This is an amazing country I learned so many new things about nature! I will definitely go back!

Definitely worth the money to stay here. Gorgeous spa-like rooms, beautiful grounds, great food & the drinks are out of this world. Gorgeous views of the gulf and a lovely beach. My husband enjoyed some great snorkeling and I almost got the same experience sea-kayaking through the crystal-clear water. Had fun spotting an eel who got tired of me checking him out and retreated back into his hiding spot. Pools are nice and everyone is quite friendly. Seems a little quiet, but we liked that aspect. Met some great guests while hanging at the pool. They did feature a DJ with music on the beach that was quite fun. Overall, a very nice resort.

We returned on Feb 3rd from a week at the Hilton. This is a resort, not a big hotel so it is spread out and has bungalows not matchbox rooms. Our stay was terrific in every way. I grew up on my parents resort and was reminded of the work it takes to keep them going. The staff were always fixing things from normal wear and tear, doing grounds work and repairing and improving daily. So I had trouble with the reviews that said the property was run down. We stayed in the 200's and loved them. Near everything but away from things too. Food and selection was great with different places to eat, no problems with reservations and we were not bored with the food at all. The breakfast buffet was real nice and changed to keep it interesting- come on it's breakfast folks- we thought the variety was nice. We had an opportunity to do alot of things or just sit back and chill looking out at the gulf. If I had to stretch and ask for an improvement I'd ask for more variety in the beer, but hey, I like beer! The staff at this place wants YOU to be happy and greet you daily, talk to you and ask you if things are OK. We ran into one of the managers and his question was "Are we treating you well?" This place was great for us and not too crowded or noisy but still alive with fun and activities. Special mention to Geovanny, Ronald, Carlos and Jason for making our food and drink expirience a number one event. We used Swiss tours on site because Yamilett was very helpful in helping us chose tours to fit our needs. It is located on the Hilton property and we felt comfortable that Hilton would help us if things went wrong, but everything was great. We did not feel good about the vendors on the beach so we stuck with Swiss tours and the resort dive shop. Again this is a resort in a tropical area, you will see bugs, inquanas and other animals- deal with it or go somewhere else more sterile for you. but we have lived in TX, MN and Arkansas and there is stuff here too-like bugs. Like I wrote, no complaints on anything except the beer thing and that is not a complaint as they were generous with the beer, wine and drinks and service was great. We will return to this Hilton resort in the near future. BTW- the guests we talked to were all friendly and felt the same way about the Hilton- We did not hear one negative thing from anyone. Thanks Hilton!!!!

My husband and I stayed at the Hilton Papagayo during the last week on January 2012 and would highly recommend this resort. I rated it 4 stars instead of 5 simply because it is not a luxury resort, but it exceeded our expectations nonetheless. The average guest seemed to be 35-50, and most came without children (or they were just in the daycare all day and I didn’t see them). No party atmosphere, which is not what we were after, but it might be disappointing to some.

**Rooms**
The rooms are beautifully decorated and did not seem dated at all to me, although the furniture did show signs of wear (lots of scuff marks and nicks). The most disappointing thing about our stay was the condition of the shower. Much of the grout was missing, and what was remaining was mostly covered in mildew. The tub was slightly stained and had several large gouges where part of the porcelain had been knocked off. Despite the mildew the bathroom did seem very clean. The bed was wonderful, and the maid did an excellent job cleaning every day. There were two sets of slippers and two robes, as well as a mini fridge that included 2 cokes, 2 diet cokes, and 2 Mexican beers daily. We asked if we could have more beer and were told we were limited to 6 drinks daily, but could chose them all to be beer if we preferred. Any additional canned drinks brought to the room would be $4 each, which seemed silly to me considering this is an all-inclusive resort. There is also a coffee marker in the room and two very large bottles of water. The hair dryer in our room was a basic Conair 1600watt and worked well. We stayed directly behind the Spa, and while it did not have a view, it was very convenient and a short walk down the beach to the main pool area.

**Food & Drinks**
The first night got off to a bad start with room service. Not only is there a $15 fee, but the menu is severely limited and 3 out of the 5 items ordered were inedible. That was a shame, as it is not at all reflective of the wonderful food at the rest of the resort! Our favorite restaurant for dinner was the El Bocadillo next to the main pool. Wonderful service and some of the best meals we’ve ever eaten. We ordered several steaks throughout our stay, and all were cooked to perfection and could easily be cut with a butter knife. We made all reservations the morning of by using the phone in our room, and never had trouble getting the time we wanted. The drinks were plentiful and yummy and the bar service is excellent. If the drinks are too weak for your taste, just speak up and they will gladly use more!

**The Beach**
As everyone knows, Costa Rica is not typically thought of as a beach destination. Keeping this in mind, I was pleasantly surprised. The volcanic sand has an iridescent blue/purple sheen to it, and it shimmers like glitter at sunset and sunrise. Simply beautiful. Lots of wonderful shells and coral wash up on shore all day long. I found the water to be a little to chilly in January for my taste, but I saw a few people swimming each day.

**Tours**
*Swiss* We booked two tours through Swiss Travel officed at the resort and would not recommend them. They completely forgot to pick us up for the Zip Line at Congo Trail, and instead sent a Congo employee to transport us over an hour after the scheduled time. The Palo Verde River Tour was dull; we saw about 20 crocodiles, a few species of birds, but no monkeys. We spoke to several people who had booked through Issy Tours on the same day, and their experiences were much better than ours.
*Issy* We booked a snorkeling tour with Issy on the beach. We set out at 7:30 in the morning on a boat with a man and his son (about 12 years old). Through their broken English and our broken Spanish, we were able to communicate to them how disappointed we were that we hadn’t seen any monkeys. We didn’t expect them to do anything about it since it was a snorkeling tour, but they happily took us from beach to beach until we found monkeys!!! They really went above and beyond to make the trip special. The snorkeling itself was uneventful; the water was very cold that early in the morning and we saw less than a dozen fish.
*Coco Beach* There is a BMW onsite that will take you to Coco Beach $40 round trip. The drive was about 20 minutes, and Coco seems to be the best place to buy souvenirs. Lots to choose from and much better prices than the resort.

**Exploring**
There are 2 hiking trails, one by the reception area and another by the spa, with the latter being much more strenuous, but with outstanding views. We would get up around 6am to hike during sunrise and it was stunning. We also walked the beach to the right of the hotel, past the spa, over the rocks, and across a small fresh water stream. There is an expansive, much lighter beach in this area and several mango groves were monkeys live. It was a great little walk and it was fun to come across monkeys all on our own without a guide. If you are ambitious I suggest wearing sneakers and lots of bug spray, as it was get marshy and buggy and that area.

Overall we are very pleased with our stay. The Hilton could easily become a 5 star resort with a few upgrades, but is still a great place as is.