ryoung08

I am reaching out to all of my FlyerTalk friends to see if anyone would suggest one of the three hotels as being much nicer than the other two. All three rate well on Trip Advisor. I am looking to travel to Costa Rica next year after I cash in 330 to 360k Marriott points for one the Travel Packages (Hotel & Air) which will give me a week hotel stay at a category 7 or 8 hotel. I am looking at;

#1 JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa

#2 Hotel Punta Islita, Autograph CollectionŽ

#3 Los Suenos Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort

I am not a golfer, so a gold course doesn't do anything for me. I would like to kayak, zip line, snorkel / scuba dive, hike and be lazy by a nice pool. The wife is all about shopping and laying by the pool. I would also be looking for a hotel that has off hotel restaurants. I can't see paying hotel prices for meals when local places offer better food at a lower cost.

ehallison

Did you search? I found several recent (2014) threads about the different Costa Rica properties.

sarge62

I cannot speak to 2 or 3, but I can tell you we stayed at the JW (2 adults 3 kids under 10) for 8 nights over Christmas last year and loved it. Absolutely beautiful hotel. Beach is small, but literally 5 minute walk around a small bluff to a huge and empty beach out of some kind of post card. The only thing on this beach is a small beach club (which you can use for free if you're staying at the JW), but they run surf lessons from there which our kids loved.

The JW pool is fantastic.

One negative is the food prices. Very expensive. But not unexpected.

ryoung08

I was actually looking for anyone's opinion who has been to two or all three of these hotels, not just one of them. This will give me a beter feel for which hotel stands out above the others.

SkiAdcock

True, but in lieu of that you might want to read the threads re: the 3 properties as some of the trip reports are quite detailed.

Cheers.

kcaluwae

If any of them has a gold course I would be interested.

tatmtr7

Have stayed at 1 and 3. Both our lovely but prefer 3 as the resort is closer to town and small marina. We took a snorkel cruise, zip lined and enjoyed our stay. Can't go wrong with either. Know nothing about 2 but have also stayed at San Jose Marriott which was beautiful.

NorCalTingo

#1 will be the best for diving and snorkeling, and there are some good options off-site. There is none of this near #2 (they will offer diving, but it's not very good). None of either near #3.

#2 is very isolated. The only thing you can do around there is on the resort grounds. The coast there is a bit rugged, and beautiful. All of the beaches are quiet, and you may have it all to yourselves, as was the case for my wife and I. This location is the most difficult to get to, 1+ hour on curvy little roads.

#3 is more centrally-located for various tours around that part of CR. The beach there is okay, but not great. You can drive down to Manuel Antonio for a beautiful beach and bodyboarding or learning to surf.

Midwestgirl22

We stayed at #1 and #3.

We loved #1, the JW, just wrote a review about it on another thread.

Was not a fan of #3, but I think it was just a let down compared to the JW. The resort was nice and seemed to be located near lots of stuff to do.

I unfortunately do not have any input on #2.

If you are flying in/out of Liberia, go for the #1 JW. You can plan ziplining and snorkeling trips. Lots to do in Tamarindo and Guanacaste area.

If you are flying in/out of San Jose, do #3 and stay near Jaco. We only stayed there 2 nights but like I said it seemed to be near lots of stuff to do, the hotel just wasn't as nice.





#1 JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa

#2 Hotel Punta Islita, Autograph CollectionŽ

#3 Los Suenos Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort