With the exception that our first room was right outside the theater facility (too loud) we had a great time. They moved us the next day. The beach is the best part, although the pool area is also very nice.

The beach area is non typical for an "all inclusive" in that it is shared with a public beach, which is part of a national park. There was no nighttime access to the beach which was a bit of a bummer, but there was evidence that turtles had come up and laid eggs when you walked well up the beach. The beach is at the ocean connection to a nice tidal estuary, in our opinion that just added to the location but for some crossing the connection could be an issue. There is strong / moderate flow at peak and ebb and flood of the tides.

The staff was almost always helpful.

The kayaks were not available (despite the brochure) as the were out for "repair" but in the 7 nights we were there, no attempt to service them or make them available was apparent.

The food was typical for an all inclusive. Plenty of choice - food was never exceptional but never horrible either.

The area is beautiful. The property is on the beach, but it's rocky out front, sandy nearby. The pool is great, but could be bigger. Food is good, some local, some international. Unfortunately they run out of some good dishes by the middle of service time.The food is a little repetitive, after a week one has tasted all! The rooms, I stayed in a new and an old room, are ok, a little bare. Service is spotty(except in the dining/bar area): Even at the front not everyone speaks an other language but Spanish and it took sometimes days for the floor to be cleaned. Where the hotel fails is in MAINTENANCE! In 3 days nobody could fix the air conditioner; in one week no new screen sliding door could be provided; in the first room the sink drain was partially plugged, in the second there was no drain plug and no solution for either one; while we were at the hotel, an overhead fan fell, while rotating, on a guest, injuring the person. The fan had been attached to the ceiling with a thin cable!!

Travelled from Toronto using Nolitours from Jan. 16 to Jan. 23 2012. Liberia airport is brand new and operated very smoothly, no hold ups, but we did land in the evening. Currencey exchange available but not required if you have US $.
Trip to Barcello took about 90 minutes, one stop at the Weston, long winding roads with max speed of 50-60 kmh.
Check in was smooth, had standard room booked, may have been upgraded? our room was in the 5000 block central location. Its a small resort so not to far from everything. Room was great with a loft bedroom and all the regular stuff, smelt fine AC worked great.
Food was ok but repetitive as everyone has said. No vegetables to be found on most days. Fruit limited to Pineapple and melons. Snack bar served anything they could deep fry. Entertainment boring, if you go one night you've seen it all.
Nice gardens, clean, pool great lots of chairs. Beach was different and was expecting that. We went looking for some adventure, something different and it was that. Some monkeys around as well as Iguanas strolling around the pool area. No colourfull birds around.

Went zip lining in the dry forest, lots of fun and fairly close to the resort, did the combo tour of the river trip and pottery, very nice but went on a bit long and a little too much detail for me. Cattamaran tour was nice as it always is.

Drinks were awfull with a few exceptions, no fancy banana drinks or that type of thing. Brand name drinks are available at a price. This was not a big deal, Imperial beer is great.

Tamarindo worth a visit, very touristy, expensive but worth seeing, nice beach here.

For a restaraunt in town try EL PESQUEDOR, excellent food, service and prices. right on the beach at the end of the main road. can not stress how good the sefood and steaks are at this place.

Best thing about this resort is the location, like nothing I have seen before. close to town.
Worst thing is also the location, takes 3 to 4 hours to go on most excursions and if you are looking for the typical white sand and clear green ocean this is not it,
All in All a good vacation but not as exotic as I thought it would be.

This was our first time to Costa Rica and with a group of 20 to boot!! We stayed from Jan. 9th to Jan 16th.Every person in our group had their expectations exceeded, especially considering the all around reasonable price of the all inclusive resort combined with the services and amenities and proximity to Tamarindo. The resort was full but never too busy as the grounds are nicely spread out with beautiful landscaping. The pool was always available and never too crowded. The beach is rocky but this gives it character and it is a short walk to an area where swimming is readily available. The walk to Tamarindo on the beach is also quite nice or just take the $5 cab ride into town.
Our expecations were not high in regards to the food and drink considering some of the negative reviews, but we were pleasantly surprised by both. Let me say, there were a few dishes and sweet alcoholic drinks that did not suit my taste but there was so much choice, it was easy to find good food and drink. Breakfast was especially good with fresh omlettes availble every morning. There was always scrambled eggs and French toast to just mention a few of the dishes. There was a different theme for dinner each night giving the buffet variety. Make sure you have an Al la carte booking(for your one time allowance) and if not, take care of that right away as the restaraunt fills up. The snacks by the pool bar were great also and that is where I ended up eating lunch everyday. I could of lived off the nachos alone. The chips used were very fresh tasting with a fresh salsa to go with them. Even the Imperial beer grew on us and why not when it is served fresh from the tap!
I really have nothing negative to say about the resort. The staff was friendly, service was good. We did have some of the rooms with a very slight musty smell(this happens in a tropical climate) and some in our group were close to the disco, but none of this posed any problem for our guests and not a single person moved to a different room. In fact, with the 4 hotels my wife and I stayed in during our trip to Costa Rica, the rooms were right at the top in size, value and comfort. We stayed in the master suite which was phenomonal! We had 3 direction views from north, West and south making for excellent sunsets right from our balcony. The room is a two level room, nice and large!!
A few in our group travel all over the tropics and mentioned this was their favorite place to stay. If you are a really picky person and looking for complete luxury with exquisite meals and Ritz Carlton service, this hotel is probably not for you. If you are looking for a small to medium resort atmoshephere, great location, an all inclusive that is reasonbly priced with decent food and drinks, you will likely be pleasantly surprised. This hotel is great for families, couples, etc. If you take excursions, the companies come right to the lobby to pick you up. We did many from this hotel including Palo Verde, Rincon de la Vieja, Canopy monkey jungle, Banana surf lessons, Hibiscus catamaran. We had so much fun and we are already planning a return trip!
Pura Vida!