Hotel Review: Andaz Costa Rica Resort At Peninsula Papagayo

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We spent a long weekend at the Andaz Costa Rica Resort At Peninsula Papagayo a few weeks ago. The resort is a great use of World of Hyatt points and has a lot going for it, but there were some definite misses that would keep me from wanting to return to the property any time in the near future.

Anthony’s Take: I would not be happy if I had paid a cash rate for my stay. The hotel has beautiful grounds, nice rooms, and a staff that tries hard. There is not much in the way of elite recognition after check-in, service is flawed, the food is mediocre at best, the beach and pools are just okay, and after a day or two the phrase “pura vida” will begin to drive you crazy since everyone says it repeatedly (it’s Costa Rica’s equivalent of aloha).

Booking

I booked three nights using World of Hyatt points at a rate of 29,000 points per night for a 1 King Bed Forest View room. If I would have paid cash for our stay, each night would have cost $1,676 plus a 12% Resort Fee. This was a great use of points as it would have cost $4,962 for three nights had I paid cash. This rate was only because I’m a Globalist and would have had the Resort Fee waived. If I was paying that, it would have added another $519 to the bill. This is excessively high since I do not think the service and amenities rank up there with comparably priced resorts in other parts of the world.

Transportation to/from the Hotel

We took an Uber from Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR). The approximately 20-mile ride took 38 minutes and cost $25. When we went to leave, no Ubers were available and the hotel struggled to even get us a taxi. We had to scramble and I paid our taxi driver $100 to speed in order to get us to the airport in time for our flight. I’d recommend prearranging transportation when departing this hotel.

Location

The hotel is located within the Peninsula Papagayo complex. There are several secured gates to pass through before you find yourself driving through impeccably manicured grounds that are shared with the Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo. Nothing is accessible without a car outside of the complex.

Check-in

We arrived at the hotel around 3:00 PM and were told that our room was not yet ready. The walkway above leads to the main lobby. Check-in for Globalists and other VIP guests is handled in a separate room away from the main lobby.

There is some seating near the check-in desks.

We were escorted to a separate room and checked in there.

It’s a nice lounge with some seating.

You’ll be seated for check-in (although there is also a desk).

The lounge offers some great views.

We were offered fresh coconuts to drink as well as some light snacks.

These macaroons were pretty tasty.

The agent checking us in told us all about the resort, its pools, where we could have breakfast (as Globalists we could choose between the main restaurant: Rio Bhongo or Ostra). She also informed me that a late checkout would not be possible and that there were no upgrades available. I did not see any suites available. There were several villas, but those are not eligible for upgrades. The exchange was rather formulaic and it felt like she was reciting a script. We were told our room was not ready and asked if we wanted to go to the restaurant. We declined and sat in the lobby for about 15 minutes before our keys were brought over.

The Resort Fee is a total ripoff and I was happy not to be paying it. $519 for three nights would have gotten us these meager inclusions. This is one of the biggest drawbacks of this resort and they should be ashamed to charge rates like this for access to the fitness center, some sodas, and other inclusions that most guests will either not use or should be offered on a complimentary basis.

The staff brought us to our room in a golf cart. It is a long walk and parts of it are hilly. I’d advise a golf cart for bringing your luggage to and from your room. The golf carts at the resort are otherwise annoying. There are tons of them, they drive fast, they take up most of the walkway, and I found them to be a general nuisance. The agent that escorted us to our room wanted to come in to show us the features. I declined and we went in alone. I hate when hotels do this as I can figure out how to operate the lights and it always just seems like a money grab since they’re providing a service and expect a tip.

Our room was on the first floor of Building 5. This meant that we had to go down some stairs to reach it.

 

The hallways are open air and were lushly landscaped.

1 King Bed Forest View (516)

There are 131 rooms and 21 suites at the hotel (plus the newly built villas).

A large foyer was the first thing we saw when we opened the door.

Two complimentary hats were hanging near the door. We took these home as souvenirs, but will never wear them.

The room was large and felt more like a junior suite. Upon entering, a closet was to the left. There was space for luggage in the center.

The left side held an iron and ironing board as well as two pairs of flip flops (the hotel should really give guests what they need since we could use one of the pairs, but not the small ones meant for a woman).

The right side held snacks, coffee machine, refrigerator, and safe.

