I'll write a complete report later, but I wanted to give some quick information.

Here are some pictures: Costa Rica Doubletree Resort Pictures

This was an existing hotel that was renovated and changed into a Doubletree. Everything seems new (especially the rooms), although the architectural style gives away that it is an old hotel. I guess when this hotel was originally built, balconies weren't as popular as they are now, as only a few of the rooms have them, a majority of the rooms simply have large windows.


As a Gold Hhonors member, I received the following extras:

-Upgrade to a "1 QUEEN 2ROOM SUITE - POOLVIEW - PATIO" which was a similar layout to an Embassy Suites room, but seemed slightly more spacious. I was told that I could instead receive an Oceanview room with Balcony if I preferred that instead of the suite. I had booked the least expensive room, described simply as "1 KING BED OR 2 DOUBLE BEDS."
-Fruit plate and welcome letter.
-Gold wristband which meant premium liquor (Here's the list of what is considered Premium)
-A free dinner in 1 of the 2 specialty restaurants (there is an italian one and a seafood one)


The grounds are beautiful and well maintained. The hotel seemed almost brand new, everything was in perfect shape. The staff was great and exceptionally friendly, it reminded me of a cruise ship in that every employee stops to say "Hello" as you pass them.

The resort has 4 pools; 3 large freeform/lagoon style pools and a small "adults only/quiet" pool. There is lush tropical landscaping throughout.

There is a very large beach, however the ocean is very rough. The sand is grayish black (volcanic) and when this mixes with the surf it makes the ocean look really muddy/dirty. It was cool to sit there and watch the powerful ocean, but I never swam in it; I prefer looking at ocean to swimming in it (I live in Ft Lauderdale, and have been to the beach 100s of times, but can probably count the number of times I've gotten in the ocean here on 2 hands).

There is one main buffet, where Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner are served. The food was actually surprisingly fresh, and there are several chefs that cook food to order for you (Omelets and egg dishes during breakfast, Steaks and several entrees in the evening). There is a snack bar in the center of the pool area (open from 11-6 and again from 10pm to midnight), which serves Pizza, Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Nachos, and deli type salads.

There are also 2 table service specialty restaurants open for dinner only, 1 is Italian and the other is Seafood, everyone gets 1 free dinner when staying 3 nights or longer, HHonors Gold/Diamond receive an additional free dinner. We only ate at the Seafood restaurant "Caña Brava" which is open air and overlooks the beach, so quite a nice setting, here is a picture to give you an idea. We didn't eat in the Italian restaurant, but I can tell you that it is indoors and overlooks the pool.

Bars are located throughout the resort, and drinks are free at all of them. There is a menu with about 15-20 specialty cocktails (same at each bar) and the bartenders are happy to make anything else you'd like. I was impressed that everything is made to order, even tropical staples like Strawberry Daiquiri and Piña Colada are made by putting all the ingredients and ice in a blender, rather than just getting them out of a machine.

We rented a car and drove to the resort, and it was a 90 minute drive from SJO. The road is narrow and twisty, and you constantly have to pass slower moving trucks, but the road is in good shape/well paved, and while we had a Montero Sport, it could easily be driven in the smallest of vehicles. Its also simple to find the resort, you simply take Highway 1 to Highway 23 (there are even signs to direct you at this interchange that say "Doubletree Resort". If you are coming from LIR, the directions are actually the same, take Highway 1 to Highway 23.

This turned out longer than I planned, but I have a lot more to say and will probably write an even longer review when I have the time, but I wanted to get this up for now, as there really isn't much information on this hotel.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to ask any questions!