Rio Perdido, Costa Rica
Nov 1, 2023, 11:40 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2003
Programs: AA Plat Pro, United Silver, Marriott LTT, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,120
Rio Perdido, Costa Rica
I can’t believe there isn’t already a thread for this property. Flyertalkers have been missing out!
We had a 3 day stay here last week. The property grounds are simply amazing - a 1500 acre nature preserve. The architecture of the hotel is perfect for the setting. The reception and restaurant and spa are in a main building. All of the guest rooms are in individual cottages on loop paths nearby. They are practically hidden by the trees. None of the rooms are more than a 5-7 minute walk to the main building. It rained off & on while we were there - you could always get a golf cart to get to & from the main building.
They have miles of walking trails and mountain bike trails to explore the preserve. There’s a thermal river which is gorgeous (you can walk along it on a path) but I’d been spoiled by the gorgeous hot springs at Tabacon so I didn’t want to get in this river which had a muddy bottom.
The activities are reasonably priced compared to other resorts. You get a free guided hike and a free yoga class. (Yoga was great, the “guided” hike did not need a guide, the trail was well marked and we would have had more fun without the silent guide who didn’t have good English skills). My husband did the Canopy/zipline tour which was worth the $69 price. We took a barista class and a mixology class which were both fun and the staff were just so funny and personable. I chose to get a mani/pedi one afternoon - probably wouldn’t do that again because it was in an outdoor treatment room. I could see from the pool area that they had outdoor treatment rooms for massage but assumed I’d be in air conditioning for my mani/pedi. It was just a humid sweaty experience.
For the mountain biking, you can rent bikes or choose a guided adventure. I think they offer off-site tours also (saw someone leaving for one one morning).
The concierge emailed us about a week in advance with details for activities and had us all booked by the time we arrived.
There are 3 small pools. One is cool, and the other two hot/warm. One of the hot pools had a swim up bar where you could order drinks and snacks/lunch from 10AM-6PM.
The restaurant is fantastic. I think breakfast is included for all WoH members. It was a seated breakfast (no buffet) with fairly limited choices but we found something we liked each morning. They start you off with the fresh-squeezed juice of the day - one morning it was beet based, another passion fruit, the last day it was pineapple-carrot-ginger. Then a fruit plate and small pastry. Then whatever entree you’ve chosen. Of course coffee is included.
The dinner menu was terrific and so reasonably priced considering you are practically “trapped” at the resort for dinner - nothing closer than a 20 minute drive to the small town of La Fortuna de Bagaces on not-so-great roads in the dark. They had entrees as low as $11 (vegan tacos) on up to $30+. They have a standard menu with a good selection, plus a daily special. I wish I had taken photos of the dinner & breakfast menus to share - sorry! Quality was excellent and portion size was good.
The drinks were expensive resort-priced drinks but they were delicious and unique and strong. I found out at the mixology class that they make their own infusions and syrups.
OK, that’s all the great news about this resort but there is one drawback. They currently have 2 room types - East bungalows which are cheaper, and Center bungalows which are considered an upgrade. They are currently building the West bungalows - our room was pretty close to them but we were never disturbed by construction noise. We booked the cheaper East room but were upgraded (I don’t think the resort was full due to rainy season). If you look at the pics online, the upgraded Center bungalows look gorgeous, but it’s way more form over function. The rooms are completely painted black - the lighting is minimal - even with the curtains pulled back in broad daylight, the light is filtered through the rainforest, so the room is dark & depressing. The patio is not covered and was thus unusable to us during our rainy stay. The furniture is so minimalist as to make the use of the room really difficult - like where do you drop your keys etc when you come into the room? You have to walk past the “lounge” area which is a low sectional without enough pillows, past the bed, into a hallway with a desk that is mostly taken up with the coffee service. The bathroom similarly had no counter space (and insufficient light). The sink was a beautiful wide copper sink that I’d love to have in my home - but I’d put a counter around it! This was free-standing with maybe a 2” lip around it. Where do you put your toothbrush?! It was like the person who designed the room has never actually stayed in a hotel. (It reminds me of a thread on the Marriott page titled something like “the idiots who design Marriott rooms”). If you stay at Rio Perdido - and I recommend you do - I suggest booking the East Bungalow room and asking not to be upgraded. At least those rooms have a covered patio and they are not painted black.
Oh, the showers are outdoors which at first seems a little weird but it was fine. You walk past the (black) toilet to a door to a patio which is completely fenced in so as to be completely private.
There were some bugs - the lobby/restaurant/bar are all completely open air. We wore repellant but still got some bites. Not sure if that's seasonal.
As far as the location - it’s about an hour from LIR airport, 2.5 hours to Tabacon, and 90 minutes from the Andaz, so easy to split a stay among any of the resorts.
We had a 3 day stay here last week. The property grounds are simply amazing - a 1500 acre nature preserve. The architecture of the hotel is perfect for the setting. The reception and restaurant and spa are in a main building. All of the guest rooms are in individual cottages on loop paths nearby. They are practically hidden by the trees. None of the rooms are more than a 5-7 minute walk to the main building. It rained off & on while we were there - you could always get a golf cart to get to & from the main building.
They have miles of walking trails and mountain bike trails to explore the preserve. There’s a thermal river which is gorgeous (you can walk along it on a path) but I’d been spoiled by the gorgeous hot springs at Tabacon so I didn’t want to get in this river which had a muddy bottom.