The refrigerator was filled with complimentary soft drinks and beer for purchase. We don’t drink soda or beer, so this was wasted on us. The random plum was from a previous guest.

The snacks are also complimentary. We tasted one and it was gross, so the rest sat untouched.

The bathroom was on the right side. It was also spacious and included a toilet, vanity with single sink, and huge shower room.

The toiletries were LATHER brand. A bar of soap was on the counter.

A large bottle of lotion was also found there.

Bottled water was next to the sink. There were actually six complimentary bottles of water throughout the room.

I liked that the toilet was in a separate room.

The shower room was massive and opened up to the patio to let natural light in.

Large bottles of LATHER hair wash, crème rinse, and body wash were on a shelf along with another bar of soap. Both the water pressure and temperature were good here.

As mentioned, the patio was off of the shower and bedroom. It was spacious and I liked watching the geckos come out at night.

A desk was next to the minibar. Our welcome amenity was found here. The coconut truffles were tasty and gone in minutes.

The desk served as a dining table the one night we ordered in-room dining.

I liked the wooden lizards hanging on the walls throughout the room.

The bedroom area made up the other half of the space. It held a king-sized bed, night stands, a TV, table and chair facing the window, and a bench.

The table and chair offered a nice space to look at the beautiful views outside.

The TV was across from the bed.

The bench lined the left wall. We used it for our luggage.

 

Rio Bhongo

Rio Bhongo is the hotel’s main restaurant. It is located near the family pool and offers a buffet breakfast as well as an a la carte lunch and dinner options. We had lunch on our first day and breakfast twice in the restaurant. We were going to have dinner there one night, but they had a special Super Bowl buffet that was not appealing.

 

The menu offers what you would expect poolside at a resort.

For lunch, we ordered the Guacamole and Tortilla Chips to start. It was brought out with our entrees and was not that good. It really had no flavor.

I had the Andaz Burger. I ordered it medium rare and it was served closer to well done. The flavors were good.

My husband ordered the Bella Italia pizza. He said it was fine.

To drink, we ordered a ginger ale and a Tuanis cocktail. Overall, lunch was adequate but nothing special.

The restaurant is large and getting a table was not an issue.

We had breakfast at Rio Bhongo our first and last day at the resort. The breakfast buffet is rather extensive. Unfortunately, most items were mediocre like almost everything else we ate at the resort.

Cheeses, meats, smoked salmon, and yogurt

Salad ingredients

Tortilla with Ham & Cheese and Creole Chorizo with Potatoes

Vegan Chilaquiles and Cassava with Mojo

Potatoes and Vegetables Picadillo

Gallo Pinto

Scrambled Eggs

Fried Ripe Plantains

Sautéed Green Beans

Pancakes were made to order.

Breads and pastries. The Banana Bread was actually tasty.

More bread and a toaster for guest use.

Oatmeal

Fruit and cereal

More Fruit

Condiments

Orange Juice

Pineapple, Cucumber, and Celery Juice and Pineapple Juice

Cold Brew Coffee

I ordered a latte and it was delivered in a reasonable amount of time.

We had dinner the first night at Chao Pescao. This is the Andaz’ tapas restaurant. The service was bad and the food was poorly timed and not very good.

 

The restaurant is well designed, dark, and modern.

I like that the menu has dishes from multiple Central and South American countries as well as a few in the Caribbean.

A bowl of popcorn and roasted chickpeas was brought to the table while we waited. This was largely flavorless and we did not eat much.

Ceviche Puerto Limon came out first. This was the best dish of the night.

The Anticucho was also flavorful.

The Jerk Chicken tasted more like curry and was not good.

The Taqueños were some of the worst I’ve ever had.

The Provoleta was just melted cheese and the garlic bread was rock hard.

The Chicken Coxinhas was also dry and mostly flavorless.

We had a ginger ale and a Raspberry Mojito to drink.

Finally, we tried the Havannets a La Chao for dessert. It was so bad that we each took a bite and were done. The custard was curdled and the flavor was gross.

On our second day, we had breakfast at Ostra. This is open exclusively for VIP guests and Globalists. It’s almost like a buffet, but items are brought to you along with an a la carte menu. Ostra is situated above the adult pool and through a really cool tunnel.

