"We had a lovely time at Papagayo Golden Palms! We were lucky enough to stay there at a time where it wasn’t very busy, maybe 20-35 people total, so we had our pick of pool loungers, restaurant tables and so on! Pure magic!
The property itself is absolutely gorgeous, the landscaping, the pool and the beachfront is wonderful. The rooms are a little dated but the bed was super comfortable and it had everything we needed.
The beach has a few rocks here and there, nothing too bad, but water shoes are a good idea. When the tide is out, if you walk along the beach to the right, there’s a restaurant called Eco Camping Papagayo, it had a delicious burger.
The hotel restaurant is wonderful, the food there is REALLY good, the included breakfast is also exceptional. The only note we had is that it is expensive. Cocktails are 15 USD, which for a Canadian ends up being more like $21, and a large bottle of water is $10 USD. So if you have most of your meals there, it really adds up. That is really the main reason for the 4 stars instead of 5. However, we recommend taking an uber into town (if you didn’t rent a car) and buying bottled water, snacks and alcohol there to bring back with you.
Lastly - the staff, wow are they amazing, so kind, so personable, you really get to know all of them. Daniela was our concierge and she was so helpful and friendly at every step of our vacation. Sergio, Roland, Melanie and the rest of the restaurant staff made all the difference.
We will be back!"