The activities are reasonably priced compared to other resorts. You get a free guided hike and a free yoga class. (Yoga was great, the “guided” hike did not need a guide, the trail was well marked and we would have had more fun without the silent guide who didn’t have good English skills). My husband did the Canopy/zipline tour which was worth the $69 price. We took a barista class and a mixology class which were both fun and the staff were just so funny and personable. I chose to get a mani/pedi one afternoon - probably wouldn’t do that again because it was in an outdoor treatment room. I could see from the pool area that they had outdoor treatment rooms for massage but assumed I’d be in air conditioning for my mani/pedi. It was just a humid sweaty experience.
For the mountain biking, you can rent bikes or choose a guided adventure. I think they offer off-site tours also (saw someone leaving for one one morning).
The concierge emailed us about a week in advance with details for activities and had us all booked by the time we arrived.
There are 3 small pools. One is cool, and the other two hot/warm. One of the hot pools had a swim up bar where you could order drinks and snacks/lunch from 10AM-6PM.
The restaurant is fantastic. I think breakfast is included for all WoH members. It was a seated breakfast (no buffet) with fairly limited choices but we found something we liked each morning. They start you off with the fresh-squeezed juice of the day - one morning it was beet based, another passion fruit, the last day it was pineapple-carrot-ginger. Then a fruit plate and small pastry. Then whatever entree you’ve chosen. Of course coffee is included.
The dinner menu was terrific and so reasonably priced considering you are practically “trapped” at the resort for dinner - nothing closer than a 20 minute drive to the small town of La Fortuna de Bagaces on not-so-great roads in the dark. They had entrees as low as $11 (vegan tacos) on up to $30+. They have a standard menu with a good selection, plus a daily special. I wish I had taken photos of the dinner & breakfast menus to share - sorry! Quality was excellent and portion size was good.
The drinks were expensive resort-priced drinks but they were delicious and unique and strong. I found out at the mixology class that they make their own infusions and syrups.
OK, that’s all the great news about this resort but there is one drawback. They currently have 2 room types - East bungalows which are cheaper, and Center bungalows which are considered an upgrade. They are currently building the West bungalows - our room was pretty close to them but we were never disturbed by construction noise. We booked the cheaper East room but were upgraded (I don’t think the resort was full due to rainy season). If you look at the pics online, the upgraded Center bungalows look gorgeous, but it’s way more form over function. The rooms are completely painted black - the lighting is minimal - even with the curtains pulled back in broad daylight, the light is filtered through the rainforest, so the room is dark & depressing. The patio is not covered and was thus unusable to us during our rainy stay. The furniture is so minimalist as to make the use of the room really difficult - like where do you drop your keys etc when you come into the room? You have to walk past the “lounge” area which is a low sectional without enough pillows, past the bed, into a hallway with a desk that is mostly taken up with the coffee service. The bathroom similarly had no counter space (and insufficient light). The sink was a beautiful wide copper sink that I’d love to have in my home - but I’d put a counter around it! This was free-standing with maybe a 2” lip around it. Where do you put your toothbrush?! It was like the person who designed the room has never actually stayed in a hotel. (It reminds me of a thread on the Marriott page titled something like “the idiots who design Marriott rooms”). If you stay at Rio Perdido - and I recommend you do - I suggest booking the East Bungalow room and asking not to be upgraded. At least those rooms have a covered patio and they are not painted black.
Oh, the showers are outdoors which at first seems a little weird but it was fine. You walk past the (black) toilet to a door to a patio which is completely fenced in so as to be completely private.
There were some bugs - the lobby/restaurant/bar are all completely open air. We wore repellant but still got some bites. Not sure if that's seasonal.
As far as the location - it’s about an hour from LIR airport, 2.5 hours to Tabacon, and 90 minutes from the Andaz, so easy to split a stay among any of the resorts.
Nov 4, 2023, 10:47 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2007
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 5,459
Thanks for this review! Have you been to the Andaz, and if so, how does it compare? Planning a quick three- or four-night trip to Guanacaste. The current plan is to spend it all at the Andaz (have been eyeing that resort for many years), but I could be open to spending two nights at each or even spending all four at the Rio Perdido if it's that much better.
Nov 7, 2023, 12:47 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2003
Programs: AA Plat Pro, United Silver, Marriott LTT, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,120
Thanks for this review! Have you been to the Andaz, and if so, how does it compare? Planning a quick three- or four-night trip to Guanacaste. The current plan is to spend it all at the Andaz (have been eyeing that resort for many years), but I could be open to spending two nights at each or even spending all four at the Rio Perdido if it's that much better.
Nov 10, 2023, 12:47 am
#4
Join Date: May 2007
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 5,459
Thanks! Yeah, first time to CR. Upon your suggestion I'm leaning towards four nights at the Andaz, with one or two day trips--but multiple activities at Rio Perdido interest me (the ziplining/canyoning combo, mountain biking, and the thermal river/pools), so I will continue to be tempted to do two nights there followed by two nights at the Andaz.
Jan 14, 2024, 12:49 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 199
We've stayed at Tabacon before and absolutely loved it (the hot springs, that is). We're planning to head back to LIR sometime next year and wondering if Rio Perdido is worth it over Tabacon (save ourselves a 2.5hr drive). It sounds like the hot springs at Tabacon are unmatched, but that Rio Perdido may be more secluded with more activities? The rooms at both hotels look very average.
Jan 28, 2024, 3:58 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2003
Programs: AA Plat Pro, United Silver, Marriott LTT, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,120
We've stayed at Tabacon before and absolutely loved it (the hot springs, that is). We're planning to head back to LIR sometime next year and wondering if Rio Perdido is worth it over Tabacon (save ourselves a 2.5hr drive). It sounds like the hot springs at Tabacon are unmatched, but that Rio Perdido may be more secluded with more activities? The rooms at both hotels look very average.