I booked this hotel from RCI as a Wydham owner, but I realized I made a mistake after the front desk staff told me it only costs about $70 US a night to stay there! Oh well...

Before our trip, there were only 4 reviews of this hotel, and 3 were not positive. We were pleasantly surprised. My husband and I visited Costa Rica for 8 days and we stayed in this hotel 4 nights out of the 8, since we traveled all over the country.

The Pros:
-Excellent and tasty food at the restaurant (we did not try the sushi, but everything else was excellent, including the cocktails, you must try their Pina Coladas!
-Though we didn't swim in the pool, it is a large pool and well maintained.
-The property is not located in a tourist area and so we observed many locals attend meetings there and use the gym, casino, other facilities.
-The hotel is well maintained, and clean and our rooms were also very clean, albeit the tiny ants in the bathroom, but they can't be helped.
-While I'm on the ant subject, do not drop any food crumbs on the floor, table, or else they will be all over it!!!
-had I known they had a newer wing, I would have requested it, so make sure you do.
- we stayed in room #220 overlooking the courtyard. A/c worked just fine.
- the only night we heard noice was Thursday night, Karaoke night, but we were so exhausted from our travels, they didn't bother us. The noise wasn't too loud anyway.
-Everyone was very nice to us, and spoke English! and Juan (the RCI guy) didnt try to sell us anything, which we appreciated!!
-General location is near gas stations, lots of local places to eat, do make sure you stop by a local panaderia and get some sweet bread con queso in the middle! Yummy!

Cons:
-The rooms,furniture, definitely need updating, but the beds, linens were comfortable. The pillows not so much, but we made do.
-The bathroom is definitely in need of updating, I'd say that was the worst part of the room, there was mold on the ceiling, and our toilet did clog once, but they fixed it right away, so no major plumbing problems.
-The lighting around the property is also not the best. Not very much lighting in, around the pool, public areas...
-Lighting in the room also not the best.

Overall, I'd say we had a nice time in the hotel, we ate dinner a couple times, and had breakfast once in their restaurant, which is def. worth trying. I will say that if you are an RCI member, or Wydham owner, it is not worth it to do an exchange, better off paying cash. It's affordable. Save your points for a nicer property!

Hotel del Sur is a large hotel on the PanAm highway. It has a great pool --the largest we saw of any hotel pool and it's well-maintained. It's also well-used as the complex also includes a country club for local people which provides some interesting people-watching.

Our room was in the newer wing and was clean, modern and well-designed. Very comfortable beds and sheets. We were on the end of a wing so had a very quiet view over a rear yard. Other rooms overlook a courtyard and might be noisier. It was only noisy one night for us when there was an outdoor karoake party by the pool but staff had offered to move us earlier that day in anticipation of the noise and it was our choice to stay put and hum along.

The service was consistently excellent and several staff spoke English well.

The restaurant is good and we ventured to try the Japanese menu there one night which was very good, albeit unusual!

The parking is on-site with a large parking lot with 24 hour security.

Horrible experience, We where in room #105. The room smelled of mold. Mold was visable in bathroom. Had to use the lobby toilet as ours didn't flush. The staff all seemed aware of the issues and encouraged use to write a review. We asked Pablo at the front desk for a different room. He said we would have to pay $10 or $15 dollars to move as they didn't have any other standard rooms. Although the place looked empty. This problem was handled very unprofessionally, any other hotel would have resolved this immediatly. It seems that the management takes for granted that people will come reguardless of the conditions, Not Us.

Our hopes were modest...this was the only RCI-associated hotel with rooms available in Costa Rica the week we needed them. Instead, we're happy with the hotel and its amenities, and REALLY pleased with what we found there.

The food was excellent and prices very reasonable. The corvina and the fried calamari were exceptional...pass on the french fries and get mashed potatoes.

The rooms were oldish but large and comfortable, and the wi-fi and tv actually worked unfailingly...no small accomplishment in Costa Rica. The bathroom plumbing was sluggish, but we coped easily. The pool was large and clean and attractive, and there's a good hot tub. There's also a tennis court and a casino - not our things.

The staff was helpful and friendly, with a few pretty good English speakers. I believe that the hotel is a training site for students in the hospitality.

On the downside...NO SIGNAGE. We got lost driving at night, although the hotel is right off the main highway. Also, they had no record of our existence in their computer. Fortunately we had the confirmation email in ours. Same thing happened to the other family checking in at the same time. They need to fix that. Also, it's LOUD some nights...karaoke loud. Didn't bother us a lot, but we live here in Costa Rica and live with loud music and barking dogs:)

All in all, we had a great time, and would come back in preference to the other (beach) options available with RCI. Lots to do nearby...tropical rainforest stuff, beaches, riding, etc. Attractive grounds and play equipment for children, too.