We were very skeptical, due to alot of the reviews we read on here and we almost cancelled. Boy am I glad we didn't! If you are basically looking for a base where you can do alot of tours from them this isnt the place....yet. There are new tours opening up, but the all day tours are quite aways away from this resort and take at least 12 - 15 hrs to complete. There are several half-day tours that are reasonable, and it depends who you book thru as well. We booked several tours right on the beach with a very nice guy named Diego, he came thru big time for us and we got to do the tours with just our group of six mostly. He was very professional and we would highly recommend him. We did run into a problem when we booked a tour in the lobby with the guy in black and pink shirt he told us the tour would only run 3-4 hrs but it ended up being 5 hrs and we had booked a dinner by the beach we were nearly late for it and were not impressed that he didn't know how long his tours were!
The rooms are decent, cleaned well and our air conditioner worked fine for the 2 wks we were there although there were lots of complaints about other rooms. It does look like they are in the process of replacing them we saw at least one whole building with brand new ones. They also brought in a large amount of brand new poolside loungers while we were there so there are plenty now! We were surprised at how many complaints there were on trip advisor about the food, we found it to be delicious and there was a large variety to choose from and they changed it up several times. We were never bored with their selectiions. The ala carts were really good and the service everywhere was wonderful. We did have a favorite at the buffet his name was Jimmy and he took very good care of us and was alot of fun!!

This resort is definately not a four star, but is 3- 31/2. There were a few things that we had to work thru that were supposed to be in the room that came with our package, it does take a little time for them to get it arranged and delivered so be patient. All in all we had a wonderful time here and would not hesitate to go back or to recommend it to anyone. It is a huge bonus to have direct flights to this area now as well!! Kudos to the manager Norman who was a big help to the friends we were travelling with who had a few issues with air conditioners and such! He is awesome to deal with and has a great sense of humor!!

I recently spent three days at this resort at the end of a lovely trip around Costa Rica. This was the fourth hotel during the trip and by far the worst. Knowing that this was the least expensive all-inculsive in the area I was not expecting five star service, but this hotel does not meet even the minimum standards of a cheap motel. I booked this hotel to end my trip thinking some time relaxing at the beach would be wonderful after a week of hiking at Monteverde and Arenal. Unfortunately, I found this hotel more frustrating than relaxing.

I arrived to find that our request for adjoining rooms was not honored, (we were traveling with a relative who needs assistance) but this was rectified quickly and with minimal fuss. We immediately went down for dinner which was typical buffet for an all-inclusive. Some entrees were wonderful, others not to my liking. The vegetables were perfectly cooked and the fruit was incredible, however the desserts were awful. The server was surly, and refused to bring a diet soda until I parroted his "Coca-cola dietetica" which he repeated several times when I asked for "Coca light" as is typically used in Latin America. We tipped him well despite the unsolicited spanish lesson.

The next morning we arose to find we were completely without hot water. As we were headed to the pool, we called reception and were assured it would be repaired shortly. As we explored the resort more, it became obvious that this property had seen better days. It appeared that maintenance was being neglected and as such, the resort had many areas of rust, peeling paint, and patches of mildew. It was in general clean, though. The pool, being late morning by the time we arrived was sorely in need of cleaning. The majority of debris was from the trees surrounding the pool, however, near the entrances there were accumulations of scum caused by beverages dumped in the pool by patrons. While I saw workers cleaning the pool once during the day, this was not enough to control the mess. We also found that the bartenders at the swim up bar refused to serve anything but beer within thirty minutes of the bar's 5PM closing time unless the individual requesting the drink was wearing a teeny bikini.

We returned to our room to find that we were still without hot water. Upon calling reception again, an assistant manager, Augustin, was sent to our room to confirm that we did not have hot water. He returned a few minutes later with a maintenance man who also confirmed the lack of hot water. We showered in the adjoining room occupied by family members and headed to dinner. We ate that evening at the Italian restaurant. Our dinner started pleasantly, the salads were good, and everyone selected the filet mignon special recommended by the waiter. The filet was awful. The meat had not been trimmed and had lots of connective tissue present. The meat was also not cooked properly. My steak was so rare it was still cold. Needless to say, none of us ate our entrees, a fact that went unnoticed by the waiter.

Morning came, and we still were without hot water, another call to reception, another discussion with Augustin, and another promise it would be fixed immediately. Augustin offered an additional meal in the Italian restaurant, to which our entire group responded "NO" in unison. He asked if there was a problem there and we told him about the awful meal. We spent another day sunning by the pool and watching the monkeys playing in the trees around it. That afternoon we returned to find that there STILL was no hot water in our room.

While waiting for the shuttle we saw a group of people who appeared to be the hotel managers. We stopped them and asked for the name of the general manager of the hotel, one of them gave us his name, and pointed him out as he was near by. Mr. Santana also came to our room to verify, once again, that we had no hot water. He once again assured us it would be fixed immediately. We did not believe this, so the offered to change rooms. We were unable to change rooms as they only had one room available and this would cause problems for our travel companions. They gave us the second room anyway so that we could have a place to shower. Unfortunately we had to leave for the airport at 5 AM and were not able to use it.

