Hilton Papagayo is a little piece of heaven on Earth. The location was secluded and beautiful and the all-inclusive resort gave us a peace of mind. Because it was a gift from my bf, I don’t know what the cost was but for me every minute of relaxation & adventures included was worth it. Even though there were times that fish didn't taste that great for dinner, there were so many varieties and choices to pick from. I greatly appreciated that those who worked at the resort would always greet in Spanish and based on your comfortably with the language would continue to speak Spanish with you or speak English. I had a great time on Bike riding outside of the resort with a tour guide & exfoliating and massage classes on the beach. Because of the time frame, I didn’t get an opportunity to snorkel which is included. The pools & the views on the resort property were phenomenal. The folks that worked at the resort were very kind to us and always greeted us. My only complaint was the prices on the tours through the Hilton that are available. The tour company is 3rd party vendor and the prices start at $75 per person and higher. If you can book tours before hand with a trusted source for cheaper, do it! Otherwise, the Palo National Verde Park & Liberia Shopping was a good all-day tour for about $85/person. Here is some quick tips: it will be a lot easier if you have cash & you research what the conversion is before you convert your US Dollars into Colones (500 Colones for $1) so you get your fair share. Majority of place will take US Dollars. Also if you can, buy souvenirs in Liberia rather than at the resort because you will save a lot more money. If you are flying into Liberia International Airport, it is a 20 minute ride to the resort and about a $50 taxi ride (all together for 2 ppl). There summer season begins in November which is 75-80 degrees F. Overall it is a charming place & look forward to going back!

I have to admit staying at the Hilton Papagayo was one of the most relaxing events of my life, made more so by the absolute heck I had to go through to get there. Thankfully I booked with Beach Bum vacation travel agency and my agent Kathy was able to work miracles. She stuck through when my flight was cancelled the day before my trip and actually found me a new flight to make sure I got to my Dad's wedding (@ the Hilton) on time. After that the vacation was perfect, beautiful beaches, great food, zip-lining through the trees and kayaking in the ocean. Overall it was the best weekend ever and I can't wait to book my next trip with them.

Overall, I was very pleased with the experience and would absolutely recommend it to others. I went with a friend, but it's better for couples and families. The hotel was clean, beautiful, and the staff was pleasant. The food could have been more abundant & tasty, but considering it was all-inclusive it was OK. The best meals we had were the breakfast buffet by the pool and dinners at El Bocadillo restaurant. The bars were OK, but the alcohol wasn't top shelf. Definitely try the mango mojito - it's delicious! Also, the empanadas at the bar are AMAZING! Two bartenders, Jose (Ritual bar) and Pablo (swimup pool bar), were especially amicable and helpful. Also, ask for Julio, one of the shuttle drivers on the hotel grounds. He's nice and helpful, and will show you the grounds in more detail if you want.

We saw iguanas, lizards, a humming bird, coatis, cats, blue birds, & many other animals on the hotel grounds. The hotel also has howler monkeys, although we didn't witness them (we did hear them though). The pool area was so nice, and the beach, although small, was really quite tranquil and beautiful with tons of sea life - what a treat!

I highly recommend taking advantage of taking a tour or two with Swiss Travel, which has a representative on the hotel premise, so that you can see the rain forest and more of the country. The hotel itself also offers free activities, such as a bike tour, kayak tour, exfoliation treatment & more.... you should definitely take advantage of some of those!

The only downside are the mosquitos (an't really help that) and that the spa was closed for renovations, so we couldn't experience that :(

One day we did opt to go to Coco Beach for a few hours... you can skip it. It's not ideal for catching rays, although the hills make a nice backdrop. The main street with shops is pretty seedy, although nobody bothers you. Instead, perhaps Hermosa Beach of Panama Beach would be nicer.

Also, just some things to keep in mind in Costa Rica: wear bug repellant, there wasn't a need for us to exchange our currency (most places accept $US), there is a $28 exit fee at the airport, the food at the airport is pretty expensive.

I can't wait to return to Costa Rica!!!

My first all inclusive resort and it was pretty good. There are four restaurants however one was close due to renovations. Overall food wise pretty good variety, just wished there was better dessert option. The hotel is not located near city center so plan to spend your time solely at the resort or schedule excursions. I only did one excursion and spent the other 5 days just hanging out at the pool or partaking in various resort activities. The offer a variety of activities but I only did the biking, sunset hike, bingo and learning how to fold towel animals. Rooms are spread out through the property so you can get a real workout walking around or if you'd rather not they do have shuttles. The only one con about the property is the bugs-mosquitoes, really get you in the evening especially if you dine outdoors at the Bar or La Bocadillo. We sorta knew this was a possibility from other reviews so packed our bug spray but they still managed to bite us. We got halfway through our week and just started dousing ourselves in bug spray. Since each room's door is outside access you will inevitably get bugs in the room, not a huge problem but if you don't like nature/squeamish by crawlies then you might want to stay elsewhere. The mini-fridge is stocked with water, 2 diet cokes, 2 cokes, and 2 beers. Drinks at the bar were great, esp if you just ask the bartenders for their specialties (sunset papagayo was our favorite). Internet is only free in the lobby otherwise I think its like $15/day. It was great going to the resort during off season (end of oct) not only did we have great weather but not crowded so we never had a hard time looking for lounge chairs or grabbing drinks at the bar. The staff here were all really friendly and helpful. FYI you might want to eat your fill at the hotel before going to the airport because not only is there only one food option there but its ridiculously expensive (2 sandwiches+water = $30+).