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Giardini di Papagayo is located on the Northwest Pacific coast of Costa Rica, in an area commonly referred to as Costa Rica’s Gold Coast. The majority of the rooms at Giardini di Papagayo have incredible ocean and sunset views as they are on gentle sloping hillsides on the shores of Culebra Bay, with direct frontage and access to Panama Beach.
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| Customer Reviews for Giardini Di Papagayo |
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Shira
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From: Canada
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4/29/2008
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Number of times you have visited this All Inclusive Resort?
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1
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How friendly were the employees?
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5 (very nice) Season
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Would you stay there again?
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Yes
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Languages spoken at Resort?
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Spanish, English
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How many times have you visited Costa Rica?
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1
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After reading mixed reviews for this hotel, I wasn't sure what to expect. It was my first time at an all-inclusive hotel and my plan to to take advantage of all Costa Rica had to offer regardless of the hotel. I never thought that this hotel would be amazing! The reviews fail to mention that it is nothing short of a nature's paradise! We saw more wildlife hanging out from the hotel than on jungle trips. There are howler monkeys that hang out in the nearby forests and many huge lizards roaming around. There are many different species of birds including parrots, vultures, crested blue jays, bentivis (portuguese), etc. There are costa rican raccoons called mapaches and the best part is the coral reef at its doorstep. We saw many different schools of fish of all the colours of the rainbow. Some of the guests saw marlins, sting rays, and jellyfish. We were so lucky to swim in phosphorescence. It was the first time that I had ever experienced this and it is really more amazing that words can express.
The hotel staff are amazing, friendly, and very accommodating. They really take care excellent care of the guests and go the extra mile to make sure that they are comfortable. Example: we asked permission to make a bonfire on the beach for our last night. Before you know it, there was someone chopping wood and arranging it on the beach. They told us to come back at 9pm! I was really impressed! The food is very delicious and fresh. There are always fruit, salads, fried plantain, lots of fish, meat, and vegetables to enjoy. While I overheard some guests complaining that the menu is repetitive, I am more than happy to eat delicious fresh salad, rice, fish, yuca, vegetables, soup, every day of the year. The coffee is amazing (not a huge surprise) but certainly an added bonus. The rooms are very comfortable and clean with a/c, tv, coffee maker, hair dryer.
The staff helped us organize a rental car for a good price. We were able to take it to see the Arenal volcano- which i highly recommend. Near the Arenal volcano there are fabulous hot springs, waterfalls, jungle trails and of course the volcano is breathtaking. We also went on an organized tour to Rincon del la Vieja, organized by the hotel. The tour was amazing, and our guide, Larry, was very knowledgeable and showed us lots of animals and volcanic mud pools, waterfalls, etc.
I would recommend this hotel for any fellow nature lover but not for the tourist seeking ultra luxury. However, there is a Four Seasons down the bay. Something to note is that the bar closes at 10 and it helps to have a rental car to go into town at night. There are no activities, which I thought was great, but some of the older guests would have liked that. I can easily entertain myself, especially with snorkeling gear at a coral reef, but if you can't this might not be the best place for you.
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N Susan
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From: United States
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3/7/2008
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Number of times you have visited this Hotel?
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1
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How friendly were the employees?
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5 (very nice) Season
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Would you stay there again?
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No
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Languages spoken at Hotel?
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Spanish
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How many times have you visited Costa Rica?
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1
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We have just returned from Giardini de Papagayo. Overall it is dirty and needs a lot of maintenance. The food is very monotonous. The shuttle service to and from your room (the resort if built on a hillside) is not always reliable. My husband is a semi invalid and we were told that there would not be a problem with getting him up or down the hillside. One morning, the shuttle did not start running until 8 am -- it is supposed to start at 6 AM. Several other times we had to wait 20 minutes or more.
