After staying in the rainforest for a few days and then near the Arenal Volcano, we headed west to the Westin for some beach time. Right from the get go we were disappointed.

1. They had no record of our reservation - we were lucky we printed out our email confirmation because they used that find us a room. Admittedly we were early, but we had to wait several hours for a room - despite them telling us they were 65% full. It was hot, we had just traveled two hours and we had to wait while they prepared our room.

2. Once we get to the room I discovered that our ipod clock radio was broken. I called the front desk and someone replaced it. The next morning we go to make coffee only to discover that we have the wrong pods for our machine. It took a note and talking to someone to get the appropriate pods for our machine. The coffee shop in the shops doesn't open until after 8am. So we had to go to the buffet to get coffee (which we prefer before breakfast). Twice at the buffet we had to chase down a waiter for coffee. They should really just put it on a table like the rest of the buffet. And it's time to get a Keurig in each room.

3. Next, we discovered that our shower water would not get hot. We called the front desk and they sent someone over to fix it.

4. Wifi is only free in the lobby, which is a ten minute walk from many rooms. It's $12 a day if you want to pay.

5. The sports lounge was closed the whole time we were there.

6. The first night we were there we were unable to get a spot in the restaurant despite calling several hours in advance. And some of the restaurants were closed! frustrating. I highly recommend making all of your reservations as soon as you arrive. During the day there is only one place to get a snack if you at the pool and it is not lunch or dinner time. There are no restaurant menus in the room to figure out what you might like to try.

7. The pool bar closes at 6pm despite having a ton of people there wanting drinks.

8. The beach has the usual locals trying to sell you things such as massages, excursions, plants, etc. It's annoying, we opted for the pool like most other people. In fact, there isn't much at this resort to differentiate it from any Caribbean all inclusive. Although the ocean water was brown because when it rains sediment enters from a nearby river.

9. There are no instructions on the phone for making international calls. And it ended up costing a fortune to just check our cell phone voicemail (our phones didnt work in costa rica).

10. Room service - you are unable to order bottles of wine. I can see why they have this policy so people don't fill their suit case with wine. So the two of us would order multitudes of glasses instead. We called once for a smoothie and half an hour later they called us back to say their smoothie machine was broken.

11. One of the biggest annoyances is the fact that there are trucks and golf carts constantly driving around on the walkways. It's like walking on a road and not very pleasant to have to constantly be looking over your shoulder. By the way, you have to flag down one of the golf carts to get to the lobby if you don't feel like walking. I will give them credit for having plenty of carts available. It never took long to find one.

12. It rained so hard one night that the pond flooded and it came within two inches of our door. Other people had to switch rooms because water got in. I find it hard to believe that the rain was a surprise to whomever designed the water systems.

13. There is a Britt store on the property. They promise delivery to your home within a certain time. Unfortunately it took us about three times as long to receive our coffee and chocolates. It took five emails and us demanding our money back before they said they even shipped them.

Positives:
- Pablo! he's the concierge I think. You'll find him in the lobby and he is extremely helpful!
- The kayaks and bikes are free to use. (The kayaks are the backless kind so user beware if you have a back issue. My bike gears kept slipping.
- We took a cab to Tamarindo for surf lessons. We liked the town.
- check the event board for things going on. We played some bingo at the bar, and survived a tequila tasting.
- THE FOOD! great... really no complaints here. The bacon at the buffet is amazing. The restaurants are all different with excellent service and food.
- The pool is huge! plenty of chairs available, a volleyball net in the pool, and a pool bar.
- The price! for an all inclusive it wasn't too bad booking online. We heard paying extra for the 'club' wasn't worth it but we didn't see it for ourselves.
- There are iguanas on the property and some crazy raccoon-like animals walking around.
- I was forced to get a pedicure and really enjoyed the spa. very relaxing in the steam room.
- It's an all inclusive so we enjoyed not having to worry about how much money we were spending.

There are other excursions nearby that guests told us they really enjoyed - atvs, water slid, ziplining, etc.

My wife, my infant son, and I had an amazing stay at the Westin! The landscaping, the pool, the beach, and the restaurants on the property are great, but what truly sets the Westin apart is their staff. They are the friendliest, most well trained staff I have ever encountered! All of the staff took special interest in my son, and asked how old he was. We told them that he was turning 1 on Thursday (this was Monday). Well, to our surprise and delight, they had a cake and the entire crew working at Mitro sang to him on Thursday, we did not ask them to do this, and we did not remind them that it was his birthday My only regret was that I fumbled to get my camera out to photograph the celebration, however another guest took some great photos and emailed them to me. The chamber maid folded the towels into different animals each day, everyone smiles and says hello, the waiters and waitresses are very efficient, and the front desk personnel are extremely helpful. It is clear that the management at the Westin are focused on customer satisfaction and making their stay great!

My wife and I had never stayed at an AI, as we normally like to go it on our on. Since this trip was our 40th anniversary trip, we decided to stay here for a few days, mainly as a relax time from all our activities prior to our arrival here. The grounds are beautiful, the rooms are very nice and comfortable. There is almost any kind of food you can imagine, however some is better than others. Most drinks are free and plentiful. The pool area is nice, as is the beach area. The only thing that we really didn't care for here, was the Italian restaurant that seems to always get high praise, we felt was only average at best, All the other restaurants including the buffet, we felt were much better. We felt that we definitely had a great stay here for the price. We do plan to visit again in the future,

We looked high and low for an ideal honeymoon destination in mid-November. After contemplating Mexico, Grenada, Aruba and places in between, we decided on the Westin. From arrival to departure, the Westin was absolutely outstanding. Aside from being a beautiful, immaculately maintained property, the staff is also very accommodating. They worked so hard to make our trip memorable. We were upgraded to the Royal Beach Club and thankful to have John, David and Jonathan as concierges to help us with anything we needed.

Of course we met Erick Garcia :) He was very helpful and sincere, so we booked our day trip to Nicaragua through him. It was a wonderful experience- if you go, be sure to go into it knowing you will be exhausted by day's end, but it's worth it. We also booked the Palo Verde river tour through the Swiss Travel company so we could charge it to our room. That too was awesome.

The berry Mojito drink was our favorite. We also loved every single restaurant (Las Candelas and Cauri were the best) and the room service breakfast (Costa Rican)! The food really is amazing. Renting bikes, walking to Brasilito Beach, golf, the spa (Zoyla gives great massages) and watching the sunset were some of our favorite activities. We really liked the main pool, but renting a Bali bed was another highlight.

The weather was gorgeous- rainy season was over, but the countryside was still green. Stunning.

I have already recommended the Westin to couples, young and old, girls' trips and families. I wouldn't hesitate to come back to this property. It is ideally located in Costa RIca, close to the airport and many excursions. Best of all, the staff was appreciative of our business.

We did have a little raccoon friend who liked to wait for us outside the room (the previous guests must have fed him), so if you book at the Westin, please do not feed the animals! Also, tipping (US dollars are widely used- no need to exchange your cash) is really appreciated by the staff for a job well done.

Needless to say, I will be daydreaming about the Westin as I go back to work tomorrow!