The menu featured small plates and some options that were brought to the table in lieu of a buffet. The items clearly came from the buffet, but were plated.

Fruit and yogurt was brought to the table.

This was followed by selections from a tray of pastries and bread (all of these are on the buffet at Rio Bhongo)

We chose several and they were pretty good.

Meats, cheeses, and condiments were also brought out.

Two beetroot shots were then brought to the table. We did not drink these as neither of us likes beets.

We ordered a few dishes. My husband had the Peanut Butter & Jelly French Toast. He liked it, but it was a small portion.

I had the Chorreadas (which are corn pancakes). They were okay.

I also ordered a plain scrambled egg.

We tried to order coffee, but were informed that the machine was broken. I don’t understand why one of the annoying golf carts couldn’t have gotten the coffee, but so be it. My husband had a smoothie instead. Service was spotty and inattentive even though there were many servers and only a handful of tables.

 

On our last night, we returned to Ostra for dinner. It’s designed to impress people who don’t have access to good restaurants, but the dishes were weird with odd ingredients combined. It tried to impress, but failed across the board.

Bread was brought to the table shortly after we were seated.

Our appetizers actually arrived before our drinks (around 25 minutes after ordering). I had the Ceviche del Dia and it was pretty bland.

My husband had the Creamy Purple Polenta. It was an odd dish with dried mushrooms.

I had another ginger ale and my husband tried a Tequila Spritz.

For a main course, I had the Grilled Costa Rican Grouper. It was fine, but lacked much flavor.

My husband had the Octopus and also found this dish odd. It had sweet potato gnocchi, pork, and pistachios.

 

 

 

On our second night, we opted out of the Super Bowl buffet and ordered in-room dining. It arrived quickly, but was awkwardly delivered with the server taking the tray and covers. They never came back for the dirty dishes and we stacked them in the hallway. We ordered Chicken Soup, a Caprese Salad, and two Andaz Burgers. Everything was okay, but nothing was memorable or made us want more.

Public Areas & Amenities

The resort has three pools (one is a boat ride away at the resort’s beach club), a fitness center, spa, several restaurants, and some basic activities that are included in the rip-off Resort Fee. None of the amenities feel particularly luxurious and the beach by the hotel looks rather run down. It takes away from the hotel’s vibe and just feels cheap.

The main pool is near Rio Bhongo. This is open to all ages.

Towels, water, and sunscreen were provided.

The pool was never crowded during our stay. We did not use it as we generally try to stay as far away as possible from children.

There were plenty of open spaces.

Behind the pool, you’ll find a path down to the resort’s sad beach. This is also where the boat picks you up to take you to the beach club. The schedule is loosely followed.

The boardwalk is only a few minutes to the beach.

The other path leads to the other side of the property.

As mentioned, the beach here was rather depressing.

There was a lot of furniture, but it was kind of strewn all around between the trees.

 

At least the trees look pretty here.

The adult pool is located below Ostra. This became crowded and boisterous in the afternoons.

The coolest part of the pool was a monkey sleeping in a nearby tree.

We took the boat ride to the Casa de Playa beach club one day. The schedule is loosely followed and it’s a quick ride across the peninsula. (This is the view of the resort from the boat.)

The beach club has a private beach, pool, restrooms with showers, and a restaurant/bar.

There were plenty of open chairs, but it was not a particularly nice beach. There were multiple lizards lounging on the beach.

The pool is set back.

It has a restaurant/bar.

The facilities were brand new.

We ordered Popcorn Shrimp, Mahi Mahi Skewers, and a Chicken Pita for lunch. It was overpriced as you’d expect at a resort and tasted fine.

The resort offers a limited fitness center and spa. We did not use either of these facilities or have any desire to check them out.

Overall Impression: The Andaz Costa Rica Resort At Peninsula Papagayo tries to bill itself as a luxury resort. It charges enough, but the service, food, and amenities do not equate. The exorbitant Resort Fee needs to be banned because it is offensively expensive and provides little. The culinary offerings are inadequate and largely not very good. It would take a lot for me to go back. It is a good use of points, but the grounds are depressing and the staff pretty clueless. We were out all day and our room was not serviced. The hotel receptionist told me they only work between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM. A few moments later (after 5:00 PM), someone showed up and asked to clean the room. We refused. Pura vida!