After reading several poor and mediocre reviews on this hotel we were not expecting much, however, we were pleasantly surprised!
We usually book our flights and hotels separately online but after wanting to visit Costa Rica for some time we saw that First Choice were now offering direct flights to Liberia.
The service offered by First Choice was excellent (we did upgrade) although the only airport they fly from is Gatwick which meant another 5 hours on our journey from Bingley.
Liberia airport is a tiny wooden building with a tin roof which was perfect as we were'processed' very quickly. An hour long bus ride to Tamarindo followed - although it was only approx 60km all journeys take longer due to many local roads being unmade.
Check-in was smooth (We were on an all-inclusive package). The hotel was clean and well planned although there are extension works being carried out.(The noise did not bother us).
Room:
We stayed in one of the older rooms it was also clean and spacious - there were 3 of us and the room had 2 double beds. The air conditioning worked well as did the TV and the hairdryer.
Our room was cleaned every single day - there was a mini bar where the maid left fresh bottled water although not every day. She also left fresh flowers now and again.
Food:
The restaurant was open 3 times daily and in between guests can get fast food from the pool bar. We were very pleased with the standard and variety of the food offered in the restaurant. I cannot see that anyone would have reason to complain.
Some of the bar snacks were cooked in the morning and left for guests to help themselves (nachos, pizza, fried chicken) so it meant that you didn't have to wait.
Staff:
Without exception the staff were friendly, some chatted more than others but nothing was too much trouble.
Entertainment:
The animation team came out around 10am and organised games such as pool volley ball, darts, table tennis, aqua aerobics and every afternoon there was a beach volley ball match. There was entertainment each night which ranged from a music quiz to a full dance,singing caberet. The hotel band were superb and played most lunchtimes too.
Wildlife:
during the day you would see geckos/iguanas around the beautifully manicured gardens but most nights we saw racoons, frogs and skunks.
We saw howler monkeys twice in the trees to the rear of our room - a troupe of about 10 including babies.
We took our 13 year old daughter and she now reckons she's moving there!-She loved it that much. we could give her the freedom of staying out with friends until the entertainment finished around 11pm.
I do have to point out that the hotel was at less than 50% capacity which made it a very pleasant peaceful stay however they do have tour groups that come just for the night or for the weekend and the difference is shocking - they were loud and boisterous. If it had been like that for 2 weeks - my review may well have been different.
Americans do make up the majority of guests - sorry,
but you can hear them before you see them! Groups of teenage 20 something guys - not offensive but they do tend to monopolise the bar.
Tamarindo is a 20 minute walk along the beach (low tide) - it's a lovely walk better than the road and it's dusty and there are no footpaths. Taxi cost $5.
All in all it's a good base for various trips to the rainforest, volcanos etc but there are massive plans for development - low rise building may well compliment the surroundings but the multi-storey hotels are already going up and that is something the place can definitely do without!
I went for the monkeys, crocodiles and a bit of sun and sea, my husband went for the scuba diving - booked online a place in Tamarindo (Agua dive I think) - he went out 6 days and felt they were great value for money. Saw sharks,rays and turtles.
Would we go back - yes, probably, although there is alot more of the world we have yet to see.

I arrived at Barcelo after spending 5 nights at the Best Western in Tamarindo, it was like arriving in heaven. It only cost me $25 a night extra, I should have done it days earlier (I booked Barcelo last minute on Bookit.com for only $105, it was only $80 if there were 2 of you).
I though it was great value. The room was exquisite. It was huge, clean and beautiful. It had a nice big TV, a fridge, a coffee maker, a fan, safe, bathrobes, A/C and lots of toiletries.
The bed was enormous, and really high up, I felt like a princess climbing onto it.
The bathroom had nice touches like a pull out clothes line to dry stuff, and dispensers on the wall containing shampoo, conditioner and bath gel. There were plenty of towels. There was no plug for the bath (and the way the drain was, you couldn't have put one in anyway), which was disappointing. But perhaps this is due to water shortages.
The beach wasn't perfect, but I don't think you will find a perfect beach in this area. I liked the fact that it was almost empty a lot, so it felt peaceful. I felt safe leaving my stuff on the beach when I went in the sea.
The hotel grounds were stunning, complete with lizards and racoons. I wasn't that keen on the crabs though, as they managed to get into my room somehow. If I hadn't drunk any alcohol I found that their shuffling about kept me awake at night.
I found the room service unprofessional. I ordered a bottle of wine one night to my room, at a cost of $15, as I was sick of going back and forth to the free bar. The guy who brought it to me came in and spent several minutes trying to uncork it, he failed. He asked to use my room phone, he made a call and another guy turned up to help him, he also couldn't do it. Finally one of them went to get another bottle. I finally got my wine. Then the guy demanded payment, even though reception had taken an imprint of my credit card when i checked in, for "extras". So I gave him some money, I had to wait 10 mins for him to come back with my change, which was slightly short. I didn't say anything though. I just wanted peace and quiet, which is why I ordered room service in the first place.
I liked the food. I found the drinks generous. The pool area was lovely. It did get slightly loud at times with music blasting most of the day and lots of load Americans. They seem to shout rather than talk, but they are harmless, and worth a snigger when they do the pool aerobics.
I stayed there for 5 days before I went off to explore more of Costa Rica. It was an ideal place to sunbath, relax and fill up with food. I may have got bored there if I had stayed longer. However Tamarindo is only 15/20 minute walk away. You can go via the beach in the morning, but because of tides it is best to go via road in the afternoon. The road is rather dusty, but pleasant. I saw monkeys in the trees there. I would take a torch if you do it at night though, I didn't have one and felt a bit vulnerable as the cars hurtle along and there is no pavement.

