Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique

My wife and I had the best time celebrating our 30th anniversary here. First time in Costa Rica and Waldorf Astoria sure knows how to make it an amazing stay. Customer service, excellent food, beautiful property overlooking the ocean.

We had an outstanding stay at this gorgeous property. The design, layout and colors fit well with the area's natural beauty. Lucky for us, we were treated to a delightful room upgrade which really enhanced our comfort and our stay. Luxurious and spacious bathroom with high quality products. Our balcony had a tub and a private pool. Housekeeping services kept the room spotless. Several pools of various sizes -- all pristine. The beach, relatively small, offers a truly swimmable experience with gentle waves and cool green/blue water -- very refreshing. Getting a chair or a cabana was never a problem like at some resorts. Attentive waiters were always available to bring orders for lunch, drinks or ice water. We arranged for a sailing trip with an outside company and they sent a rep to pick us up with a small boat right on the beach. Made things super easy. The gym has a variety of machines and free weights -- never crowded. Busiest time was before 8am. Breakfast at Tico Tica restaurant was consistently good. The buffet -- complimentary for Hilton Honors elite (Diamond) members -- has a varied spread. Waiters bring fresh coffee, omelets made to order, fresh juices, baked goods, mimosas and more. We had a few dinners at Tico Tica -- food is just as good as some of the restaurants we visited off the property. Service is excellent. Special thanks to Erick from Tico Tica for his attentiveness and gracious hospitality. Special thanks to all the shuttle drivers and waiters -- competent and helpful -- who shared info about Costa Rican culture and language.

I will start by saying the rooms and property are beautiful but this newer resort has a lot of room for improvement. Check in was very smooth, felted welcomed and received a coconut welcome drink. We were upgraded from our bahia room to an ocean view room thanks to our Hilton diamond status. Upon arrival to our room we discovered the wifi not working in the room but only on the balcony. So my techy husband tried to troubleshoot with no luck. We called down to guest services and they let us know IT wouldn’t be in till the next day (Sunday). We thought ok fine we can unplug for one night, even though my husband has business he needs to tend to. We followed up the next morning to see when IT would be in our room, to only find out that IT wouldn’t be there till Monday! This was unacceptable as I said my husband has work he needs to do. So their resolution was to give my husband a conference room. We obviously didn’t accept this because why would he want to work from a conference room on vacation. We had to push to get a room change, it was not offered. This is were I think there needs to be some major improvements in management. The lack of problem solving skills is absolutely insane to me. But luckily after pushing for a room change we were moved to a room that was even better than our current room, which we were not mad about it was just the journey to get there that was frustrating. There was also never any personal follow up on this issue from management, which was disappointing. Once that problem was solved we enjoyed the 11 different pools on the property, which never felt crowded. The grounds are just stunning! Now I feel breakfast is also another area for improvement. All the staff were amazing at breakfast and remembered us by name everyday! But the buffet itself was lacking. Very minimal selection with the option of an omelette. We were very tired of the choices by day 3. Unfortunately the a la carte menu was an additional charge so we were stuck with the small buffet. Another small issue was housekeeping did not come one day. We came back to our room after a long day the pool and discovered our room had not been serviced. Ok no big deal, we called guest services as the housekeeping line never picked up. I let the gentleman know house keeping had not been to our room and he let me know he would forward the request. I said thank you to him and he just hung up, no you’re welcome, have a good day, nothing. Just hung up. Luckily housekeeping did come promptly after we called to service our room. That was our only hiccup during our stay with house keeping. On our final day we spent at the pool we had ordered a bottle of aqua pana water, they brought us glasses with ice and bucket to keep the water cool. But when we went into the pool to cool off the waitress took our full glasses of water ( keep in mind we paid $9 for this bottle of water) we had just started drinking. I said “oh sorry we are still drinking those” she said “oh I am getting you fresh ice” this was odd since our glasses were full and she had just served us less than 15 minutes ago. Oh well it happens I guess , she was trying to be helpful. Then we get out of the pool and we are constantly being asked can we get you anything else we say no we are fine with our water for now. This waitress was very instant on us closing out or bill so we caved in after being asked no less than 3 times. We definitely thought of ordering more as the day went on but this just left a bad taste in our mouth. We close it out obviously still hanging by the pool and the waitress takes the remainder of our $9 bottle of aqua pana and disposes of it! This easily had a half of a glass of water left in it. Im not sure why she was so instant on closing out or tab and clearing our water, but this definitely ruined our final day at the pool. Just another thing to keep in mind, there is only 2 main restaurants here. We thought Tico Tica had better dinner menu than La Finca. But certainly not enough options if you’re staying here for a week. Its at least a 15-20 drive into Playa Del Coco if you want to dine elsewhere where. Renting a car is a must, luckily valet was free. I will close this out by saying if you have points give it a try but I would not pay the cash rate with the current state.

