Costa Rica, Guanacaste, Occidental Allegro Papagayo Review

Overall Rating

externally a picture book destination

reception services singularly unhelpful, and lapses in accomodation housekeeping and maintenance.

We visited Occidental Allegro Papagayo in Dec 2003 for one week. The immaculate grounds, fine restaurant buffet with excellent staff services, nice ocean views, and nice array of outside activities were largeky offset by a harsh and unresponsive front desk/reception services and lapses in housekeeping. Our experience was horrendous, for details read on. At the holiday rack rate of $250/day, this was not a good value for us.

There was no assistance at the front door on arrival with our large collection of baggage, and a 30 minute wait in a sweltering reception only to be told there were no rooms ... come back later in the day. Please appreciate that this resort is completely isolated, we had no car, and it seemed there was no place "to go". Requests for assistance with baggage checking were met with shrugs and I was told to find help out front. My reply that I had been out front twice for sometime and that there were no staff was met by a blank unresponsive stare. The desk provided no map of the resort or information on its services. By handing over 1,000 colones to uniformed staff, we eventually learned that we could move our luggage to an unsecured room (no baggage check/receipt provided) and that lunch was available by the pool.

Late in the day, we went through a long tiring process of finding an acceptable room... each time trudging down a steep hill to inspect the room, and then back up the hill to the reception. We were eventually offered four rooms. In the first three, the odor of human habitation rendered the rooms uninhabitable. We accepted the fourth room (with bat infestation) as the heat and frustration dimmed our senses. Although the room was "ready" and least offensive of those offered, bat feces covered the floor outside the entry door, and there were bat feces in the closet ... apparently dropping in through the holes and cracks in the closet ceiling. The smell wasnt too bad in the room itself. We never used the closet since the smell was a bit strong inside. The controller necessary to operate the Air conditioner was not to be found, and there was no shower head -- water just shot out of the pipe. Although the room accomodated four, there were no drinking glasses, and none were ever provided. We later learned that most rooms had coffee makers... missing in our room. The usual filth (hair, dirt) and an unwashed (and incompletely flushed) toilet bowel didnt help.

The first calls to the front desk desk produced no response. On day 3, I insisted on some help and we got a shower head, and the floors were swept, the closet deodorized. We were also able to get a broom to deal with the bats. Before entering the area outside the entry door at night, it was helpful it getting the bats away from the door, and in the morning we could sweep the guano away from the door as we exited -- stepping in feces seemed unacceptable. Never could get the toilet cleaned or drinking glasses. The hotel provides shelters for shuttle waiting areas with bottled water dispensers and paper cups and usually these were kept filled -- but the water was not "bottled as labelled"... since we observed re-filling of bottles from garden hoses.

the hotel did offer other rooms -- reeking of human habitation -- but we were not offered any compensation or adjustments. Due to the isolated location, this is not someplace that you can just leave.

In the end, my wife and I were divided on whether we would come back. while we agree the exterior is picturebook in appearance and the restaurant fine, I felt strongly that the quality of our stay was unacceptable at any price. My wife put more value on the nice views, nice pool, and general nice experience in the restaurant.

Members' Comments onyouni43's Review

• JackiBriggs on 23rd Jan 2004

  We stayed here Jan 14th - 21st had a much better experience. Would return in a heartbeat. I think this is a worst case senario.