The resort advertises plenty of hot water. We had "warm" water on the day we arrived (Feb. 26), then nothing but cold water for 5 days (we complained each day and got a promise that it would be fixed). On March 2, finally we had "hot" water, only to find out after we returned from our excursion on March 3 that the resort had no water at all.
We paid for a superior room. The room was small with a king size bed, 2 bed tables but only 1 had a lamp, and desk with a small refrigerator built in. Other than the desk chair, there were no other chairs. The bedspread looked dirty. I wonder what the standard room was like?
We had the all-inclusive package including all local soft drinks and alcohol. While we were there, they had no tequila, no marguarita mix, no bloody mary mix, and at times had no rum, no ginger ale -- to name just a few.
There seems to be no on-site manager. Only the staff who are wonderful people, but can only do what they have the authority to do, which is not much.
I would give this resort 2 stars at most.
Susan
nshkdh@aol.com
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Marilou
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From: Costa Rica
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6/10/2007
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Number of times you have visited this All Inclusive Resort?
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More than 5
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How friendly were the employees?
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2 Season
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Would you stay there again?
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No
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Languages spoken at Resort?
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Spanish
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How many times have you visited Costa Rica?
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More than 5
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I am a homeowner of one of the villas inside the Giardini de Papagayo Resort at Playa Panama, Costa Rica. Giardini Resort is operated by Grupo de Papagayo (also operators of El Nakuti Resort). Six villa owners to date (and several more villa owners whose contracts expire with Giardini in the next few months) have withdrawn their villas from the pool of units available for rent through the resort. This has been sparked by a long-running dispute over the extremely poor quality of maintenance and service provided by the hotel operator. Villa owners have refused to make payments to Giardini, retaining instead retaining outside concierge services, and in our case I can state that our remittances have been placed with our lawyer until such time as Giardini can provide basic services without interruption for more than a few weeks at a time. Our grievances are as simple as not being given permission for phone and cable TV service to objections over an employee caught breaking into our villa being retained. We have had dozens of disruptions in power and water (completely unrelated to the problems of ICE and AYA, the national providers), we have had our pools turn green and then dealt with black mould, we have no streetlights for months and the security people are more to be feared than trusted.
Why am I telling you all this, since surely this revelation will affect our property values? Because we are trying to stop the flow of negative publicity, and the more people who are sent to this resort in Costa Rica, the more people there are who return home to North America and Europe with negative stories about this country. Costa Rica is a fabulous vacation place. I strongly encourage anyone who loves the outdoors, the sun, the beautiful beaches, etc, to come to Costa Rica. But Giardini is a horror. Until the situation is resolved with the ICT and the current owners/operators are removed (which we hope will be soon), I would hope to end the bad publicity for our villas so that we might have a chance of a good season the year after next. I am tired of apologizing for the dirty mess of garbage, the unmowed lawns, the green pools and the hoards of mosquitoes from the stagnant reflecting pools. I am worn out explaining that there are none of the services that are advertised, no tours organized by the hotel, no excellent restaurants and very little nightlife. I am also discouraged to have to tell visitors that they need to be very cautious about their safety, not only from intruders to the property but from the employees of the resort themselves.
If people want to visit this part of Costa Rica this year coming, send them somewhere else. Hopefully for us, next season following will be better.
Thank You
Marilou Hall
Portland OR/ Toronto Canada
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Jennifer
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From: United States
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7/27/2006
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Number of times you have visited this All Inclusive Resort?
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1
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How friendly were the employees?
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5 (very nice) Season
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Would you stay there again?
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Yes
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Languages spoken at Resort?
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Spanish
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How many times have you visited Costa Rica?
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1
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BEAUTIFUL!!! Take the upgrade for your own private pool. Staff is EXTREMLY nice!!! Be prepared to eat authentic native cuisine! The rooms are beautiful, transportation is a;ways available and book TRANSTOURS for excursions. :)
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| North Pacific Coast (Tamarindo Area) Map |
Satellite Map of Giardini Di Papagayo |
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