Our stay at Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica was absolutely outstanding. This resort truly raises the bar in the Guanacaste region. Everything felt thoughtful, polished, and relaxing throughout our stay. The property is stunning, the rooms are beautiful, and the restaurants and amenities are all top tier. The concierge service really stood out. Having a dedicated team available during the stay made a big difference,they were responsive, welcoming, and genuinely attentive before arrival, during the stay, and all the way through check-out. For transportation, we booked our airport transfer to the Ritz-Carlton with NextTripCR.com, and the experience was so smooth that we used them again for our transfer from the Ritz to the Waldorf. We also booked a rainforest tour, which was phenomenal. Honestly, I highly recommend Chris and his team, they’re a small company, but their customer service is excellent and very personal. Overall, the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica is incredible, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. A perfect combination of luxury, service, and unforgettable experiences.

February 2026 We just returned from 6 nights at the new Waldorf Punta Cacique. The property is stunning and has a lot of potential but fell short in many areas. It absolutely does not live up to the Waldorf name and level of service. We are Marriott loyalists gradually transitioning to Hilton. This property is nowhere close to the level of service provided at Ritz and St. Regis properties we have visited across the globe. We never heard from our concierge one time after greeting us upon arrival. We had to repeatedly reach out to the front desk through whats app when issues arrived. We had made prior dinner reservations, yet were never reminded of where/when they were. He (Joseph) NEVER once contacted us regarding activities or our stay. We've had better concierge services at mid-tier timeshare properties in Mexico. The property is quite isolated and there is no shuttle service to nearby towns. So, dinner off property is an $80 taxi or $300 water taxi. The resort restaurants are average at best. The signature restaurant menu was very limited and a bit too over the top. Salads were more like dips/spreads than salads. The main restaurant had great food, but definitely not extensive enough for a 6 night stay. The banquette seating was designed poorly and the bench seats are 8" lower than the chairs making for really awkward dining. Ambiance was generally lacking everywhere at dinner. The pool bar actually had the best restaurant and service. The daily included breakfast for diamond was excellent, and also had the best waitstaff who remembered us daily. Special shoutout to Yeison who took care of us all week and was wonderful! The most disturbing thing was the lack of operating soap dispensers in all public restrooms all week. I had to call with daily reminders that all pool and restaurant restrooms had no soap. Often, I watched kitchen/pool staff leave a restroom only to discover they clearly could not have used soap because it didn't exist. This was a HUGE yuck for me! We walked the entire property, and would have been disappointed if we were in Building 1. It is the "lowest" to the ground, so it lacks views. Further, the balconies overlook the public areas where locals set up camp for the day. Fortunately, we were in Building 2 with excellent views, especially at sunset. In all, the property is beautiful, but still suffering from new property issues. If we came back, we would only stay 3 nights and move to the peninsula. The peninsula properties have more accessibility between properties for varying dinner selections and, based on our water taxi over to that side, a much better vibe in the evenings.