We had a wonderful stay at this hotel, read the other reviews and decide if the middle is where you will be happy. First this hotel is on a property which is gated and has other hotels, condos,golf course, single residences a chapel, clinic etc. within. Ask for a packet at the concierge office and you will find the large map of the property- wish we had been given this in our room instead of finding it so far into our stay. People from the properties are shuttled to different areas within the gates. A shuttle comes every hour on the hour and it will take you to any place you would like to go within the property but not outside. (you can take a ride in a van for 14$ each roundtrip to Tamarindo if you like ) That means that residents and guests can come and go. that is what it is - everyone we met staff and visitors alike were kind and happy - we had no incidents at the pool - although we could not find a chair often,we didn't come to sit at the pool - some do, I just figure I could do that stateside for a lot less money. We stocked up on necessities in Liberia before coming to the hotel and had the hotel staff remove the contents of the mini bar so we could use it for our own. they were very nice to do this. Sunscreen in the Liberia grocery store was not much cheaper than the hotel so bring what you need. I do admit it would have been nice to have soda in the gift shop when we ran out - it was $4.50 per soda in the bars..just sayin..the food was wonderful everywhere we went but we did spend an average of $25 per person for every meal with a beverage. If you are expecting to walk across the street and get a big mac you should probably be staying in Liberia. - we were tipping for everything until we realized there was already 10% added to every bill - we are good tippers but not that good. There is a nice beach club down the beach a ways and everyone mentions Lolas a little further down which is cool. I will say that the timing needs to be right for that or you will get stuck on one side or the other when the tide comes in. I did not appreciate the quote of 70$ to go two miles down the road to Lolas and back. I understand it's not on the property, but I didn't expect extortion - friends were quoted a different price for the same ride and that did not reflect well on the hotel. I would take the shuttle to the beach club, to save a bit of time and walk to Lolas from there. there is another hotel further down the other way and they have a nice beach as well. Housekeeping, staff, pool waiters, foodservice workers, were all excellent. Beds were comfortable no mechanical issues at all. if you are complaining about the light on the smoke detector you must have your eyes open. mine were shut while I slept. I happened to like the vendors that came in to sell their wares. it was nice when I realized I forgot to get a gift for a friend the night before we left. I would not change that. They were not intrusive in any way. I was part of a group and we had dinner a few times out on the property but it was two hours at best, & they brought in entertaiment. Other guests commented that even they enjoyed the dancers with soft music and a local group of excellent musicians. Yes, there are tourists, yes, they come from all walks of life as they do anywhere, yes, it's hot, no, it's not couples exclusive so there are kids although on our stay we didnt see many. Yes, there are big and small and average sized people wearing what they consider to be resort wear. yes, companies bring their employees there-its a nice place. All of this happens at every single resort/hotel in the world. if you want something exclusive and to your exact taste you should consider renting a private home on the beach with a chef and a maid. Read the other reviews and decide if somewhere in the middle of them is what you will find. We had an excellent stay, anything that wasn't perfect was because we didn't research enough to make better decisions. ps. PLEASE tell me where I can get one of the amazing hammocks!!

Just spent a wonderful week in Costa Rica. The hotel, location, food and people were wonderful! The beach is very nice and the pool is gorgeous. You will not enjoy the hotel if you are looking for a hotel near shops and restaurants. If you are looking for a place to escape, this is your spot!

My wife and I are half way through our week long stay at this beautiful resort. We have the perfect room for us. Ocean view, but bordering the woods filled with beautiful birds. Have taken some great pictures fro our balcony. So far, the staff has been helpful, the food good, and the pool and views terrific. One caution - this resort is isolated! Tamarindo is 15-20 minutes away via a very bumpy dirt road. However, there is a shuttle which costs $7/person each way (last shuttle to hotel at 9:30 PM. Not much there, but bars, restaurants and tourist shops. If you're looking for nightlife, this may not be the destination for you as there is not much in Tamirindo, and even less at the JW. This is the dry season and it is hot and dry! But...beautiful blue skies over the Pacific. One caution - food and wine are quite expensive and given the isolated location, not much choice on where to eat. Not even a vending machine with a soft drink. Everything has to be purchased at one of the resort restaurants.

We stayed at the hotel with a tour group and were assigned a room that faced a woods. The resort is quite large so it was quite a walk to the pool and even further to the Pacific Ocean. The pool was great and the meals were very nice. The frist night we were there a company was giving a presentation and there was a man with a microphone giving a presentation to a group of approximately 100 people at the beach. I'm sure this made a lot of money for the Marriott but took away from the experience. The service was awesome and the rooms were what you would expect from a JW Marriott.