Rancho Pacifico

Rancho Pacifico is magical. This was one of the best experiences we've ever had, and their team goes above and beyond to ensure you have not just an amazing stay at Rancho Pacifico but an amazing experience in Costa Rica. We had a party of five, consisting of my husband and I (late 50s), our 36-year-old son, and two 19-year-olds. Our Villa: We stayed in the Whale's Tail Villa. This villa was beautiful, spacious and the perfect place to get some rest and relaxation. The beds were so comfortable and there were a variety of pillows. The bathrooms are spacious and the living room was a comfortable place to unwind. The masterpiece is the outdoor space! Every room has a patio and the views are stunning. The jungle sounds were the perfect background for the ultimate R&R. Anytime we wanted to go from the villa down to the restaurant, spa or pool the staff were quick to send a vehicle or it was a short walk. The Food: The food was amazing! I was expecting the food to be good based upon all the reviews, the reviews don't lie, it was absolutely fabulous. The creativity and flavors were truly fabulous. We'd listen to our waiter describe the meal and you'd think "okay, not sure how this goes together but we'll see" and then you'd just be blown away by the flavor combinations and excellence. We have a few picky(er) eaters, and everyone was so excited to go to the restaurant. One night we ate dinner at a high-end restaurant down in town and we all agreed we wished we had stayed at the resort and eaten there. Added to the amazing food, you have a stunning setting and personal service that is outstanding. The bar tenders make some incredible drinks and are guaranteed to make you laugh and smile! The Resort and Grounds: It is just beautiful in every way. The facility is immaculate and very well maintained. The pool and hot tub were beautiful, and every aspect of the design is centered around making you comfortable and relaxed. My one regret is that I didn't go to the Spa. I heard other guests provide great reviews and I'm so disappointed that I didn't get in. We did do the hike to the on-site waterfall. It's beautiful and a decent workout. The Staff: There are seriously more people serving you than there are guests! Our every need was attended to. The staff are amazing and a lot of fun. They went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed and to help in any way they could. From arranging transportation, helping us coordinate excursions, making sure we had breakfast to go on days with early activities, and anticipating our needs before we knew we had them. What I Would Do Differently: I'm a planner and I felt the need to research and coordinate many of our own excursions outside of the resort. Save yourself the time and effort! The excursions offered through the resort are excellent. You get the best tour operators, the best service and it's highly competitive pricing. Work with them to arrange your tours, you won't be disappointed. We also arranged our transportation from SJO and then up to Guanacaste through the resort. It was perfect! We split our time between Rancho Pacifico and then went up north to Guanacaste for the last 4 days of our vacation. We were worried that the younger members of our group would want some nightlife. We were wrong. We all wished we had stayed at Rancho Pacifico the entire time. There were plenty of activities to keep us busy, the beaches were great and it was easy to go down into town if you wanted nightlife. 1000% recommend Rancho Pacifico. We will be back!

My wife and I decided on Rancho Pacifico for our honeymoon. We chose the honeymoon package and have zero complaints on that decision! We came a day early and stayed the night in San Jose at a hotel very close to the airport. We did this because our plane was getting in at 1:30, its a 4 hour drive to Rancho from the airport, and we didn't want to spend money on a day that we wouldn't be getting in until 6:00 at the earliest. This ended up being a great decision for us because it took us 2 hours to get through customs due to extremely long lines. Since we chose the honeymoon package they sent a driver to come get us at our hotel at 8 A.M. the next day. The Staff: Every single person we interacted with at Rancho was extremely nice and helpful. I'm not the most traveled person but they provided the best service and professionalism I've ever dealt with, they were all truly wonderful and a joy to be around. The food: Every meal we ate was amazing, we have zero complaints there. We could really tell the effort they put into the presentation of the dishes. We had something different served to us all eight nights we were there and the were phenomenal. All of the fruits we got served just tasted so much sweeter and juicer than they do back home. The weather: We come from a semi arid, flat, and windy area. Being the dry season we hardly dealt with any rain, it only rained the very last night we were there and it was enjoyable to listen to come down as we ate. I don't think we ever experienced any wind over 10MPH not even a gust, which was great. The rooms: We stayed in a treehouse our first night and it was so cool, an amazing view every sunrise and sunset. The next 6 days we stayed in the Villa Romantica, that was also very nice, had amazing views, and had the private plunge pool. For our last night we stayed in the Hermosa room. Its much more of a "modern" hotel style than the tree houses. The views aren't as great from this room but its still very nice. This should go without saying but I'll say it regardless, people you are going to the jungle, it is full of life. That means there will be bugs, don't act surprised if one somehow gets into your room. This is not something to complain about. for the 8 days we stayed here I think we had a total of 3 bugs in our rooms in total, not a big deal at all. I was actually impressed that it was that few. I would also like to note, we literally only saw 3 mosquitos the entire time we were on the property, it was the dry season so there should be less than in the wet season obviously but I was surprised that we only saw three. The excursions: We did for separate excursions. The four wheeler/side by side. The zip lining over the rainforest canopy, the chocolate tour, and the kayaking down the river. All four were very fun but the Four wheeler and chocolate tour were our favorites. The spa: We went to the spa on two separate occasions, both towards the end of our trip after we did all of our hiking and other excursions and needed our sore muscles to be worked on. They did a great job both times, zero complaints from either of us. We definitely want to come back during the wet season and experience the almost daily rain showers we heard about and the more active wildlife. Being from the desert we don't see a lot of rain so we really enjoy it when we can lol. In summary, we thought it was well worth the money and can't wait to come back!

