My wife and I stayed at the Four Seasons for 3 nights/4 days after staying at a b and b near tamarindo for 4 nights. The Four Seasons is very nice, but I don't think the place to stay in Costa Rica. The location is very nice and the property beautiful. The service is excellent and the staff incredibly nice and helpful. We have stayed at 5 other Four Seasons properties and this one was different. Here's why.

There were more children at this place than any hotel I have ever stayed at, including other Four Seasons properties. So be ready for a noisy, crazy, poolside experience. 2 Days we couldn't even get a lounge chair and had to go to the beach. The children will take most lounge chairs by mid-morning and then spend all day in the pool, not using the lounges. I found most the children to be noisy and quite ill-behaved aka spoiled, rich brats. 2 other couples we met shared our observation. I have a 7 and 10 year old, so I know how children should act in public. I've never seen so many lay down on the ground, legs flaring temper tantrums. This aspect of the hotel was a cross between a Holiday Inn and Club Med for kids. They all seemed to be from the upper east coast (New York, New England area). There is an "adult only" pool but it is too close to the other pools to really drown out the noise.

They also have a free internet area next to the spa. Everytime my wife and I wanted to use it for business we had to wait for the kids to finish their chat sessions and/or games to use the internet. You would think they would see an adult waiting and move aside but no way. They need a seperate internet area for adults and one for children.

If you are looking for rest and relaxation this is not the place. If you are willing to give up some peace and quite for great service and a beautiful resort experience this may be for you. As for us, we will return to Costa Rica but not this property.

we loved the papagayo. i agree with some of the other reviewers. this resort is very isolated. I also agree that breaking up your trip is the best thing to do. that's what we did. we relaxed for 4 days and did not leave the compound. we had all of our meals and spa treatments there instead of wasting 2 hours driving in and out of the compound.
the rooms were amazing! we had a sun room attatched to our room that overlooked the ocean. the ocean was on both side of our room, hence the peninsula aspect of the resort. the rooms were predominantly brown cherry wood, simple but beautiful, with hardwood floors.
the restaurants were all excellent, can't go wrong.
the spa treatments were phenomenal- get the unique ones only offered in costa rica.
service was stellar.

We recently visited the Four Seasons in late Jan early Feb. We have previously stayed at the Four Seasons in Maui and were in love with the resort. Our visit to this resort fell short of our experience in Maui.

Before I go into this review, I do have to note the following. The DAY we were supossed to leave, we had a death in the family. The Four SEasons allowed us to reschedule with no charge. This was a very kind thing to do. They could have easily rented the room out, and got 24 hours notice from us on rescheduling for 5 days later. We appreciated the rescheduling. HOwever, there was no leineancy on cancellation. 3 nights deposit (1800$) if we were to flat out cancel and reschedule futher in the future (even if someone dies). I understand this though, and did appreciate their willingness to reschedule after 3/4 calls.

ROOMS
The biggest problem I had with this resort was the noise in the rooms. No matter how exceptional the service, or how nicely appointed the rooms may be, if you cannot get a restful nights sleep its not worth the 600$+ a night.

When we arrived we were checked into a connecting room. We pleaded that this would not be okay as we are light sleepers. The staff said no worries we have this "foam" that blocks out the noise. The "foam" did not block out the noise. You could hear your neighbor coughing.

If you do the meal plan you have the option of taking breakfast in your room or in the rest. Sounds nice until the people above you and next you decide to take breakfast at 6/7am in the morning and are moving furniture on their balconings. Nice thought, but horrid for those who sleep past 6am.

As of now, I would not go back b/c of the noise, or would go when it is not so busy and you could more easily switch rooms

Hotel Staff/Spa
The persons working at the hotel are unbelievably kind and go over the top to accommodate you. The only exceptions to this statement were the connecting room bit, and a scheduling mishap I had at the spa. Because of busy season, I booked spa treatments 1 month ahead of time. I emailed and corresponded with the spa concierge at the hotel. When I arrived at the hotel I stopped by the spa to pick my specific treatments, they had NO record of my reservation. I promptly re-forwarded them the email correspondence, which they blew off and chalked up to some miscommunication with their corporate office. While they were able to re-schedule, the timing did not work out as I had hoped. There was no sense of apology for the mishap. When you pay this much $$, you don’t want your trip interrupted with scheduling stresses and screw-up.

