Just wrapped up a week here. This was our second time at this resort, and there are some notable changes from our first visit a few years back. Even during rainy season the resort was busy - there were multiple wedding during our time there, and occupancy was around 75% according to the front desk.

I applied a TSU and got a standard Andaz Suite on the ground floor, but being up on a hill, still had nice ocean views. The room was large with plenty of room for two roll-aways in the living room. Plenty of non-alcoholic drinks and snacks were provided and replenished daily (although the snacks were somewhat "hidden" in the console housing the mini-fridge). Two bathrooms - a full one in the bedroom and a powder room by the entry. The shower was a pain as the floor was not properly sloped and kept flooding the entire bathroom, but other than that, very happy with the room.

- Andaz Residences construction is in full swing - the crews are jackhammering away from 8-5 every workday. The construction site is adjacent to buildings 1, 2, and 3. We were in building 4 and were spared most of the construction noise. Would definitely recommend requesting building 4 until the construction is done.
- We have only eaten at Rio Bhongo and Chao Pescao, as well as ordered room service, so cannot comment on Ostra, but we felt the only worthwhile food on property was at Chao Pescao, where the menu is fairly creative, and food and drinks are tasty. Room service was borderline inedible, although delivered on real plates, and not in take out boxes. Dive Bar is also still at the Marina, but seems they no longer have happy hour specials. Recommend their nachos and spicy margaritas.
- The breakfast for Globalists is served at Rio Bhongo, and everything (except alcohol) is included. We have never seen a bill - as soon as they check the room number, they would know to comp it. The buffet while fairly expansive, was exactly the same every day, and got boring quickly. Omelettes and other basic items (pancakes, waffles, etc) are included with the buffet, but have to be ordered at the table. The timing on these orders varied wildly - on several occasions, it took a very long time to get ordered items or specialty coffee.
- Coffee... I have to say, they sure do know their coffee here. Highly recommend taking the barista class with Luis, who is super knowledgeable and passionate about the craft. Try the chorreador coffee.
- Kids club - open for two sessions, 8-12 and 1-5. Technically kids can only attend one session per day, but they were bending the rules due to there being only a few kids at the resort.

We did venture off-property in search of better (and better priced) food, and can highly recommend Hacienda Blu - it's a beachfront restaurant/beach club about 30 min away by car. Absolutely delicious, great ambiance and service and very reasonably priced. You will be visited by violinist crabs as soon as it gets dark.

For car rental we went with Sixt this time, and were very happy with the service and the vehicle. They include the mandatory liability insurance in their prices, and did not push extra insurance. Returning the car was a breeze - they checked the fuel level and emailed the receipt.


Aerial view of the resort and the construction site.