My wife and I stayed at RP Jan 4 - 17, 2026. I hope TripAdvisor is generous with space because we have so much to say. Costa Rica was on our bucket list forever and we finally made it! Rancho Pacifico certainly was the perfect boutique resort to use as a base from which to explore the surrounding area. The Whale’s Tail Villa, up in the treetops above the resort, was so serene. Its peaceful quiet was only interrupted by birds and monkeys and the gentle patter of raindrops. Visually, the ocean views including the whale’s tail and stunning sunsets only added to the feeling of being one with nature. Our daily challenge was to see how many more birds our Merlin APP could find. After identifying 29 new birds, it tapped out. When not exploring the country’s attractions we enjoyed our plunge pool, reading books on the covered porch or just sipping wine, soaking up nature. We loved that there was no TV anywhere to be seen. How refreshing to step away from reality. We opted for the all-inclusive meal and beverage plan and it was worth every penny. The food was so memorable in its delicious flavours and presentation. Breakfast and lunch had fixed menus with lots of ‘yummy’ choices. (We cannot use that word without hearing Andrey’s delightful voice and accent). Dinner was different every night with several appetizers followed by 2 main course options. The portions were small enough to allow us to get through the whole dining experience including dessert, without feeling stuffed. The flavour combinations were intentional and exceptional. We enjoyed every single meal. We thought we were already relaxed, but then we sampled the spa menu. There is nothing like a 90-minute couple’s massage to take it to the next level. We had to visit a few times. This report would not be complete without mention of the staff who ALL go above and beyond - resulting in the best customer service we’ve EVER experienced. The little things meant a lot and certainly added to the overall guest impression. When out on a tour, if it looked like we might not make it back before the kitchen closed for lunch, they’d contact our cab driver to take our order. If our tour was early in the morning, they would take our breakfast order the night before and have it ready for us before we left. Even when we were off the resort, we felt cared for! I’m also sure the concierge staff kept in touch with the housekeeping staff, to notify them as to which guests were in the restaurant so that they wouldn’t disturb us back at the villa. In 2 weeks, we only crossed paths with the housekeeping staff once. Their work was fast and seamless. We could go on to note very special things about every staff member. They all made huge impressions on us. But we will just mention them and thank them for making our time so extraordinary. Adrian & Henry greeted us every day with such genuine smiles and handled every request - either at the resort or for our outside tours. They made sure that we had a briefing sheet with all the necessary details for the next day’s tour including the time to meet our driver. Elena frequently filled in and we looked forward to chatting with her. Berny was the most prompt, cautious, and careful cab driver we’ve driven with. Every evening, many of the staff graciously stopped what they were doing to chauffeur us to and from the villa for our evening experiences. The dining room staff Andrey & Jason made our dinner experiences so much fun with an animated presentation of the menu at night. Of course, you can’t finish without mentioning Vianney with his bar chatter and expert mixology skills both pre and post dinner. He gave us so many insights into the local Costa Rican life and answered all our endless questions. We finally met Allan, the general manager, in our second week. He’d had a demanding customer complaint to deal with, and we were close enough to hear this unreasonable person air her grievances. Allan was so patient and calm. He really went out of his way to pacify this couple. My main comment to him after working in the hospitality industry myself, was that I’d never seen such a well-run & oiled establishment without visible signs of management. The entire staff worked as a team. They were all cross trained and gave you the impression nothing was impossible! You can’t finish without complimenting the back of the house team, without whom the resort could not function as it did. Kitchen staff led by such a very creative group of chefs [Juan, Jonathan and Luis] made our food truly a daily gastronomic treat. We interacted with maintenance staff, gardeners, and housekeepers every day doing a variety of tasks. Everyone greeted us as friends and no question was too silly to answer. Even the dog, who seemed to have chosen Rancho Pacifico to call his residence, stole our hearts. Overall, we had a phenomenal vacation - 10/10. We would (and have) highly recommend Rancho Pacifico to anyone. If our bucket list allows, we will be back there ourselves in a flash – so many wonderful activities we did not get to sample in 2 weeks. Thanks to everyone for an exemplary holiday.

We had the honor of celebrating our honeymoon at the incredible Rancho Pacifico, and even though we had done plenty of research beforehand, the experience still completely exceeded our expectations. From the moment you step out of the car, to the moment you (very reluctantly) have to leave, you are treated like royalty. We spent six unforgettable days and nights in the Treehouse Tamandua, and loved every single moment of it. Falling asleep and waking up to the sounds of the jungle felt almost unreal, in the best possible way. The food is absolutely top class, and the service is warm, friendly, and genuinely personal. A big thank you to the entire team, from chefs and waiters to concierge, groundskeepers, housekeeping, and spa staff. This place is truly something special, and we are already planning to come back to celebrate future anniversaries here.

Beautiful location with stunning rooms/ treehouse. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Food was delicious. Treehouse was very large and tastefully decorated. Pool area was also nice. Road up is really not too bad.