,activities
The weak points
Jelly fish in ocean during this month
Certified

Beautiful resort

, Toronto, ON
2012-01-02
Pools, accommodation, staff were great. Black sand beach not to our taste. Beautiful vistas. Loved our week in Costa Rica. [Details]
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The strong points
Staff attitude was great. Weather, location and excursions were wonderful.
The weak points
Food was a little inconsistent-sometimes great, other times fair.
Certified

Excellent wonderful trip!

, Brampton, ON
2011-05-25
Just fantastic I would go back or recommend to anyone. Pool, rooms, staff, food and drink are all excellent. [Details]
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The strong points
Very well kept and updated resort. Rooms are very clean and tidy.
The weak points
Lots of hills and walking, no disco, but still lots of entertainment. Small resort and at times very quiet which can be excellent for those who want to rest but for the younger croud could be boring.
Certified

4 1/2 stars - no way!

, Winnipeg, MB
2011-03-02
Although the staff were great and tried to be helpful, the resort fell short on food and entertainment value. Fortunately, Costa Rica is great country and has loads to do so we highly recommend the country, just not this resort. [Details]
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The strong points
Staff is friendly and charming. They went out of their way to help me celebrate my spouse's birthday. The rooms are standard hotel fare but are very clean and the view from the room we had was very nice even though it is of a bay and not open ocean.
The weak points
Most everything else. Couldn't get even a water in lobby, food ho-hum, drinks watered down, far from attractions, mediocre on-site activities, expensive off-site tour options although the ones we did were lots of fun. Very expensive WiFi!!!
Certified

Fantastic

, Toronto, ON
2011-03-01
A wonderful vacation great trips and a fantastic spa .....a must ! [Details]
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The strong points
staff, Spa and cleanliness
The weak points
food selections
Certified

Relaxing time

, Ingersoll, ON
2011-02-23
Great for relaxing and taking tour's the hotel staff were alway's helpful ! [Details]
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The strong points
Well kept ground's and room's and good food
The weak points
Small buffet selection
Certified

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