Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique

Gorgeous views and the room was beautiful. Our arrival had some bumps. We never got a tour so a shortcut that would have saved us roasting walk in the sun was not discovered until the last day. Disappointed that customer service was not as accommodating as we’ve had at other WA properties. Our room was comfortable and clean. Housekeeping did not always come at or near the requested time but was through when they came.m. The balcony was comfortable. We loved the tub. The restaurants on property are recommended. Breakfast is so so but lunch and dinner at Tico Tica were fab. La Finca tasting menu is a must do. It was delicious and we loved meeting the chef. The pools are beautiful and have a great ocean view but there are not enough umbrellas by half. And the umbrellas don’t move. It’s hunger games every day to get a chair with an umbrella and chair hogs abound. The staff do nothing to help accommodate. They could elevate this experience 200% by simply having way more um fellas and by making them moveable. There are a ton of golf carts and they are readily available to take you up and down the hill which is good as there aren’t sidewalks the whole way. We prefer to walk ourselves but it wasn’t always safe to do so in the dark with no lights or sidewalks. Staff was generally very friendly and our concierge was able to help us for our needs. I would come back with my son when he’s older to try out some of the more adventuresome activities in the area.

Stayed for 5 nights during Spring Break March 2027. Had high hopes for the property as we had watched it open last May and snagged a good points deal for our stay. However, there’s some things you should know before you go. Overall, we would not recommend to anyone who travels often and enjoys exclusive luxury, great food and beverage and overall service. Check in: it was fast but realized later there were so many things about the resort we had to figure out on our own. Offered coconut water and a cold towel upon arrival. They also had two masseuses doing chair massages for free which was cute. Kid Friendly: this is a very family friendly hotel with a kids pool and water slide. Lots of families with young children. Yes, you can hear them playing and screaming in the pools if that matters to you. While there is an adult pool next to the gym, it has zero umbrellas for shade (more about that later). Rooms: very nicely furnished. We had an ocean view king suite on the 4th floor. Wifi was good. Plenty of storage space. Quiet on the top floor. The top floors offer a little more privacy than the lower floors do as each room has a bathtub on the balcony and see-through railing. BEWARE: There are only a few pool umbrellas here. As much as it pains me to share this, it was a LEGIT deal breaker for us. It is HIGHLY concerning a hotel of this brand name would not purchase more umbrellas. I wish I had paid more attention to previous reviewers. What this creates is very embarrassing, low class behavior that no one wants to participate in. The first day we arrived to the pool at 7am there were NO MORE seats with umbrellas. All were reserved with personal items although no person was there. The sun is HOT and we spent the rest of the day in our room. The next day we started our day at 6:30am and were able to snag two loungers with an umbrella. The 3rd day we came down at 5:40am and one guest had saved 14 lounger seats (14!!) using various clothing items and then not one person sat there until 10am. THIS WAS WILD. I contacted the front desk via WhatsApp about the protocol for reserving seats and if we could pay to reserve some and they responded saying they are first come first serve. They also offered for a manger to meet with us to discuss and no one showed despite us waiting. So, ladies and gentlemen….be ready to get up VERY early and act accordingly. I had never seen a resort allow 1 person to save that many seats. We watched so many guests walk by the reserved seats in disappointment. Food: Sub par. The continental breakfast that is included with Hilton honors gold+ members does include fresh coconut water and complimentary mimosas which was a plus but certainly not a good trade off for the extremely basic offerings. Stairs: Ha! Previous reviewers have already commented on it. We are active adults and our calves were so so sore after the first day. Again, if you are not able bodied moving around the resort would be troublesome. Overall, if you can afford it go to the Nekajui Ritz Reserve property which provides a true, upscale experience where there is never a lack of umbrellas or loungers. Hell, even the W Costa Rica hotel offered better service interactions, food quality and overall offerings than the Waldorf. Would not recommend and would not return to this Waldorf.

