Tl;dr – The Andaz Costa Rica is a solid property overall. The property offers above-average amenities, tasty food, and comfortable rooms. I also experienced friendly and helpful service. Although part of the resort was under construction, my stay was still enjoyable.
Last October, I spent six nights at the Andaz Costa Rica Resort at Peninsula Papagayo (Andaz Papagayo), Hyatt’s leading luxury property in Costa Rica. It’s strange to say this, but given all the development that’s occurred on and around Peninsula Papagayo, the Andaz is now one of the older kids on the block, having opened back in 2013. Save for the Four Seasons (2004), it’s the second-oldest of the four (soon to be five) marquee luxury resorts in the area, with the recently opened Ritz-Carlton Reserve and Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique. With a St. Regis joining the Papagayo party in 2027, the Andaz Papagayo – still less than 15 years old – will be an OG in the luxury hotel Costa Scene. Based on my experiences at the property, I’m confident it can hold its own. Here’s a detailed review of my stay at this now-category 8 Hyatt property.
You can find all the posts from this trip report here (it will populate with more reviews, musings and other articles as they are published).
Lastly, if you’re mulling you’re own trip to Costa Rica and you like to move (and tapirs!!), then this just might be the adventure for you.
Booking the Andaz Costa Rica Resort at Peninsula Papagayo
I booked our six-night stay at Andaz using World of Hyatt points.
Getting In and Check-In
We arrived on a charter flight courtesy of Perro Air at Liberia International Airport (LIR), and I arranged for transport through the hotel. After clearing immigration, we spotted our driver holding a sign with our names on it, and we proceeded to the van. The Andaz is just about 35 minutes away from Liberia Airport, and the driver was accommodating in asking if we needed to stop along the way. We took the opportunity to stop by a store and pick up a few bottles for the room. The transport was equipped with some ice-cold water and snacks. Upon arrival at the hotel, a team of staff members was ready to greet us with a fresh ‘pipa’ and assist with our luggage. As much of the central building of the resort, including its lobby, was under construction, we ‘checked in’ in the makeshift office that also was the reception area for dinner.
Before long, we were on our way to the room.
The Room
I had two rooms during this stay. I booked an Enhanced Forest View room with one King Bed, which was upgraded to a Deluxe King Room with a balcony upon arrival. Here’s a walkthrough of the first room.
And some photos.
There was also a Globalist welcome gift – some local fruit and snacks.
We inquired about the availability of any suites, and the assistant general manager, Whitney, mentioned that all the suites were occupied, but if any became available, she’d try to move us into one. True to her word, the next morning, Whitney gave us a call and upgraded us to a Deluxe suite.
The suite was rather impressive – just behind the door to the room was a half bath. The living room was spacious and offered great views of the trees below. There was a large, sturdy desk for writing, work, and dining, as well as a comfortable couch for lounging. A door separated the bedroom and main bathroom from this living area. Opening this door revealed a sizable walk-in closet, and to the left was a huge bathroom complete with a deep soaking tub. The king bed proved to be a real plus and my favorite part of the room – the balcony was perfect for sipping coffee while watching for howler monkeys.
Speaking of howler monkeys – they had quite the showdown with Pupbeard. If you read my introduction to this Costa Rica / Panama Trip Report, you’ll know that what made this Latin America trip special wa the presence of our 50lb pitbull, Apollo. A charming fellow, he and a troop of howlers had a bit of a balcony showdown.
It’s still unclear who’s the “rootin’ tootinest gunslinger this side of the Papagayo,” though I might have to give it to the howlers.
Lastly – I’ll elaborate more on service later on – but one nice touch was the dog goods – food bowls and a bed – that they provided for Pupbeard.
The Grounds
The hotel’s footprint is an interesting one. Like many of the resorts in Papagayo it’s built into the hills. Thus, when you enter the resort, you drive downhill to the property from the rest of the Papagayo development. Going back up this main road was a great way to get some exercise and we did this regularly, particularly for strolls with Pupbeard. You’ll pass a few trailheads and a mini-outdoor fitness center as well.
