Costa Rica With Kids (Part V): The Andaz Papagayo Final Thoughts

For Spring Break 2018, my family of four traveled to Costa Rica and spent one full week at the Andaz Papagayo. To read about why we chose Costa Rica with kids and booking logistics, visit Costa Rica With Kids (Part I): Why Costa Rica and Booking Logistics. For a detailed review of our experience at the Andaz Papagayo, visit Costa Rica With Kids (Part III): The Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Review (Accommodations, Concierge, Dining, Onda Spa, Cambi) & Costa Rice With Kids (Part IV): The Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Review (The Andaz Beach House, the Andaz Beach & Water Activities).

I want to say I loved our week long stay at the Andaz Papagayo, but I didn’t. We had a lovely time in the water and spending our days together as a family, but for a high end resort, the Andaz Papagayo simply fell short in many respects. Dining is the most blatantly obvious shortcoming, but there were also some other issues, in particular, lack of available water equipment and more guests than servers/Concierge could accommodate. As the resort currently stands, I simply cannot recommend it.

That said, there are two groups for whom the Andaz might be the perfect fit:

• If you are a Hyatt Globalist (the highest member status with Hyatt) with a significant points balance, it is possible to stay at the Andaz Papagayo for a steal. Rooms are 15,000 points per night and Globalist members receive free breakfast. In hindsight, many reviews of the Andaz Papagayo that I read prior to our trip were written by Hyatt Globalist members, which may well have softened the blow of the underwhelming dining options.
• The Andaz Papagayo offers free food for children 5 and under. At each turn, people inquired as to our kids’ ages so they could comp meals – including for room service. If you have children under 5, this can be an incredible money saver, especially if you couple it with Hyatt Globalist status and/or points redemption.
• Babymoon? The Andaz Papagayo can be a great spot for those looking for a baby moon destination (although Costa Rica is a zika risk area, so perhaps not). It’s only 30 minutes from Liberia Airport and it is a comfortable place to stay. With activities like strenuous hiking and ziplining likely out of the question, the Andaz Papagayo is the perfect spot for a couples getaway when expecting.

There are a few institutional improvements that must be made, however, before I can recommend it more broadly.

• Improve the availability of water sports equipment at both the Andaz Beach House and the beach.
• Improve the quality of food and drinks offerings at the resort. As I mentioned previously, I was so disappointed by our meals at Chao Pescao and Rio Bongo that we didn’t even bother trying to dine at Onda, the fine dining experience at the resort. Instead, we discovered The Dive Bar, which is located on the nearby Marina Papagayo. We ended up eating dinner at The Dive Bar three times in a row, because it was so much better than the food at the Andaz Papagayo. There is a free shuttle that runs from the resort to The Dive Bar on the top of every hour, so this is definitely something to consider if you are staying at the Andaz for more than a night or two. At one point, my husband and I joked that the Andaz should just hire the chef from The Dive Bar to cook at Rio Bongo.

Fish tacos @ The Dive Bar

Ceviche appetizer @ The Dive Bar

Note: The Marina Papagayo also has a small convenience store which carries shelf-stable milk (and $7 avocados, but who is counting?). We were thrilled to discover this, as securing adequate milk for our growing boys had been an issue. During our stay, the store was open from 7am – 4pm, so be sure to pop down early if you’re in need of some small convenience items.

The convenience store at the Papagayo Marina.

• During busy season, the resort needs to increase its service staff. Although we never felt crowded on the beach or at any of the dining facilities or even around the resort, service at the restaurants was slow and we received lukewarm coffee drinks on at least two occasions. On more occasions than I can count, we had to call the Concierge multiple times to get a response. My husband was also frustrated that it took numerous emails and phone calls to confirm their surfing lesson, which should have been more seamless given that tour operator was partnered with the Andaz and the cost of the class was added directly to our account.
• Although the resort may not have been intended to be a family destination, from the looks of things during our stay, families are flocking to the Andaz Papagayo. To accommodate families, the Andaz should offer more extended Cambi Kids’ Club hours, or at least change them from 8-4:30pm to 9-5:30pm so that parents can attend the Mixology Class (that finishes at 5) and/or stay at the Andaz Beach House until the last shuttle leaves just before 5pm. It would also be nice if the resort offered evening activities for families as once the sun goes down around 6:30pm, there isn’t much, if anything to do.

In addition to the institutional shortcomings and needed areas of improvement, the Andaz’s location on the Peninsula Papagayo eliminates it as a convenient landing spot for other destinations. It was a 1.5 hour drive from the resort to the Rincon de la Vieja and about an hour away from just about everything else we wanted to visit. And, there simply is nothing that you can walk to from the resort, so you would have to have a rental car or rely on the shuttle to get to The Dive Bar or the Four Seasons Resort.

Decorative wall marking the transition from the rooms to the spa/retreat area.

With respect to the resort’s location on the Papagayo Peninsula, my husband was initially disappointed as the bay is extremely calm such that there is no breeze, at all. I had done the resort research in advance so I knew this was the case, but if you’re expecting crashing waves, don’t visit the Andaz. I personally appreciated the calm waters as my kids were safe in the water and my husband noted, after his surf lesson, that being on the other side of the bay would have resulted in relentless sun exposure and heat.

massive stick bug on the way to lunch

All that being said, there are some things the resort did well. The Concierge was amazing, both in terms of communicating in advance and getting our requests put in, but also in terms of making sure that we had what we needed and that our arranged activities were properly scheduled (once we got a hold of them on the phone). The individual employees who worked at the resort were also incredibly nice and friendly. It quickly became apparent to the servers at the Rio Bongo that my preschooler does not eat much, if anything, and they went out of their way to inquire as to whether there was anything they could offer him. I also appreciated the free valet parking (which made renting a car a no brainer for our family of four) and, if kids’ clubs are your jam, Cambi is a great free option for those with children between ages 4-12. The resort also does a heck of a job of spraying for mosquitoes. I don’t recall getting any mosquito bites while on property, but we all got eaten alive during our dinners at The Dive Bar, just a 10 minute drive away.

Would I go back?

No. I wouldn’t go back to the Andaz Papagayo, although I am happy to have experienced it with my two kids, ages 4 and 8.5. The beaches were prefect for our two and we had a relaxing and easy experience for our first trip to Costa Rica. Although we did not arrange for zip lining or other activities through the Concierge (with the exception of the surf lessons), those are many options and other families who were staying at the resort did do so, with strong praise. To be fair, it is possible that my husband and I are simply not resort people. Would it surprise you to learn that we spent an entire week at the Andaz Papagayo without ever dipping a toe in any of the swimming pools? It surprised me to see the crowds of people lounging by the pool when the beach was literally right there. So perhaps we just aren’t resort people and this was a good lesson for future vacations.

Stay tuned for more on our trip to Costa Rica, including our visit to Rincon de la Vieja, our Easter Sunday open air mass, our service visit to Escuela Pacifica, and our day trip to Diamante Eco Adventure Park.