My husband and I stayed at the Barcelo April 19-26. Overall, I would say that this resort is pretty good, but there are some areas that they could improve on. I thought that the set-up and the landscaping of the resort were really nice. I liked that they used indigenous trees and plants as part of the landscape design, and also that the buildings containing the rooms were spread out through the winding landscape. The rooms were really beautiful, and looked recently redone, although they smelled VERY strongly of cedar. This took a few days to get used to. I suppose they use cedar wood to keep the bugs out. (note: did not see one bug in my room) When we first got to our room, I was disappointed because our view was just of the woods behind the resort (we were in building 5). However, this location proved to be great for spotting wildlife. Howler monkeys slept in a tree right outside of our room, and their growling would wake us up every morning. We also saw a ton of really beautiful birds, some strange looking squirrels, and a family of skunks. The breakfast buffet and the snack bar lunches were pretty typical AI stuff........not horrible, but not terrific either. Dinners were OK, but I really think that they need more variety. I am not a picky eater, but I was really sick of the dinners by the end of the week. We did go off site to Carolina's one night for dinner, and I really recommend this restaurant. Delicious dinner, and excellent service. I felt that this resort's weakest point was it's customer service. We have been to CR before, and stayed at a different AI resort, and the people were so friendly that we felt like they were family by the end of the week. We have done many AI vacations all over the world, and I have to say that the employees, especially the bartenders and waitstaff, are usually very friendly. At the Barcelo, however, we did not find this to be the case. We tried really hard to engage many members of the staff, took time to learn their names, and spoke to them in as much spanish as we could. We just couldn't seem to break through their indifferent attitude. They weren't rude, just completely indifferent. To them this was just a job, and they would do their job and no more. This really suprised us, because the CR people are so kind and helpful. I have to say that this really lessened our experience at the Barcelo. A big part of a vacation for us is the people, and we know that the staff at the Barcelo are not indicative of the CR people. Anyway, back to the resort....a lot of people complained about the beach, but I thought that it was absolutely gorgeous. Yes there are volcanic rocks directly in front of the hotel, but if you go a little to the right, you could safely swim, and if you crossed the estuary (which we had absolutely no problem doing) you had an absolutely beautiful deserted beach all to yourself, which was perfect for swimming. The town of Tamarindo has gotten mixed reviews on this site. I think it's about knowing what you are getting. Tamarindo is a funky little surf town with dirt roads, that caters to a younger, less refined surf crowd. So people say that it's a dirty little town filled with cheap souvenier shops and drugs and prostitution. It has dirt roads, so yes, it's dusty. It does have inexpensive souvenier shops, but that's because of the crowd that it caters to. As far as the drugs and prostitution go, it's a tourist town. Those things can be found in any tourist area, so why is Tamarindo any different. Prostitution is legal in CR, so of course there would be a call for it in a tourist town. We were never approached to buy drugs in town, and we were there many times. We were however approached to buy drugs three times in Aruba, and that island is supposed to cater to a much more upscale clientele, so who knows? We really liked the funky laid back feel of Tamarindo, and would definately visit again. The beach at Tamarindo is absolutely perfect, you could not ask for as more perfect beach on the pacific ocean. Clean, Clean, blue water with soft sand and small waves that make learning to surf a ton of fun. We really enjoyed our trip to this part of the country, and are definately planning a return visit. I would like to say we would definately stay at the Barcelo again, but I'm just not sure that we would.

My husband and two friends and I just got back from a week at the Barcelo Playa Langosta. We were a bit nervous booking this hotel because it was so affordable and the reviews were mixed, but we were more than pleased with the accomodations and the view. We stayed in a new building (building 4) and although it was a 2 minute walk to the pool (you eat enough at the buffet to justify walking a little on vacation) the room was wonderful and overlooked a nationally protected area of forest and mountains and a river. Tell you the truth, we went to the Sandals Regency Resort in St. Lucia for our honeymoon two years ago and the Barcelo's room was much nicer! The food was great for breakfast, lunch and dinner, although it did get a bit tiresome after 5 or 6 days. We ended up only eating out in Tamarindo one night. The pool was great, never crowded, the beach was a good escape from the pool, although it is a bit shelly and rough on the feet. The people that worked there and the excursion coordinators in the hotel lobby were very friendly and helpful. There is a hut by the pool for Iguana Surf Excursions, but they were never there and not knowledgeable at all. The bar at the pool was easy to get drinks at, and the bar in the lobby area was a great place to sit and relax at night. We walked from Tamarindo to our hotel once and it only took 15 minutes. We didn't do it again just because we went during the end of the dry season and it was very dusty because of the unpaved roads. There's cute little shops right by the resort and some restaurants. Overall, I'd go back and stay there again anytime.