Hotel Vibe
We were at the hotel during busy season. However, it became very clear that the hotel does a lot of corporate events. I have been on many corporate boon doggles and the vibe at a corporate trip is much different then that you seek on your personal vacation. There are only 3 or so restaurants to eat at on the property. One night we found that the concierge had made reservations for us at the Caraco rest, only to find when we arrived that it was closed for a corporate event. Every other night or so there night there was a private event being held on the grounds. The corporate presence made it hard to schedule golf/hair cuts/rest reservations. This wasnt every night by any means, but it was enough to be noticed.

Meal Plan
We opted not to do the meal plan. We didnt always eat breakfast, and didnt want to feel tied to eating it our losing the credit if we went out for an early activity. All in all, on the dinner part we came out about even. Our bills were mostly from alcohol, and my husband and I didnt both need an app/entree/desert. So its up to you, either way you will spend a great deal on food, just be ready and enjoy it.

Restaurants
We loved Congos, Papagayo, and DiMare. We were very unimpressed with Caraco. The staff at Congos Papagayo and Dimare were SO SO SO nice. The food at Papagayo was my favorite. I think this is because it is more latin style cuisine. I found that DiMare and Caraco were trying to make a jump to a more artsy NYC/SF type of rest. It didnt meet up to Papagayo.
Caraco
We did not have steak at Caraco, so this may be where we steered wrong. We had shrimp and chicken. The chicken was probably the worst chicken I have had. It was so tough I couldnt finish it.
DiMare
My husband loved DiMare. I was impartial. They have a great apple fritter desert, and some really good dishes. Not the best ever, but good.
FRESH CATCH OF THE DAY
We did the fresh catch of the day meal where you pick out your fish in the morning and can talk to the Chef about how you want it prepared. This was amazing. What a fun and wonderful meal. All the fish we had at the rest was amazing.
CONGOS
The Congos rest is great for lunch, even dinner. One of our favorite meals was a night where they walk around with the meat on the skewers and you pick what you want. All the meat was amazingly prepared. Definitely do this meat night at Congos. They also have these killer pulled pork Quesadillas that are a huge hit for a mid-afternoon snack.

Expectations for Experience
Both my husband and I had been to Costa Rica before. This trip was completely different. YOu must be in the mindset that you are going to a beach resort. There is so much to see and do in Costa Rica, and you are very secluded at the 4 Seasons. This is not the place to go if you are wanting to explore and see the country. The staff are required to speak mostly English, the guests are mostly older Americans or young couples with kids. It is a nice resort, amazing service, and a gorgeous spot.

The resort is on gorgeous gorgeous grounds that are meticulously maintained. There are lots of activities to keep you busy while on resort grounds. Really cool complementary water sports equipment like snorkling, sunfish and kayak rentals.

Activities
If you decide to venture out, you are looking at atleast 2-5 hours of driving each way for a tour. We rented a car one day and drove to Playa Hermosa and Playa Coco. Neither were that amazing. There are other great places like Manual Antonio and MOntezuma that are more fun. Coco is tons of tourist shops. Playa Hermosa is a little town under tremendous development with condos etc. Not a whole lot to do. Takes about an hour to get there. FYI, rent a car through National online. You will save around 75$ off the hotel price. National will bring it out to the 4 seasons for you.

The best part of our trip was the GOLF. Absolutely amazing. The course is spectacular, and hardly played. You will have it all to yourself. We would take the 2pm tee times and finish up our round right as the sun was setting. The folks on the course bring you cold towl to wash your face and stock your cart with water. Its crazy over the top. Just amazing, and the golf staff are wonderful.

There is also lots to see on the golf course. Tons of monkeys and iguanas. The hotel has golf course tours that many people took where you get a cart and your go around the course looking for wild live. I spoke with one couple that had done this multiple times and loved it.

Participated in a cooking class. It was a lot of fun and the Chef was a great guy.

Transportation
We used jandctours for our airport transport. They were there waiting for us when we arrived and on time when we departed. Super nice owners. We also scheduled a sailing trip through them.

The Four Seasons outside of Liberia in Costa Rica is a stunning resort, but if you are expecting any kind of peace and quiet, you might want to look elsewhere. Children rule the roost here, primarily loud overweight American children (most of whom are named either Zack or Zoe).

The Four Seasons does in fact have a "quiet pool" but it is mostly in a shaded area and right next to the beach which of course is where children frolic in the surf. At the restaurants children (wearing t-shirts and swimsuits still oftentimes even at dinner) run around without much supervision from lax parents. I feel somewhat sorry for the honeymoon couple who must deal with this aspect of their trip.

The rooms here at the Four Seasons are wonderfully well-done and the cuisine at each restaurant is almost flawless. There are a wide-ange of activities and the setting is nearly unbeatable. My advice: bring an iPod to drown out Zack and Zoe screaming "Marco! Polo" in the pool for eight hours straight.