Westin Playa Conchal Trip Report
Here it goes:
Reservation: I reserved a room in this resort using my points. I used 64500 points for three nights. The room type on the reservation confirmation email said 'Deluxe Junior Suite'. This is the standard room type in this resort.
Reaching There: My wife and I decided to land in san jose and drive from there, mostly to enjoy the scenic drive. We rented a 4x4 mid size suv from Avis in san jose with GPS.
Garmin GPS could not recognize when I searched for 'Westin Resort'. But it did recognize when I searched for 'Paradisus'. So, I guess, GPS maps need to be updated with the latest data. I reported this back to Avis.
The good thing is there are sign boards to Westin on the inter-american highway (aka Route 1) from about 120 kms from the destination.
When you reach the resort, you will see a big sign saying 'Reserva Conchal'. See the photo below:
Reception: We followed the sign boards and drove to the reception. But reception has been shifted to the Royal Beach Service building. This could just be a temporary shift. I am not sure about this. When we arrived, our car was taken by the valet and we were driven in the resort's vehicle to the new reception.
The mode of transport within the resort is a modified open air pick up truck. I actually felt like riding in a chariot while sitting in one of those.
At the reception, we were greeted by a receptionist and were given welcome drinks (passion fruit juice which is very good). She sat us at a table and explained the details about our stay, the details about the resort and what is included and what is not included in the 'All Inclusive' rate that I booked. She handed us bracelets to put around the wrists which signifies that you paid an 'All Inclusive' rate. See the picture of the bracelet below.
Our bracelet was gold in color. I also saw green colored bracelets on some guests. I am not sure what that color signifies.
Room Types: The room types are -
Deluxe Junior Suite
Royal Beach Room
Royal Beach Suite
I only saw the above three types while I was there.
SPG website also shows photos of another type:
Royal Beach Villa
Royal Beach Suite: The Royal beach club is adults only. There are two buildings as part of Royal Beach Club - K1 and K2. K1 is under renovation. So, all guests who booked a royal beach room were assigned to K2 building.
Being a platinum member, I was upgraded to a Royal Beach Suite. It was on the third floor (the highest floor) of the building.
There are two main differences between rooms on third floor vs rooms on first and second floor:
1. The rooms on third floor have combined balcony for living room and bedroom vs the balconies for rooms on first and second floor were split with a wall.
2. The other major difference is that there is a open air jacuzzi in the balcony of the rooms on third floor. The rooms on first and second floor don't have a jacuzzi in their balconies.
Our suite had 1 living room + 1 full bath and 1 bed room + 1 full bath. Living room had full set of furniture with two couches, set of coffee tables and a tv. Bed room had 1 king size bed , business table, side tables and 1 tv. The bath room attached to the bed room had 1 stand in shower and a separate bath rub. Rest room was also a separate room. All toileteries were standard Westin brand.
Jacuzzi: I will have to make a special mention of this. On one of the evenings while going for dinner, I asked the floor concierge to turn on the jacuzzi in our balcony. When we came back, we both were literally stunned. He not only filled it up but decorated it with flowers and had a bottle of champagne chilled in ice bucket with two champagne glasses. This totally blew our mind.
Pool: There are two pools in this resort. The main pool is open to all guests. I didn't go there. So, I don't have anything to write about it. The second pool is the one near the Royal Beach Club. This is adults only. I must say this is one of the biggest pools I have seen so far. The best feature of the pool was the swim up bar and under water stools. You can swim up to the bar and sit on those stools while you enjoy your drink. Drinks were unlimited as part of the 'All Inclusive' rate. Some people I met at the pool were hanging out at the bar for like 6-7 hours straight. Most of them were couples celebrating their honeymoon. The pool towel use is strictly controlled. When you borrow the towels at the pool, it is recorded and stricken off when you return them. This record is sent to the reception when you check out. So, be careful with the pool towels that you borrow and make sure you return them.
Guest Treatment: The guest treatment was top notch. I experienced it myself and also heard it from other guests staying at the resort. Each and everyone was recognized with their name by all the resort personnel.
As an added bonus of being a plat member, my name was put up on the notice board in the building I was staying.
Beach: By law, all beaches in Costa Rica are public beaches. But the conchal beach is only accessible through the westin resort, which kind of makes it a private beach for the resort. Beach is about 5 minute walk from the royal beach club building. Its very clean and white sands. You still have private vendors on the beach. It was a little cloudy the day we went to the beach.
We did 'Kayaking and Snorkeling Trip' offered by the resort and was included in the 'All Inclusive' rate.
I obtained a list of activities offered by the resort through the platinum concierge before the trip. So, I had an idea of what activities we were gonna do there.
Food: There are 4 restaurants within the resort. Mexican, Mediterranean, Asian and Italian. Only 2 out of 4 are open every day. This could just be temporary arrangement due to the off-season crowd. There is also a snack bar which is open from 11:00AM to 5:00PM.
During the three days we stayed, we ate at Mexican, Mediterranean and Italian restaurants. We didn't get a chance to go to the asian place. In terms of ratings, I would rate those three as follows:
Mexican - Best of the three I ate at. Dishes are small. It is best to order two dishes per person at this restaurant.
Italian - Above average
Mediterranean - Just average
Entertainment: Since it is difficult for the guests to go out without a vehicle, the resort does a good job of providing entertainment to its guests.They have an open air theater where either they have artists performing shows or a local live band performance every night. I would describe this as an open air lounge. They also have a bar here and 1 pool table.
Golf Course: I didn't play golf while I was there. So, I cannot comment on this part of the resort.
CONCLUSION: I would say this is one of the top level resorts of Starwood. Their facilities are top notch and their customer service is definitely one of the best I have seen.