Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique

Had a wonderful stay at this gorgeous property! Our suite was beautiful and the views were amazing! The service was stellar and the level of hospitality we received was incredible. Only downside was the food. The food was not very good on the resort.

After spending 4 wonderful nights at this resort, we can honestly say it was one of the best hotel experiences we’ve ever had. Everything was simply perfect. When we arrived, we were tired, thirsty, and sweating from the drive from the airport, and they welcomed us with fresh coconut water and cold facial towels—such a refreshing and thoughtful touch. We were then taken to our room by golf cart, and to our surprise, two cold beers were waiting for us. It truly felt like a dream start to our stay. During this trip, we stayed 4 nights at Nayara and 4 nights at Punta Cacique, and the entire experience was amazing. For our transfers and tours, we were highly recommended NextTripcr.com, and choosing them was one of the best decisions we made. We didn’t have to worry about anything at all. Chris took care of every detail and recommended some excellent, less-crowded places that made our trip feel very authentic. All our transfers and tours were private, just for our family, which made the experience very comfortable. We visited the rainforest and explored the wetlands, and both tours were absolutely incredible. We highly recommend using Chris for tours and transportation, and we also highly recommend this resort. We would definitely return.

Do not discount the reviews here like I did. This is by far the worst ran Waldorf in the chain. When we arrived we had a terrible welcoming, and had to find someone to check us in. Then they told us we got an upgrade, but upgraded us to a single king bed despite travelling with my two kids. The then "downgraded"us to a bad double queen room with a terrible view of the walking path to the pool despite clearly being pretty vacant. They could have easily found us a better room. Then they only gave us a single continental buffet ticket despite being diamond where I should have received at least two (every other WA would give 1 per family member). They then told us the room wasn't available but would have it ready within an hour. They pre-charged $500 on my CC so we could get lunch and drinks in the mean time but the bars and restaurants couldn't access our account and couldnt use credit card. Then after hours of waiting for a room I climbed all the way up to the top of the resort to check on my room, which was ready but they chose not to tell us. In addition, the wifi wouldn't work even after having a new room number with an error that they couldn't access our reservation. The ground and resort are beautiful and the bar tenders were excellent. But the rest of the service sucked. The front desk folks acted bothered by guests and didnt seem to care. The pool attendants didn't bring towels then yelled at me for opening the towel storage and grabbing my own. The food was awful and way overpriced for the terrible quality. A $30 burger that was over cooked, a burnt grilled cheese for the kids with cold fries. By the way, despite the other reviews, kids DO NOT eat free. Quite the opposite. We then went to Tico Tica for Christmas Eve dinner and spent the evening having the worst $300 dinner that I have ever had. Dry chicken, slow service, weak drinks. There are other reviewers here that mention the GM here, well he is the worst GM in the WA chain. Every other WA we have been has had expensive food and drinks but they were good, and they all had little attention to details that made you feel like you weren't getting nickel and dimed. Like Cabo WA's guac and corona's nightly. There is no attention to detail regarding the guest experience here. It's just nickel and diming and in 6 months word is already out about this location. That's on the GM here. If you come to CR then choose any other location like the 4 seasons for luxory or SLH if you want to stay in the Hilton portfolio. If you want a great WA experience go to Cabo or Cancun for a much better experience.

A miss for the Waldorf brand—disappointing service and poorly designed common spaces. We visited the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica for sunset cocktails with a group of 10 family members. We were staying nearby, and our concierge secured a reservation for us despite the property being generally closed to outside guests. From arrival onward, the experience was disjointed. Security could not locate our reservation despite multiple checks. Once inside, staff again stopped us, repeated the same checks, and ultimately told us we would need to leave—even after explaining that half of our party was already seated outside with drinks. Only after requesting that our group be allowed to finish did staff reluctantly agree. What was most surprising was not just the lack of coordination, but the design and use of common spaces. The outdoor lounge area was extremely limited and poorly configured for a resort positioned around sunset views. Seating was minimal, and the primary restaurant—where our reservation was confirmed by a manager—had no views of the water or sunset at all. For a luxury resort in Costa Rica, this is a major miss. Overall, the experience felt rigid, unwelcoming, and misaligned with the Waldorf Astoria promise. The common areas did not capture the setting, staff lacked empowerment to handle a simple exception gracefully, and the overall guest experience felt transactional rather than thoughtful. I travel frequently and stay at luxury hotels regularly. Based on this visit, I would not choose to stay at this Waldorf Astoria and was surprised by the Hilton brand standards—both in service training and in how the property was designed without prioritizing the guest experience or the views that define the destination. Luxury is about more than a beautiful location. Execution matters—and here, it fell short.

Buyer Beware! This is an overpriced property designed to make your “free” stay on points seem like a great deal. If you are redeeming points and paying nothing, fine; but otherwise this place is not worth it! The Four Seasons around the corner is 10X better for basically the same price. The food at the Waldorf is nothing special. Service is OK but nowhere near Four Seasons levels. The “icing on the cake” is if you cancel a reservation they take TWO MONTHS to refund your money. My brother had to cancel; he paid upfront in September and still hasn’t received nearly $6K back. Absolutely unacceptable.