We just got back last night from beautiful Costa Rica! I highly recommend this hotel. We only had 4 full days but we made each one count. The rooms are spacious and kept very clean. The only downfall was the bathroom door was made out of a frosted glass and did not give much privacy. Also, the room connects and you can easily hear everything going on and being said by your neighbor. (not always a good thing). But, the good totally outweighs the bad at this resort. I did alot of research for days and days and the Paradisus Playa Conchel did not disappoint. You must do the Canopy Tours, however don't book with the hotel, go outside to the beach and ask for "Alex Rabbit". He set us up on an ATV's to the Canopy Tours. Granted it's more money but you are taking an ATV ride on the beach, through the town and down backgrounds. Don't forget your camera on this trip, it is awesome. Once you get to the canopy tours (about an hour or so later), You go on 9 ziplines. They are not scary and actually alot of fun if you can just go with it.
I also highly recommend the Arenal Volcano tour. It's a full day but you get lunch dinner, a rain forest tour, a visit to Tabacon Springs to swim in the hot springs and lastly a chance to see a Volcano erupting. You book this through TAM tours at the hotel near the beach entrance. The fishing trips are much cheaper if you book through Alex instead of the hotel. We also took kayaks out and went snorkeling, rode horses on the beach and took a sunset cruise, all included. We met so many nice people and the staff are equally as nice. You get six different restaurants to choose from, unlike many of the other resorts in the area. Also, top shelf liquor which just keeps flowing as much as you want. As everyone else has said the roads are bad in parts but we were expecting it so it didn't bother us as much. I received alot of my tips from this website which really helped our vacation experience. My tips: Bring cash and get small bills otherwise you will not get american dollars back. Bring bug spray (we forget) - especially if you go to the rain forest ,canopy tours and horseback riding. Pay departure tax at hotel. Don't rely to heavily on their wake up calls, had we not set the alarm on my husband's watch, we would still be there. Tip everyone, even it is only a few dollars and if your a cat lover, like me, feed the cats that come around, there is only two and you don't see them much but they are skinny! Enjoy every moment, it goes very fast.

We just returned from a week at the Paradisus Playa Conchal. The resort was very nice. It actually exceeded our expectations. We usually avoid the all-inclusive resorts because they tend to make us feel like...hmm, like cattle. This resort was the exception.

The Resort: The staff was wonderful! The staff really makes the resort. Everyone is very helpful. They go out of their way to help. Example: Dinner reservations are suppose to be made between 9-11am. The all day tours leave at 7-7:30 am. Without us asking, our morning waiter left us a message that he made dinner reservations for us. We really appreciated that because we were starving when we got back.The grounds and rooms are beautiful. The Bali Suite with the enclosed patio is worth the extra $. Royal Service...I didn't see the need for it. The resort is under construction right now, but noise wasn't a problem. The resort is definately sheltered. The beach access is gated and has a guard posted at all times. They are very careful who they let enter the property. The wrist band they tag you with upon arrival is your pass to exit and enter the property. Side note, if you have exchange through RCI you do have the option to purchase the all-inclusive for $85 pp per day. You don't have to purchases it for the entire week, but the days you choose must be consecutive days. We found it cheaper just to pay for our meals. Unless you're a heavy drinker (and the drinks are not that expensive) the all-inclusive is not worth it.

The restaurants: well, they are good, not great but very good. The Italian place (can't remember the name) was the best. They had a nice wine selection. Now this is very important, you need to make reservations between 9-11am. Otherwise it's off to the outdoor buffet for you. They are good restaurants in Brasilito. You can walk there during the day. (from the beach turn right) The Golden Shrimp offers a free shuttle from the hotel. The hotel can make the reservation and arrange for the shuttle to pick you up from the lobby. The Happy Snapper was good too. On the other side of the beach (to the left) there is a beach front seafood restaurant. Very good and reasonably priced. They also rent ATVs and offer fishing trips.

The Tours.: Downstairs from the lobby there are several tour companies. In the shopping area there is a TAM tour office. Everyone seemed to love the Buena Vista Mega Tour. We opted for the Rincon hiking tour and the Palo Verde tour. Loved both. We used a private tour company. J & C Tours (JandCTours.com) They can customize the tours and you have the advantage of stopping where ever you want. You'll have a bilingual guide, which was a big plus for us since we speak zero spanish. There are also the vendors on the beach. I've heard good and bad about them. I can only vouch for Erik. We arranged for an ATV tour through Erik and had no problems. It was $55 pp for a 3 hour tour.

CarRental/ATM/Misc: There is an Advantage car rental desk in th lobby. There is an ATM to the right of the front desk next to the house phones. It only issues Costa Rician money.
You can pay the departure fee at the TAM office. You will save yourself from another long line at the airport. Plus you can use any form of payment at the TAM office. They only accept Visa or cash at the airport. Outside of that, US dollars and credit cards are widely accepted. No need to exchange money.

Costa rica is very different from the US and take a little getting use to, but once you do you'll love it there too. Relax and Enjoy, you're on vacation! Pura Vida!

My husband and I got back last week and I am already planning on my next trip to this resort. If any one tells you the Royal Service isn't worth it they are crazy!! If you want to feel like a King or Queen and treated like one then it's the Royal Service all the way. The grounds are magnificent and very well tended to. We went at a perfect time, the place wasn't crowed at all, we went horseback riding almost everyday, could get into any restaurant pretty much anytime we wanted to. The staff employed by the resort is outstanding I don't know which is more beautiful the landscaping or the people of Costa Rica. We took a private canopy tour and visited the Aronal Volcano which I would recommed our tour guide was Giovanni from TAM tours and he is the best!! He would pull off the side of the road and show us all the different wildlife and we even saw a two toed sloth up in the tree that was awesome. He is very knowledgeable and we found him very entertaining. Our last night our Royal Service butler made us reservations off the site at a restaurant called the Golden Shrimp they have the best seafood chowder with huge shrimps, two small lobster tails and all kinds of different seafood, it should be split to save room for the huge dinners that they bring you. The restaurant picked us up at our hotel and broght us back to the hotel for dinner we didn't have to do a thing. We met some other wonderful traverlers on our journey and I would just like to say if your reading this Hello to James & Julia from LA, Claudia & her fishing husband from DC sorry we didn't get to say good by but it was sure nice meeting you!! I CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK

My wife and I returned from Paradisus Playa Conchal Resort just prior to Memorial Day. This is without a doubt the "Best Vacation" we have ever taken in our 26 years. We are already making plans for returning to Paradisus (paradise) for our 30th anniversary.
In our opinion, the price for this all-inclusive resort is "money well spent".
Fletcher and Debbie Denton
Powder Springs, Ga.