The Westin Reserva Conchal, an All-Inclusive Golf Resort & Spa

What a colossal disappointment. We booked 3 rooms for 5 adults and 3 children. The rooms were old and poorly maintained. The shower areas in particular had mold, cracked tiles and showed evidence of previous water issues. We had to navigate down two steps to reach the bathroom at night--in complete darkness. The food was particularly disappointing. The website lists 7 restaurants but not all restaurants are open daily and there is approximately a 1.5 hour per day when no food is available anywhere. Breakfast is only served in one restaurant which means it is noisy and crowded. The staff in that restaurant seemed overworked, overwhelmed and extremely unhappy. Signage for buffet items is incorrect and if one has a dietary issue you cannot count on staff to answer correctly or even know what an item is made with. We had to wait more than 10 minutes one morning to speak with a manager to confirm whether or not scrambled eggs were made with milk (staff said "no", manager asked the chef who said "yes". To someone with a dairy allergy, this information really matters). Room service does not open until 7AM and cannot be counted on to arrive before one has to get transportation up to the lobby to depart for excursions. Because it's a tropical location and gets very warm in the afternoon, most people have early morning departures and tours. Dinner (we ate in Bamboo, Spirula and Manglar) was a much nicer affair and staff was very informative and attentive to dietary issues. We enjoyed all of those dinners. Another major disappointment was that all coffees, beers, etc purchased in the Britt Shop are extra--they are not part of the all-inclusive. We are not speaking of the gift shop part of the Britt Shop, it makes perfect sense to pay for boxed chocolates and trinkets, we are talking about purchasing a coffee, mid-day. The staff in the Britt Shop coffee area was particularly rude. I was the only person in there one afternoon and I was pointedly ignored. It was not easy to connect with the excursion or concierge desk to make excursion reservations prior to our arrival. It took a couple of months of emails (no answer was received) and two very expensive international phones calls to get that process moving forward. But the actual worst part of this vacation was dealing with the billing. Despite the fact that the website is in English; that the front desk staff, concierge and excursion personnel will communicate in English, the bill for "extras" such as spa services, Britt Shop, Golf, etc., are: 1) in Spanish. We were informed that their system was not equipped to print out in English and it took 4 months of nagging emails to get breakdowns required to close out our account. We enlisted Bonvoy Marriott for assistance and even they were unsuccessful (despite numerous attempts) in obtaining satisfactory answers or detailed information. Do you really mean to tell me that not one single staff person in the billing department couldn't just sit down and create an email providing the detail we were requesting? 2) the bill for extras was not itemized. We received a bill that was written in Spanish, totaled with Costa Rican dollars and then, at the end, a total in USD; 3) the billing department made errors and it took a great deal of effort on my part to get the detail I was requesting. In short, the vacation was a disappointment. We have toured other all-inclusive properties and received better service, better accommodations, better food (options and quality) and our drinks and food were available any time and were truly all-inclusive, as opposed to the Westin Reserva Conchal. In short, a vacation is supposed to be relaxing. I need a vacation after this vacation.

We spent the week at the weston with friends and how to blast. It's a beautiful resort. Every member of their staff went above and beyond to make sure we were happy. Our rooms were clean and the food in all the restaurants was fantastic. We did an a t v beach tour that we booked through the hotel. Lots of fun highly recommend. We also booked a tour with Erik. Eric is located at the entrance to the beach.Wearing a blue google shirt. He hooked us up with a 6 hour tour. We went to the rainforest, played in a waterfall, went on a coffee and cocoa tour. And also spent some time in the thermal hot springs. That was a great day! We also arranged our transportation. From the airport to the hotel and back through Erik. He was informative and thorough with all of his information and keeping in touch. (Not to mention he had the best prices). Remember, look for the guy in the blue Google shirt. He'll take good care of you.

From the moment we arrived at the hotel, everything was incredible. We were treated very well, the rooms were very clean, the food was great, and the location and the beach full of shells were spectacular. I honestly don’t have anything bad to say — the hotel and its service were excellent. For our airport transportation, we contacted a tour operator by email, Issys Tours Costa Rica, and everything was very fast and easy. We booked our hotel transfers in just 10 minutes. Esteban, the owner, was always very attentive and kind, answering all of our questions. We also booked two tours with the same company, Issys Tours Costa Rica. We did the Mega Combo Tour, which was extremely fun and full of adventure, and we also visited Palo Verde, where we saw many monkeys and other animals. Our guide, Norberto, was amazing during both tours and transportation, and Dimitri was also very attentive. Both the hotel and the tours made this a vacation worth repeating. I definitely recommend them and can’t wait until our next vacation. Pura Vida!

We booked through Costco and chose a Westin Club room to gain access to the Westin Club amenities. We would do that again in a heartbeat. We enjoyed the concierge service. Our concierge for the tower we stayed in, Greyvin was a wonderful guy and always helpful. The Westin Club adults only pool was amazing. It was open 24 hours, where the larger all-resort pool had hours. It had its own bar and restaurant (requires reservations for dinner) and also served a poolside buffet lunch. We went at the perfect time of year, May 4-9. It only rained one afternoon. The Club lounge was a very nice touch. Concierges available until 10pm, food and bar were always there in the daytime and evenings when we went. We dined at many of the specialty restaurants for dinner and good experiences at each one. The food was always good, proper temperature, and plentiful. Our room was spotless when we arrived and it was well maintained during our entire visit. The snacks (free in the club room) were replenished each day. We always had enough clean towels. The soaking tub in our room (specially requested) was a very nice touch. The shuttles around the property were plentiful and speedy any time we wanted a ride instead of walking. It is a large property, so you get steps in if you do not take the shuttles. We regularly saw black howler monkeys, iguanas, many types of birds, and other animals. We were nervous about people seeking things on the beach and never being left alone to relax. There were vendors between the resort and the shoreline (about 50 yards). Once you get through the “gauntlet” by saying “no thank you” a few times it was nearly as bad. There were a few vendors who mostly were not bothersome and waited for you to initiate with them before approaching. I had read several reviews before our trip about booking tours/excursions with Erik G. He has been working that shoreline selling tours/excursions for 30 years. I booked him through WhatsApp 4-6 weeks in advance. He is a true local who will build your custom tour/excursions based on your desires. He was easy to work with (strong English, and knows all the things tourists want to do and has all the connections), knowledgeable and kind. I actually spoke to him every day on the beach. You can’t miss him, he wears a blue Google shirt with his name on it! Use him! Google him and book him ahead of time. Though we had exclusive access to the Faisenella restaurant in the Club are for breakfast and lunch which table service, we also went to the Mitra Market for breakfast and lunch a few times for a more “buffet” type feel.

My family stayed at the Westin for a week and felt they offered good services. The people were friendly and the rooms were clean. We did have a problem with ants, but they came to spray anytime we asked. The food was amazing! Our waiters were very attentive and house keeping great. They offer some free activities like kayaks and bicycle tours and there are other ones that you can choose to pay for. There are local sellers who offer massages and tours and they are very friendly. We used Erik G (he has a blue shirt), you can google him. We used him to go for a hike to a waterfall, zip line, tube and visit the hot springs. Erik G was a good coordinator for these activities. We felt super safe an our own private tour. The resort has plenty of fun to do during the day and you can also have activities arranged for you which are great. We have enjoyed our stay!