We recently stayed at this property and while it is undeniably beautiful with stunning views, the overall experience fell far below expectations,especially given the price point. Upon arrival, our room was not ready at check-in. We were offered a $500 credit for the inconvenience, which initially seemed like a thoughtful gesture. However, this credit was never applied to our account. At checkout, we had to explain the situation at the front desk while staff made multiple calls to verify it. The process was tedious and, frankly, embarrassing. The layout of the property is another major challenge. The buildings are situated on very steep cliffs, making it extremely difficult to walk anywhere. Guests are required to call for a golf cart just to get around, even for something as simple as going to the pool. This became inconvenient very quickly. Our room had ongoing issues as well. The air conditioning never properly cooled the room and appeared to be locked in eco mode. Maintenance spent nearly an hour attempting to fix it, but the issue was never resolved. Housekeeping was inconsistent. On our first full day, our room was not serviced at all despite being unoccupied. When we returned to get ready for dinner, we had to call three separate times for fresh towels, which took about an hour to arrive. The pool area, while visually appealing, was poorly maintained. Used towels were left scattered everywhere, and many lounge chairs were occupied by abandoned wet towels without being cleared for other guests. There was little to no wait service, and the bar was chaotic and clearly understaffed. At one point, I requested a bottled water and was told they couldn’t find one. Dining was equally disappointing. At Tico Tica, the staff appeared untrained and overwhelmed. Basic items like spoons were missing from the buffet, and we had to ask multiple times—waiting over 10 minutes, for something as simple as a spoon for cereal. What makes this especially frustrating is the cost. At $2,200 per night for a standard two-queen room, you expect a seamless, high-end experience. Unfortunately, the level of service we received felt closer to a 2–3 star property. While the setting is beautiful, the service, organization, and overall guest experience need significant improvement to justify the price.

So we checked in I feel like they were very ill prepared for us checking into a five star hotel. We were given a very extremely brief tour of the property. When we got to our room, we had booked an Ocean view and had picture of the building in front of us roof. Needless to say it was a two queen room for a family of three there were two pillows on each bed a very dirty rug, and only one nightstand in the middle. The mesh to the bathroom was not suited for any kind of privacy. Down by the pool, we had a fight for a chair, flagged down, weight staff all day. Food was very average not something I would expect from the Waldorf. As somebody who has status at a Hilton property, there were still a lot of rooms open, and we were not upgraded, even though we had talked to the manager about getting a king suite and putting a rollaway in they told me they could not do it however, the family next to us was able to do that. The only saving grace is this great surf team that took us out surfing However, when I came back, I had ordered a drink after watching our waitress walk by three times. I asked her where my drink was she said oh the Bartender left. I asked if she was gonna tell me or just let me sit there and wait. This hotel is extremely hilly and hot and getting anybody on the phone to get golf carts. It was almost impossible as they watched young kids and old people walking up these huge hills in 95° weather at a five star resort. We had came from the springs in La Fortuna where the experience was 10 out of 10 was not rated if I started resort and maybe the Waldorf needs to take some lessons I guess I will have to stick to the Ritz Carlton or The Four Seasons, which is a shame because our next trip in Cabo in a few months, Waldorf was on our list, not anymore

I've stayed at nearly half of the Waldorf Hotels around the world. Most dazzle. This one fell flat. The Pros- Fantastic location with beautiful views The Cons- Called literally seven times to fix outdoor patio bathtub. Five times they tried to "fixed it", but failed. These outdoor tubs with views were the primary reason we booked this 5 night vacation at this property. It was extremely poor that we were not able to enjoy this amenity. Food options at the hotel are very limited. This is not a hotel you can just stay at for days without leaving. The problem is that the hotel is very remote and there are not many food options nearby. Broken exterior door lock, not fixed for 5 days. Broken interior door knob, not fixed for 5 days. Staff service style is more in line with a Hampton Inn than a Waldorf. Here are some examples of poor service and training: Staff waits until the pool opens before they clean it, so there will be staff chasing you around the pools with hoses, filters, and vacuums. Server will hand you the bill in the middle of your breakfast, requesting that you sign it, long before you've finished. Difficult to get a drink at the pool. Very few servers to assist many guests. We missed every daily room cleaning service even we were out of the room each day for 6-7 hours. Luckily we did catch two turn down services at night. At the tequila taco grill, it took them 30 minutes to realize that they never entered our order, so food service took 50 minutes. Order a cafe late at breakfast and you can expect it to arrive after you've finished eating. No modern apps or tech, no QR code ordering, no room service from the app, no digital butler. All required calls to a fairly grumpy phone operator. At one point the front desk offered me $200 to make me feel better, but honestly, on a stay worth well over $10,000, that's a bit of a slap in the face. It's such a pretty hotel; I hope they improve over the years, with better trainers and standards. We left quite disappointed. The brand Waldorf Astoria conjures images of Rolls-Royce and Caviar. However, Waldorf Astoria Punta Casique is more in line with Hondas and Hotdogs.