Upon reaching the summit, you’ll enjoy a great vantage point to admire Culebra Bay.
As this is Costa Rica, wildlife is abundant. Howler monkeys can be heard all throughout the property and it’s not uncommon to pass by a troop as your stroll around the property.
At the resort’s main building, you’ll find two restaurants, Chao Pescao and whatever La Piazza has been converted into now, a reception area, and a star-gazing room.
There’s also an event space. Continuing down the main path that cuts through the property, you’ll first pass the resort’s main pool (closed for renovation during our visit) and the kids’ club before coming across the majority of the guest rooms and suites. To the right side of the path are some of the residence villas. The path will end at the entrance to Ostra. You can also go down (on a different path) toward the resort’s second pool and beaches or ascend (on yet another path) to go to the spa and resort’s two fitness centers.
Following the path down, you’ll eventually face a decision – go left, and you’ll end up at a beach with a few beach chairs and loungers set up. To the right is a somewhat larger beach that is empty – no beach chairs or loungers.
Finally (and I’ll elaborate on this below), there’s a third and much more vibrant satellite beach, which you’ll need either a boat or shuttle to get to. This third beach, the Andaz’s Beach Club, is located on a different part of Peninsula Papagayo, about two coves away from the main property.
Amenities and Activities
There’s no shortage of amenities at Andaz Papagayo. I’ve listed them all below.
Many people ask about off-site excursions, such as waterfall visits, hikes, wildlife spotting adventures, fishing expeditions, and volcano trips. All of these activities (and more) are bookable with the hotel, and I know several people opt for the DIY approach, renting a car to do the excursions themselves.
One thing to keep in mind is most excursions are whole-day trips, whether you’re taking a tour or doing it yourself, particularly when you factor in the drive time. So I’d think thoughtfully about how much time you have at the property and what you’re optimizing for in your experience. If you’ve come to the Andaz to relax, then perhaps you don’t want to spend all day driving around Guanacaste. Conversely, if you are using the Andaz as a comfortable base for your daily explorations around the area, it can serve that purpose as well. Build the trip YOU desire!
As for on-property amenities, let’s begin with the pools. There are technically three of them (if you include the one at the Beach Club). Of the two pools on the resort’s main campus, the larger one was closed due to the construction for the duration of my stay. Here’s a photo I snapped of it from a distance, and here’s what it looks like now (reopened) from Hyatt’s website.
You might find a pizza cart or ice cream truck poolside (it’s unclear if that reopened post-construction).
The other pool on the main campus is just below the Ostra restaurant. It’s smaller but aesthetically pleasing as it, too, is an infinity pool.
If you like to sing you should know there’s a karaoke room onsite. Just outside La Piazza (note that this restaurant may have a different name now), there’s a room dedicated to those who like to belt out their favorite tunes. I didn’t go into it, but it appeared to be ‘hopping’ – at least the light show was.
The Andaz also boasts a solid spa. I got a massage which was enjoyable.
Inside the changing rooms, you’ll find a steam room, and outside on the spa’s patio, there’s some hydrotherapy – a heated pool and a cold plunge.
I was impressed by the resort’s fitness offerings. Downstairs, in the same space that houses the spa, you’ll find a traditional gym with a handful of cardio machines, some weight machines, free weights, and a stretching area. There’s also an outdoor (covered) elevated platform that’s optimized for functional training, HIIT, and heavier lifting. The equipment up here was in good shape, particularly for being exposed to the elements. If you’re someone who enjoys cross-training style workouts, you’ll appreciate this space.
If you’re traveling as a family and looking to keep youngsters entertained throughout your stay, there’s the Cambi Kids club that provides weekly programming and (for a fee) offers babysitting services.
Within the Papagayo development, there’s a bikeshare program allowing guests and residents to ride from one point of interest to another. One stop where you can pick up (and dock) bikes is the Nature Center. This is a central hub “staffed by resident naturalists, focusing on environmental, maritime, archaeological, social and educational initiatives—offering interactive exhibits and hands-on programs designed to increase awareness and support conservation.”
