This was our 6th trip to Costa Rica, and our stay at Buganvillea Resort was meant to be a relaxing end of a busy week after my husband completed the very difficult mountain bike race "La Ruta de los Conquistadores". We had stayed at a wonderful mix of eccentric hotels and B & B's across the country and this last stop was meant to be a time of quiet recuperation.
The room was a huge disappointment. We were initially given a room that overlooked a lovely forested area. However, the room was so small it barely fit the bed and we couldn't envision spending 3 nights there. We were able to get a larger room that was adjacent to the pool area. While the room was larger, the standing portable AC unit did not work to cool the room down. Cross-ventilation was not possible either, because there was only a screen door to a back walkway, and no other windows. The bed was VERY uncomfortable, and the pillows were thin and lumpy.
There were no places to really sit in the room, and we didn’t want to anyway since it was dark, unwelcoming and felt like being in a cave. Instead we used the sitting areas around the pool. These sofas and chairs look lovely, but were very uncomfortable and the ashtrays always seemed to be dirty. The one nice feature of the hotel was the pool. It is a partially covered pool, clean and relaxing.
The other big disappointment for us was the fact that there was no restaurant on the property, although there is a menu in their book, which was very misleading. It appeared that we could have had a private dinner if we had made arrangements in advance, but since no one had informed us of this, we were out the luck (the management was rather indifferent on the subject – in fact, they were indifferent in general). We were directed to a small “soda” (eatery) down the hill, but they were not serving food that evening. We were able to find a so-so Italian restaurant on the main road. Since we had no car, we were not looking forward to 3 days of constantly figuring out how to get a meal.
Breakfast was included, but was nothing special - a basic continental breakfast with toast, cereal and some fruit, and some cheese and meat. There was a pan of very dry looking eggs that I didn’t try.
We could not wait to leave. In the morning, we were online with TripAdvisor to find alternative accommodations. We called Hotel Banana Azul, north of Puerto Viejo. Although they had no rooms, they did have a rental home available for the next 2 nights and we would have access to all the hotel facilities and the restaurant. It turned out to be a great choice, which I will review separately.
We did not attempt to discuss a refund of the two nights we did not use with the management. Instead, we waited until we left and brought it up with the travel agent who booked our trip. I haven’t decided who to be more disappointed in – the Buganvillea Resort for refusing us a refund – or the travel agent for blaming me, since I chose the hotel he recommended (after all – he did give me three recommendations from which to choose.)
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