Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

5489 reviews

• 

  Very, very Good, but here's an honest review

  -limited vegetarian protein food options -painfully slow service at aqua restaurant -only 2 red wine options and 1 sparkling, however Although all 3 were good -italian restaurant disappointing. No 'fine touches' e.g. parmasen cheese or black pepper grinder. No home made, authentic italian pizza on offer- what?! - Asian restaurant I'm sad to say was also disappointing - although vans were fab you really couldn't take a walk around the resort safely - didn't like frosted glass in toilet. Thought it was a bit gross - smart TV had no disney plus app and couldn't log in to netflix - beautiful romantic feel to the whole resort - disappointed the lobby bar closed at 5.30pm. Would Have been a nice change to hang out in the lobby in the evening, perhaps listening to some live traditional costs Rican music and playing cards.. but this simply was not an option. -Breakfast buffet, loved the waffles with coffee bean maple syrup, the hash browns, refried beans were DELICIOUS! -agua Breakfast, loved the healthy chia pudding - Good toiletries in room - Good little gym - resort was spotlessly clean - very friendly staff - Good cocktails - quiet pool area beautiful. Other pool looked beautiful also, but felt naff with terrible tunes playing ALL. DAY. LONG. -loved the coffee shop - spacious room but had a bit of a 'classroom' feel. Dated coffee maker that wouldn't pour without spilling. Great bed.big and clean and comfy - could hear evening entertainment late into the evening, very loudly from bed (room 422). I used ear plugs, annoyingly. - my partner ate 'delicious' wings and beef burgers from barefoot grill. I was very surprised No veggie burgers were on offer. Big thumbs down there - liked the 30 minute rule around sunbeds, but it didn't apply to the quiet area so you had to wait around or go elsewhere - sometimes the waiters came to your sun lounger to offer a drink. That was really nice and felt exclusive, like 5 star resort should feel - room service for morning coffee was annoyingly slow -Loved the black sand and gentle waves - jet ski tour from beach boys was cool, although a little remiss in the health and safety area ( that's not the report's fault, it's ours!) - loved the pool table and games

  Jan 25, 2025
• 

  Great escape!

  Great 10 days at this beautiful resort. The entire staff was so wonderful. Always smiling and helpful! The Secrets Entertainment Team were fantastic. I especially liked Edward He was my guide for the sunset hike and snorkeling. He was only 18, but I felt very confident with him as my guide. He made sure I was safe. He was always smiling. Francis and Hillary were also great - always helpful and smiling. Francis helped me to paint a picture They both helped me to make bracelets. Giovanni was also great. He was great at encouraging guests to participate in the fun Fernando was probably my husband’s favorite bartender. Very friendly and great at mixing refreshments while at the pool. It was always something going on if you wanted to be busy. But if you wanted quiet time, there was a pool for that also.

  Jan 24, 2025
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  Mediocrity and stolen items

  . What a disappointing week. We stayed 5 nights over Christmas and New Year’s. Paid over $1000 per night for all inclusive mediocrity. We are Bonvoy ambassador members and usually stay in solid 4 or 5 star hotels around the world but we risked it because this is an adult only resort and wanted peace and quiet. After those 5 nights, we would have rather been next to a swimming pool with a hundred screaming children than have stayed here. This place was lacking in every sense. Rooms desperately need updating. The first room they put us in had a view of another building with the most ridiculously loud air-conditioning unit. So loud you couldn’t hear the birds in the trees. We moved to an ocean front room paying 50% more per night and it was still outdated and dingy. The first day, I accidentally left my jacket in one of the shuttles that drive you around the resort, called immediately to let them know which van and which driver it was, and they said “sorry it was not found.” I continue to call every day to have them look for my jacket and it was never located. Upon checking out, I had clothing items stolen from the dresser in our room!! Completely unacceptable. I called immediately to let them know and they said “the items were not found.” The food and drinks were mediocre at best. Lacking in both options and quality. Every single time we sat down for a meal, they tried to upsell us on a “special dinner” or a “Christmas dinner by the pool.” After the insane prices we were already paying per day, these upsells felt so tacky and desperate. We finally ended up Ubering over to the Andaz the last two days in a row to eat because we couldn’t stomach another repetitive meal here. Overall, the service was the worst part. We genuinely felt like every issue we expressed was not taken seriously and most things were never followed up. Even something as simple as emailing them to get an invoice after our stay has been met with complete silence. They have really dropped the ball at this property. If you’re looking for adult only, it’s not worth it!!! If you only travel once a year, you ldon’t know what a five star experience is like, you love all inclusive, then you may be satisfied here.