If you’re a fan of tennis, you can practice your best serves at the tennis courts within the Papagayo development. The hotel staff can help arrange some court time for you. It’s the same for golf. There’s at least one course in Peninsula Papagayo, and I’d imagine it’s not difficult to grab a tee time.
Lastly, Peninsula Papagayo boasts over 13 miles of trails for you to explore. You’ll want to confirm that these trails are not closed for repair (at least one was while we were there). If the trails are open this is another great way to stay active without having to stray too far from the resort.
Beaches
I mentioned three beaches at the property – let me elaborate on them. The two beaches on the resort’s main property are OK. Hotel guests are predictably more frequent here than the beach without the loungers. The area is rather ‘woody’ – the beach itself isn’t huge, and the hotel sets the loungers up underneath the tree canopy to make use of the natural shade. Notably, this beach is where you’ll catch the boat to the Casa de Playa (Beach Club).
I preferred the other beach on the hotel’s main property. We spent a lot of time playing with Pupbeard over here, and I didn’t see a single hotel guest visit this beach over our entire stay. If you’re looking for some quiet time, this may be the look.
Both of the onsite beaches are ‘sandy’ though there are some bigger rocks in the water to be aware of.
For all the fans of beautiful water and a more traditional beach setting, the Beach Club is for you. As mentioned earlier, it’s located a few coves away from the resort’s main campus, and you’ll need to either hop on a hotel club cart (which departs every half hour or so) or take the boat (similar schedule). I opted for the water chariot on the way there…
…and a cart on the way back.
The Beach Club’s beach is much more swimmable – there’s a dedicated roped-off area that keeps folks safe from passing boats or jet skis. This is where you’ll also find a booth for water sports. Kayaks and SUP rentals are included in the resort fee (which is waived for Globalists).
Lastly, there’s another pool (the resort’s third) at the Beach Club, which is long but pretty shallow.
In my opinion, none of the beaches are picturesque white sand beaches you’ll find in the South Pacific or Caribbean, but that’s not Costa Rica’s vibe (at least in the Guanacaste Province – you can find some more visually stunning beaches on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast and in Puntarenas as well). That said, this Beach Club is a thoughtful option from the hotel, and you can ‘sun and fun’ there.
Dining
As of today, there are four dining options (not including room service) at the Andaz Papagayo: Casa de Playa/Meso, Rio Bhongo, Chao Pescao, Ostra, and Coffee & Vinyls. During our stay, four venues were open; Casa De Playa, Ostra, Chao Pescao, and the temporary La Piazza; Rio Bhongo was under construction.
Ostra served as the main breakfast restaurant and the food was tasty. The complimentary Globalist breakfast offering was quite generous – I was able to order almost anything à la carte and never saw a bill for it. The staff was also super flexible in packing up our orders to take back to the room on a few occasions so we could hang out with Pupbeard while we dined. I believe there’s a buffet option but we’re not huge on buffet so we went for the a la carte. Apologies but I don’t think I snapped any photos of breakfast but I do have some photos of the solid cocktails from Ostra’s bar.
Meso and Casa de Playa are technically two separate areas, but they are both located within the same beach club structure. It’s a bit unclear what the difference between the two restaurants was as they have similar menus, both of which were available at the same time. I didn’t get any food, but I did order a cocktail from one of the two menus while I was at the Beach Club. It was OK.
We sat down at La Piazza twice for dinner and the food was tasty. The wine offerings were also unexpectedly good – whoever sourced the list did a good job. La Piazza, as the name suggests, is an Italian restaurant, and the eggplant parmigiana, porchetta, fennel salad, and pasta pomodoro were all on point.
Room service was solid for the most part – I enjoyed almost everything we ordered, though some dishes were stronger than others. As we were traveling with Pupbeard and didn’t want to leave him alone in the room, we opted to order a substantial amount of room service, allowing us to try a healthy sampling of the menu. To be clear, I wouldn’t describe any of the items we ordered as ‘weak’; rather, some offerings were a bit ