My family of 4 spent 4 nights over Christmas at the Tango Mar. I had already booked my flight into San Jose so we rented a car and drove to Puntarenas and boarded the car ferry across the Gulf of Nicoya to Paquera with the locals, then drove 45 minutes on the most pothole ridden road past Tambor to the Tango Mar. Flying into Liberia might be the way to go. We were exhausted after our journey, but relaxed almost immediately once we turned onto the road into the property. It is a beautifully landscaped and well maintained bit of paradise. We immediately all agreed to just stay put for the next 4 days. We were greeted so graciously by the front desk staff (Javier and Hilde the owner), left our car parked out front, and joined the other guests for a Christmas Day supper in the beautiful oceanfront open air restaurant. Our room was spacious and well appointed with good a/c and had a lovely balcony looking out on the charming palm fringed beach. We particularly enjoyed the multitude of hammocks strung between all the palms. We lay in the shade for hours reading our books, listening to the surf, and looking at the ocean. We enjoyed the oceanside pool with the swim up bar. (I wish the bartender could have taken a break from the incessant Latin music that blared a little too loudly for my taste). We enjoyed lunch at the poolside restaurant; the fresh fish and the roasted chicken with guacamole, pico de gallo, and tortillas were particularly yummy. The ocean was challenging; I had to carefully pick which waves to boogie board or else I would get slammed. My daughter and I were more successful bobbing over the waves without any boards. The beach was a lovely sandy beach with rock outcroppings at either end, making for a lovely walk. We were so lazy we never made it to the waterfall or the lookout viewpoint at either end of the beach! The breakfast was included and was a revelation of fresh tropical fruit, local cuisine like rice and beans, cassava croquettes, and fried plantains, and made to order omelets and Belgian waffles (Hilde the owner is Belgian). Dinner was ordinary except for the exceptional Caesar salad that was made at your table. (I ordered one every night and added grilled shrimp on the last night and made it my meal). But we did not come to eat; we came to relax and get away from it all in balmy weather on a perfect beach. Hilde has a great local staff and a beautiful property. If you don't need a late night scene to have a good vacation, you will be happy here. Tango Mar was a wonderful way to decompress from work and school before we headed off on an adventure travel cruise down the Pacific coast of Costa Rica through the Panama Canal.

Tango Mar is a beautiful resort - clean, well managed, and well staffed. My husband, daughter (3 and a half), and I visited during the week of Dec 22, 2012. Every single individual on staff always greeted us with a smile. Junior at the swim up bar was amazing! He kept us laughing all the time and our daughter loved him. He made amazing drinks! I also want to make special mention fo the chef, Eliuth Chiaves, who made us special vegetarian meals each night that we were there. The food he made was absolutely delicious and he made something new for us each day. Thank you, Eliuth! We also loved Dorrial and all the waiters at the restaurant. They took such great care of our daughter. I highly, highly recommend this resort. It is a stunning piece of property and the perfect place to go to relax, re-energize, and rejuvenate. Thank you to all at the resort for making our stay so memorable.

Jessy (reception), Dori, Royland, Jesus, Eduardo (restaurant) and Andres (bartender) made our stay outstanding! The owner also is always concerned by making everyones stay perfect! The food is marvelous, everything except the desserts. The only one we liked was the creme brulee. The rooms are fine, i expected more. We stayed at the Tropical Suites which were very far from the pool, restaurant and lobby so once we left in the morning we took everything to avoid coming back during the day. The beach is amazing, though I think they should provide more chairs and maybe food and beverage service. The hammocks zone is amazing to spend the afternoon and enjoy the sunset!

My wife and I spent 5 nights at Tango Mar over Christmas. The grounds are beautiful and the staff is extremely friendly and helpful. We had a beach front room which is a pretty standard hotel room, but with an amazing view. It’s a little overpriced during high-season, but most nice places in Costa Rica are that way. The location is pretty well secluded and unlike other beach resorts in places like Cancun where you’re surrounded by a million other tourists. The pool is small, but nice and comes with a great view of the ocean. The water is pretty rough here, so most people stuck to the pool. Other than a day trip to Mal Pais and Santa Teresa, we spent each day lounging by the pool, on the beach, and at the bar. It was extremely relaxing and definitely what we were looking for.

While the food is better than the average beach resort, it definitely isn’t great. We had the lobster and a filet mignon on Christmas eve and couldn’t have been more disappointed. For $25, we got a little bit of tail meat cooked and placed into a lobster shell and no claws. It was an odd presentation and we learned from then on to keep it simple here. Stick to the cheaper basic stuff and you’ll be fine. The breakfast was complementary and was pretty good. It included lots of fresh fruit and typical Costa Rican food as well as an omelet station.

The owner, Hilde, is very friendly and is always around chatting up the guests and making sure everyone is having a good time. A lot of the beach resort style hotels have a corporate feel so this is a nice touch. A lot of the staff is there all day everyday and they are very friendly. The two bartenders, Junior and Javier, are fantastic. They make great drinks and are a lot of fun.

We were feeling adventurous on our way to Tango Mar so we decided to skip the ferry and drive around the Gulf of Nicoya. The trip overall wasn’t too bad, but there is a long stretch (about 30km) between Playa Naranja and Paquera that is an unpaved mess of rocky dirt roads that twist through the mountains. Without a GPS, we would’ve gotten lost for sure. The drive is fun, but be prepared for the dirt roads and definitely use a GPS! On the way out we took the ferry which was really easy and actually pretty cheap ($25 for two passengers and the car).