  Jan 24, 2025
• 

  Nice ! Place , but with it’s issues

  Theres plenty of info about size of the site , logistics of getting around etc etc .i wont go over old ground .. The problem with the hotel , is no 2 days are the same , You have a meal in Pan asian , great meal ,fab service, 5*. You go back next day and the service is terrible and the food truly awful .same in the seaside grill ,5*one day 1*the next day .. We book a catamaran for a treat $1000 it didn’t turn up ! .some days you get picked up , some days not .. If you get lucky you get a sun bed , very very lucky a parasol, some days not.Some days a fridge refill. Yep you guessed it ..so if you are prepared to forgive a lot and are a glass half full type of person you will love secrets (it is beautiful) if you expect 5* luxury and service, i can see you being disappointed. Very much a marmite hotel , but i will end by saying , we are half full people and did enjoy are stay .. ps a thank you to the staff they were 5*

  Jan 22, 2025
• 

  A gorgeous resort but lacking in so many fixable amenities

  Having never been to Central America but having traveled all over the USA and Europe, I researched the best all inclusive/all adult—the lush and beautiful hilly resort is beautiful —but from the beginning, we felt as though it could easily live up to the beauty—and it doesn’t. Here are the positives: Very nice and friendly and well meaning staff Beautiful rooms Gorgeous views Black sand beach Juan in reservations and club was wonderful—especially when weather prevented us from flying home, we were able to stay in our room an extra night Elia —one of the drivers was wonderful Amstar tour was great to zip line and swim in the hot springs Night time bar and games are fun—and well organized Japanese demo was the best —need reservations Beautiful large and private balcony Here are the issues: Shape of room—toilet on one side-shower on the other—very odd Reserving cabanas and even lounge chairs is completely stressful and impossible—who in the world wants to wake up at 6:30am to run down to the pool and fight over a lounge chair everyday? The privilege of being in the preferred club meant nothing in getting a cabana—had to stand in a line by 7 am to get one 24 hours in advance. Steps —many many steps to get from most rooms to the main area/s. Sometimes need to wait 20 min for pick up vans— Bring deet repellent AND Bug bite cream Very very dark at night—no sidewalks to and from any rooms, so walking to and from room is extremely dark —and vans are running right down the one lane street Bring a Flashlight Amstar said to not bring money or a credit card on the excursion—Bring money and Apple Pay on excursions —-otherwise there is no way to buy souvenirs and tip For the Zip line—wear glasses with a strap as mud flies into eyes or contact lenses Lots of sharp shells and small sea creatures on the beach—bring Swim shoes If you are less than 5’5”, cannot play Volleyball as the pool is so deep Needed to stay near the sloped walk in for pool exercise Website not interactive nor accurate —need to call for room service and wait over an hour—can’t use website—lots of activities not listed so get a print out Restaurant service is mediocre at best . Hit and miss Cleaning is spotty—sometimes we had towels and bath mat, sometimes we did not Sometimes we had water and sometimes we didn’t Sun lotion—$50–yes, $50!!!! Don’t buy coffee at gift shop—half the price on excursion Snorkeling can be dangerously—guide just left us as we had trouble with our equipment—current made it hard to swim back and no one ever checked on us Sad to say that the negatives tend to outweigh the positives as 90% of the issues could be fixed.

  Jan 21, 2025