Upon Arrival, the rooms seemed run down. The window had been eaten out by termites and the toilet paper roll was broken. Concerns were addressed propmtly - Ana, who is truly amazing at following up checked with us regularly and could not have been of greater assistance. Unfortunately all but two nights there was no hot water by 6p.m. - the first two nights there were no other rooms available. They did provide a $ 50 certificate and a free night accommodation at any doubletree. Grounds and pools were quite lovely and we had a very nice outdoor patio with our room that was near the relaxation pool.
The ocean had a rather funky ( dirty/polluted) smell and the waves had bubbles that did not seem solely the result of frothy salt water. i would definitly stay on the outer west coast rather than return to this area, if for no other reason than the ocean water quality. Barcelo Playa Langosta where we stayed last year is a better option in my opinion very close to Tamarindo and interesting beach walks. We were quite pleased with the a la carte restaruants and the booking staff were very helpful as we were a large group.

The Doubletree Resort in Puntarenas is huge! On the surface, everything looks great. We stayed there as part of an inclusive package and this was our last stop before returning home.

On the positive side, the staff was friendly and accomodating. Check-in was efficient and our bags were quickly deliveried to our room. There are multiple swimming pools, bars, and restaurants. Wifi is available for a price. Overall, the food was good and the booze was included since this was an all inclusive package. However, the booze was cheap and not of very good quality (not surprising). The drinks were very weak and we quick learned to order "doubles" to make up for the bartender's short pours.

The resort is located on the bay and beach walks are easy and fun. Central Puntarenas is a 15 minute cab ride and exploring the town is enjoyable. During our visit, a cruise ship was in port so all the local vendors were selling their wares along the waterfront.

Now, lets talk about our room. They put us in a ground level room not very far from Reception. That was ok, but it was old and clearly in need of renovation. What was worse was the bathroom had a lot of mold along the ceiling and it had a very moldy smell! Not Good! On the positive side, we contacted Housekeeping and they quickly came in to clean it. Then, we had to live with the smell of bleach for several hours.

I always try to be objective in my reviews and the question is: Would I stay here again? Possibly, but doubtful. If so, I would certainly inspect the room before moving in! Also, these huge resorts are not really our cup of tea which of course, isn't their fault. If returning to Puntarenas, I would probably locate and choose a smaller, more quaint facility with fewer guests and a personal touch in room maintenance.

We just got back today from a week at the Doubletree Resort in Puntarenas, we had a great time. The staff works hard and are always pleasant. Our room in Building 3 was spacious, modern and clean. The food was above expectations. The bar staff and activities staff were also great. Swimming pools were clean and maintained. The local tour guru Dimas (everybody knows him) made our vacation outstanding. The hotel is in an area close to local attractions and areas of interest. This was a great vacation and we highly recommend this resort. Thank you Doubletree. For those of you who don't have anything good to say, too bad you take one small excuse to try and ruin the reputation of a great resort.

The website said this is suppose to be all inclusive - however if you call eating at the poorly stocked buffet every meal (which was only opened limited hours) and the other 2 "nice" places to eat,in which you had to have reservations and they acted like these were already booked. Some how they found availabilty and lets just say, I don't know which food was worse - the poorly stocked buffet or the 4 pieces of shrimp they gave you as a main course. Then lets talk about the drinks. VERY LIMITED. one house white and red wine. one beer. and limited coctails that had a dash of alcohol and so much sugar you would be sick if you drink to many. The place was clean - but not modern looking. But the air conditioning was terrrible - either it would run nonstop and you would freeze or it wasnt cooling the room enough, never a in between. Not enough shade at the pools or beaches. The staff was nice. It runs b/w $80-120 each way to /from the airport. Zipline excursion near the hotel was really good. We were told to go to the Island of Tortuga - DONT waste your money - it is like being at the lake in a limited space (you couldnt walk around the island without paying a guide and had a small area just to sit on a beach all day). I heard the volcanco further north was cool to see but right now it is inactive.