Mr. Santana also offered a meal in the Italian restaurant, and when we again declined he arranged a "special" dinner for us there. This meal was the complete opposite of the meal the previous night. The meat was tender and well cooked, and accompanied by a bottle of champagne. It would appear that the restaurant is capable of making delicious food, but chooses not to.

The final morning of our stay, there was no water at all from the taps when we turned the hot water on. It seems they just stopped trying to fix the problem altogether. Finally at checkout, they were unable to produce the credit card imprint they took for incidentals. They claim it was sent to the travel agency we arranged the trip through, which makes no sense whatsoever.

All in all, this was not the relaxing end to the trip I had hoped it would be.

I just got back from Costa Rica after spending the first week of Feb. in Guanacaste province at the Allegro Papaguayo Resort. I had a wonderful time. The resort was clean and the people were very friendly. The food was good. An older establishment, it exceeded my expectations for a three star resort. Rent a car and use this as a base of operations to explore this area and enjoy the activities. The weather was sunny and hot every day.

I recently returned from our trip to Costa Rica between Feb 2nd-9th. I want to begin with the fact that from reading countless reviews I began to feel a little skeptical about this trip but in the end I had a fantastic holiday. I am so disgusted about how many different things people find to complain about. This resort is a 3 star, expect 3 star service. If you want an exceptional vacation then book the Five Season's or the Hilton. Me and my Mother on the other hand came with an open mind and in the end this Resort provided everything we needed to make our vacation wonderful. We had done our research prior to our vacation so we were not dissapointed upon arrival. The lobby was very nice and the view of the sunset and ocean were unbelievable. The rooms were very basic, although very clean. It's not like you spend much time in there anyway so we were satisfied and the beds were comfortable enough to sleep on. Air conditioning worked well and we had no problems with the toilet. The only minor problem we encountered was that we were unable to open the safe right away (costs $2/day) but the problem was resolved very quickly. We also had no bug problems in our room apart from tiny ants.

As mentioned in many reviews, the resort has many steep hills. Although, since we are fairly athletic we didn't mind walking occassionaly (not like some exercise will kill anyone) and there were shuttles who stop by very frequently who can bring you around the resort.

In previous reviews people mentioned how disgusted they were by the pool and said it was "filthy". These people really don't know what they're talking about because for the entire stay, we saw people cleaning the pool and power washing the cement around the pool on a regular basis. The employees were so kind and worked so hard to please everyone. Not only that but they work long hours from about 6am-10pm. We were generous with tiping. We were up early most mornings but we never had issues finding a spot by the pool, there were lots of chairs. Most of the chairs were spanking new, sure they aren't all perfect but they aren't nearly as gross as the pictures people have posted in the past. I am convinced other reviewers will take pictures of one "bad" chair to make the whole place look dirty. This was not the case, at all.

As for the food, we thought it was great! I couldn't believe how many reviews I read prior to my trip saying that the food was "unedible". I am quite picky when it comes to good food, but the buffet was the farthest thing from unedible. There was always lots of fresh fruit for breakfast along with eggs/omlettes, pancakes, bacon etc, lunch and dinner was always good too with many different options. I'm not sure what kind of person you are if you can't even eat white rice with steamed vegetables, pasta, chicken or fried foods at the snack bar. We thought it was great and never felt hungry, we also felt most of the choices were healthy. The snack bar offered things such as french fries, chicken fingers, burgers, hot dogs etc. There was never a lack of alcoholic beverages to choose from the stawberry daqueri's were my favorite and the pina colada from the lobby bar, but he coffee was really good, and there was also the choice of tea or juice. The A La Carte restaurants weren't anything special. We tried both (Mexican/Italian), but I'd honestly say the buffet was better. If you have a chance to try the guacemole you won't be dissapointed, it was so good! Also, if your worried about "tummy" issues, we never had any problems during our trip.

We knew the beach was black sand before we got there and we came with an open mind, I still thought it was great. Take a walk in the evening and you'll see how beautiful it is when the sun goes down. We never went to coco beach ($30) or the white sand beach (free) but we heard great things about both of them! Our favorite tour was the Arenal Volcano and Tabacon Hot Springs, the hot springs were unreal and the food was awesome! I would suggest planning a few tours during your trip to balance out your vacation instead of staying at the resort the whole time because there's not a whole lot to do at night apart from the typical all inclusive entertainment and you might find yourself feeling a little bit bored. If you don't do any tours you won't have the opportunity to make the best out of your vacation and to see the country. Yes the hotel is "isolated" as people might say, but so are the surrounding hotels as well. The best way to see Costa Rica is to rent a car or to participate in some awesome adventures!

There was lots of monkeys and wildlife to see in Costa Rica, if you come here with an open mind you wont be dissapointed but if you are looking for a five star, over the top, luxurious vacation this is not the place for you. We came to Allegro because we wanted to relax. The food was great and the country was beautiful. How picky can you get and what more do you expect?! This place was an excellent value for our money and we had such a wonderful time in Costa Rica and we will most definetly be back!