Occidental Grand Papagayo All Inclusive Resort

THIS IS NOT A RESORT. This is a motel that offers free meals (rated 7.2 out of 10 and I'm being generous bc I got mild food poisoningon Day 1 🦐), bottom shelf drinks (you can upgrade to premium for an additional $35 a day, but they still ran out of bottles 🍾). When we got to our room there were no towels to be found and it took several calls to housekeeping and reception before we received towels four hours after checking in. We never received any washcloths 🧼. There's (literally) NOTHING to do here and this place is isolated from everything, so be prepared to spend additional money 💰 on excursions and outings. They should offer walking tours of the property, a movie night, a gym 🏋🏽‍♀️, beach bungalows 🏖, bike rentals, themed mixers, etc. I came with a large group (15+ people), but our rooms are spread out all over the vast property! Some of our party are in Building #1 to Building #14, so our people are separated. With only ONE shuttle, we never see each other and have to plan strategically to hang out. Since we all reserved our trip together, we should have been housed near each other. I am in Building #14, waaayyyy on the farthest edge of the property and it takes 30+ minutes of walking to get to the nearest beach... which is public and has children. You may get an oceanview, but do not expect beachfront. The Good Stuff: my room was available when I checked in (this was not true for everyone in my group), the staff is friendly, landscaping is well maintained 🪴🌴🦎 and the dinner was tasty 🥑🌮🧉.

We arrived on Thursday 7/23. The room we were assigned had a very large and wide gap between the door and the frame. After a significant delay we were moved. The new room is perfect. If I ever stay again I’m asking for bldg 22. Most of the staff is top notch! Courteous, friendly, and professional. The buffet staff members are very accommodating with special diets (vegan specifically). The Spa OMGOSH Dana did a great job with my lymphatic message and Deborah did a great job on my daughter’s deep tissue massage. The shuttle drivers were excellent! They were extremely attentive, kind, fun loving, and took time to remember you! These are the reasons I gave an overall low rating: Outdated resort, rooms and decor, dark. The pools we describe them as Pensacola (retirees) but it has the walk up bar, very small, and it has the tiled loungers in the pool. The other pool we call it Miami due to size, jacuzzi, pool size games (chess, connect 4). The property is extremely inflexible with availing themselves to guests. You can only book a couple days in advance for a specialty restaurant. We looked up the restaurants and I knew I wanted Italian on 7/27, my birthday! I tried to book it on 7/23 when we arrived - no too soon. I tried Sunday before our excursion no rep was there. Came back around 5:30pm - oh it’s too late, close at 3pm. Went back this morning on my birthday - sorry it’s all booked! Of course it is! Highest level of pisstivity! The pool water at both look algae green. The thought that comes to mind is, “is it sanitary, it looks questionable to me.” For the cost I expected better. Like someone peed in them! Not enough activities in the evening for 60 and under. We stayed at Riu Palace Costa Rica for my birthday in 2022. Our travel agent asked us if we were sure, based on our accommodation history and travel habits. My daughter said, okay I’ll take the “L” for this one.

I'll start with the good - Karol, Sandra, and the rest of the hotel workers were very kind and made sure we had everything we needed for our stay. The shuttle service was also timely and helpful during hot week. Rooms were basic and. while it was fun seeing raccoons, a bat, and iguanas, it was a bit terrifying at night. The pools were nice, but could have been a little cleaner. But overall the location was nice and you could walk right down to the beach. Biggest reason I wouldn't stay here again was the food... just very bland. My wife is not a picky eater but had a hard time finding things she could enjoy. There was a hair in the eggs in the buffet (to be fair, things happen). But there were a lot of options for food and drinks. If you are looking for a place in a beautiful area, near the beach, and save a little bit of money, it's very solid. You get what you pay for.

Wife and I went for 5 days. We really enjoyed this place. The main buffet was good. Everyday there was a different style of food. The specialty restaurants were good too. Oriental was our favorite restaurant. Both pools were nice. The small pool by the beach had a swim up bar. They serve imperial beer on tap and the mix drinks are strong. They have shuttles that will take you all over the property because of how steep some of the hills are. At night there would be entertainment. Usually people playing music in the main lobby for you to enjoy. We had a rental car and the only issue we had the whole time we were there was finding a parking spot. All the employees there were very friendly and most can speak good English. Very quiet at night. Monkeys hang out by small pool with swim up bar which was fun to watch.