We just got back from a week at the Westin and it was definitely the place you want to go in Costa Rica. Let me say we've done All-Inclusives all over the South, so we have a pretty solid baseline. We would go back tomorrow, and frankly regretted not booking 2 weeks.

Service: Okay, this is the point that I want to make. I know I rated excellent overall, because really it is excellent overall, but the service was not great. Please read the full review though, because you will see why overall it is excellent. I think it is possible that there is a cultural thing here, because no one there seemed to be in a rush to serve us. Whether it was in the morning at breakfast waiting for water, coffee, juice, or getting the rooms cleaned, or getting drinks at the bar; it just seemed quick/efficient service was not their thing. Don't get me wrong everyone was helpful and super nice, it was just somewhat difficult to get them to pay attention to you. I even tried overt tipping, but that didn't seem to help either, which was odd. I actually started bringing water bottles from the room as well as other drinks so I wouldn't be half done my meal before I could get something to drink.

Food: By far the best Breakfast and Lunches of any place I've been to. Ever. Hands done. Amazing quality vegetables and fruit, might sound weird, but usually some fruit is ok and the vegetables at resorts (even 5-stars) leave lots to be desired, but with Westin it is great. Also, they have "Superfoods" dishes highlighted, so it makes it easy to eat yummy, but healthy food while away. Dinner was great at the Mediterrean and Italian restaurants. Dinner at buffet was so-so, as well as other restaurants, although I did have this absolutely amazing crepe at the French restaurant Cauri. Friends we were with got amazing pasta dishes at the buffet with the make your own pasta option, so maybe try that. It wasn't bad at all, it was just that we found Breakfast and Lunch so incredibly good. Turkey Burger and Market Salad on room service is great btw! Pizza by the pool for lunch is good.

Hotel and Rooms: Beautiful x 100. If you are adults only the Royal Beach Club is worth it. So worth it, both pools are gorgeous, but Royal Beach is just even more relaxing for adults only. We were in Royal Beach 2 and the concierge guys David and (maybe Jonathan or Nelson) were so helpful.

Excursions: Book through Erik Garcia and John on the Beach. Better deals, smaller groups, more flexibility. We did major research beforehand and these guys were awesome. Conchal Adventures, we did 2, they were great! If you are going to Costa Rica it is a huge waste to not do excursions, it is an absolutely beautiful country, and safe, safe, safe! We did a river boat tour and saw 2 different kinds of monkeys, macows, crocodiles, iguanas, lizards, geikos, so many birds, it was awesome. Then ATV-ing for Ziplining, which was great too.

Beach: Not the resorts fault, but the beach is public so it is not like other countries where the resort can own the beach. Plus there were a number of trees so it wasn't what I was expecting. Having said that the water was nice and if you walked north or right out of hotel on beach for 10-15 minutes there were even nicer beaches... Playa Flamingo literally took my breath away (I think that's what it was called, beware of the tides though).

Costa Rica: In the Guanaste province basically between December and March, it does not rain. At all. If you need the sun and you want a guarantee of good weather, then visit Costa Rica. Plus it is SO safe (a great place for kids) and you can drink the water, it is the first place I haven't gotten GI symptoms despite always staying at 5-stars and being careful. People are super nice too!

Gym (Westin Workout): By far, hands down, the best gym I've ever seen at a resort, and even most hotels (including 5 stars) in the US, Canada, and Europe. Plus the instructors/trainers (especially Kenny) were AMAZING! If you want to stay in shape while away, Westin Workout makes it easy.

This is a nice all-inclusive property with sub-par service, activities & amenities. You have to make your reservation early to get into the better restaurants on the property. If you don't, you are stuck with eating at the average at best buffet restaurant. The reservation desk closes at 4:00. If you don't have a reservation by then, you are out of luck. The alcoholic drinks do not contain hardly any alcohol at all. You will get a sugar buzz before you feel any alcohol affect. The only extra activities included are snorkeling & a kayak. All other activities you have to pay for. The beach is public & you have to fend off the local people trying to sell you stuff. For two of us, it was $500 per night. I expected a lot more for my money. I will not recommend or stay at this property again.

We were a small group in comparison to the large corporate groups staying therebut we did not feel unattended to. The grounds are stellar ith tons of wildlife roaming around.
Food at buffet was great, perfect after a morning workout at the gym. The best restaurant is the asian, then mediterranian, others trail behind. Swim up bar is pretty busy but a great atmosphere.
Jorges yoga on the beach is worth the 8am wakeup, he is a good dude.
The rooms are giant, a quick tip which they will hate i say is, push the two queen beds together and make one giant bed. We enjoyed the delicious morning coffee and drinks replenished each day.

The Westin Golf and Resort & Spa, Playa Conchal: what a great destination. Four of us were there Jan. 24-Feb. 2, 2013 and stayed in the Royal Beach Club section, Tower 2. All of the concierge staff was over the top in service. Particular kudos to Erik and Andres----pleasant and always ready and willing to help with whatever we needed. Unlike many properties, I found the staff here very efficient: if they said they would take care of something they did so…and in minutes, not hours! We also enjoyed being able to eat at the Faisanela restaurant for breakfast and lunch, offered only to RBC guests. This restaurant had excellent food and was close to our rooms and pool, a plus at such a large property. Yes the property is huge, but all of the beautiful landscape adds so much and the shuttles are always available to take you wherever you wish.
The nightly entertainment was OK, rather typical of other resorts where we have stayed. However the multitude of day activities was great. We took advantage of the jewelry making, coffee tasting, wine tasting and origami classes. By the way, all of these started exactly ON TIME and were publicized on a daily sheet we received in our rooms. Westin Management take note: Evelyn is a real treasure….kind, knowledgeable, speaks perfect English and is a credit to your country and the resort.

As other reviewers have noted, getting reservations at the restaurants is very frustrating. Thankfully our concierge was successful in helping us with this. We booked when we checked in, but could only do it through Saturday night and we were there 5 more nights. They are strict in only holding the reservation for 15 minutes so it would seem if there is a no-show they could give that table to someone who is waiting without a reservation. Being told they are sold out and then seeing empty tables is upsetting. That being said, we found the food very, very good and varied. Our favorite dinners were probably the ones at Faisanela, but we also enjoyed the duck at Cauri and the steak and sea bass at Mediterra. And as reviewed by many, the pizza and ravioli at Spirula for lunch was amazing. We also ordered room service for breakfast one day and it came right on time and was very good!

Erick on the beach: Our experience was that he was not that friendly (I know we are in the minority for that) and not that much cheaper than the Swiss Travel at the hotel, so we booked with them. Glad we did. The agents that were on our bus to and from the Airport were wonderful and very educational and Eduardo who led our River Cruise was also very good. People who took the river cruise with Erick fed the monkeys and we heard the guides fed the crocodiles, which we would not have been comfortable with. We did book massages with Angel Hands on the beach for $30/hour and they were incredible.

We loved our time at the Westin and would and probably will return again.