Sandos Papagayo Beach Resort

This is our second visit to Sandos Papagayo and the hotel, location and surrounding areas are all outstanding. We were worried we would not make it this year with the global pandemic so feel very lucky to have escaped for 2 weeks in the sun. Not surprisingly the hotel is not the same as last year - there were hardly any guests and the hotel had only been open for a few days prior to our arrival. The staff have worked incredibly hard in what must be the most difficult circumstances. Most of the other hotels in the resort were closed as were many of the bars and shops. The plus side of this is that we almost had the place to ourselves which made for a very relaxing stay. We got to know most of the other guests and the entertainment team (Odonis and Pedro) were fantastic to make everyone welcome. They ran all the daytime activities and got people involved and then either supported or led the evening entertainment. I never heard any staff complain so thank you for giving us a fantastic holiday. Differences this year meant you had to wear a mask at the bar and when getting food from the restaurant. There were hand sanitisers everywhere and the sports equipment was cleaned between guests. Everyone complied and we had a great time together. We had a couple of issues with our room and these were mostly sorted with the exception of the air conditioning which meant the room was not quite cold enough, especially at night. This wasn't the case last year and I've seen other reports this year so hopefully this will be fixed for when we next return. The fact that so many people return year after year proves how hard the staff work to maintain the hotel and provide a safe and enjoyable stay to all the guests. I sincerely hope that things can return to as near normal as soon as possible. Positives for me: Playa Blanca is the best location on the island. Great beaches, lots of bars and restaurants without being too busy or built up. There are great walks along the promenades or over the desert like terrain to the coves of Papagayo. Swim in the sea or hire snorkels or kayaks/paddle boards. The weather is hot all year round :-) The location of the hotel is on the edge of the resort so doesn't feel too crowded and you have the option of either walking into the town or to the nearby excellent beaches. Hotel facilities and staff are excellent and worth the 4*. The hotel was kept spotlessly clean. Some negatives: Maintenance issues this year, especially the air conditioning. Quite a few broken tiles around the pool. I expect having just emerged from lockdown these would have been attended to, but just need more time. Food in the restaurant was repetitive and limited. OVERALL - the staff deserve a BIG THANK YOU for their efforts this year and I would recommend this hotel for anyone. We will certainly be back.

I spent 5 days at Sandos and what a lovely hotel! Good location (beach at your doorstep), good food, friendly people..very good value for money. It's about 2km from town but tbh that's exactly what I wanted. Should you want to go to town, there's a shuttle bus. Special shout out to Elena and Damian from the Rubicon diving. Folks if you want to try scuba diving, kayaking, these guys will ensure you have beautiful memories. Highly recommended.

The hotel had only recently reopened after corona virus and it was great. Very organised systems in place to stop the spread of the virus - hand sanitiser stations everywhere, masks to be worn while walking through the restaurant & bar and staff serving food for you. The resort felt pretty empty which was so nice as it meant the sunbeds were all spread out (no need to save beds as always plenty free), pools werent busy and queues for bars never too long! Only the pool bar and canary bar were open, but this wasnt an issue at all as the evening entertainment was always by the pool bar so we wouldn't have used other bars anyway. The canary bar does great cocktails. The restaurant had less sections open but there was always loads of choice - always 2 types of fish, 3 meat, lots of salads, pastas, pizzas etc. Some evenings they also had an Asian and Mexican section open which was great. The desserts were always delicious and there was always plenty of ice cream and fruit as well. The snack bar was great as not only could you get pizza and crepes etc in between meals, but also toasties and soup etc throughout the night (great when you want a drunk snack). The room was spotlessly clean and really nicely done out. All the staff were very friendly and attentive. The entertainment staff did a great job of holding archery/shooting tournaments and getting everyone involved. We loved the bar man at the pool bar who would always wait for us to say stop when he was pouring our drinks - he always made them extra strong!! The nearby beach is definitely worth a visit - theres a free shuttle bus from the hotel entrance but you can also walk there along the path parallel to the beach (this took us around 40 mins). Lots to do here like minigolf, gym, spa, daytime activities! Would definitely come back.