As I mentioned last week, my family is traveling to Costa Rica next year for Spring Break. We are staying at Andaz Papagayo on points for five nights, and we already have flights reserved on miles.
But, since our flights home are on AA miles, we can change the date of our flights at no extra cost if we find award availability on a different date. My preference is to spend a full week in Costa Rica instead of just five days. My kids have the entire week off school. Plus, who knows when or if we will ever make it back to Costa Rica?
So of course I’ve been doing what I love to do most….dreaming about a trip that may or may not happen. In this case, I’ve been scoping out potential lodging we could add onto our mostly-free Spring Break trip in Costa Rica.
While many people recommend the Arenal area, we really don’t want to journey more than 1-2 hours from the Andaz for the tail end of our trip. So, I’ve been looking at our options in the surrounding areas.
Riu All-inclusive Resorts
Less than an hour from the Andaz are two Riu all-inclusive resorts, Hotel Riu Guanacaste and Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica. Both get good reviews on TripAdvisor.
My family stayed at an all-inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta a few years ago. While we didn’t like it as much as a cruise, we still enjoyed it a lot. My kids have been asking to go back to an all-inclusive resort.
After the expensive food at Andaz Papagayo, it would be a nice change of pace to have unlimited, included food. Especially for my growing boys!
Margaritaville Beach Resort Playa Flamingo
Margaritaville Beach Resort Playa Flamingo is a rebranding of an existing hotel that just opened last fall. It has great reviews and optional all-inclusive pricing.
Playa Flamingo is a bit further down the coast from the Riu resorts, but it’s still only an hour and 15 minutes away from Andaz Papagayo. The beach has white sand and waves that aren’t too strong for swimming.
According to TripAdvisor reviews, there are several restaurants within walking distance of the Margaritaville Beach Resort. The hotel has rooms that fit five people.
Condo Rental on the Coast
Instead of a traditional hotel, we could opt for a condo or house rental. Vrbo and Airbnb have a ton of really nice options that offer space and relative affordability.
This condo in Playa Flamingo looks like a dream. That view is killing me!
A beachfront two-level condo on Potrero Beach looks lovely. Or, we could splurge for two nights at a stand-alone house with its own pool.
Rio Perdido
This place is not near the ocean at all, but it looks amazing! At Rio Perdido, the rooms look like treehouses.
The hotel has rates that include some meals. With the on-site thermal river, hiking and pool, we would never leave the resort.
It Doesn’t Hurt to Look
By drooling over these potential hotels, I’m really just torturing myself right now. Hopefully in a few months, AA will release more award space and we can lengthen our trip to add a few more special nights in Costa Rica.
Which one of these choices is more appealing to you? Do you have a favorite hotel in this area of Costa Rica that isn’t on my radar yet?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I would lean towards an AI but sounds like the RUI is out based on the prior poster. I don’t like hearing of things like that so appreciate the feedback. Not sure if there is anything near the airport that’s appealing.
@Boonie We may just end up doing a different trip for an all-inclusive later in the year or the following year. My kids are requesting a swim-up bar! They have fond memories.
I would definitely rent a condo or house on Airbnb or VRBO. Most of them would have a private pool, hammocks, separate bedrooms, kitchen, etc. and are probably close to restaurants where you would get much better, cheaper, and more authentic food than an all-inclusive. We rented one down near Manuel Antonio and had a much better time there than the luxury hotel we split our stay with.
Please do not stay at the Riu Guanacaste/Palace. They are known for running a ruthless operation with complete disregard for the country’s natural resources and wildlife. They got in a lot of trouble when the property was built for illegally destroying mangroves in the middle of the night so they wouldn’t be seen. Not only that, but construction was halted after the health department discovered unsanitary working conditions that lead the the illness of hundreds, and even death.
@projectx Wow, I hadn’t heard that!
Only reason I’ve heard it is because of diving into heavy research for our 12-day trip to CR in July, splitting our time between Arenal and Manuel Antonio.
Anytime the RIU is brought up on Tripadvisor forums… oh my… look out.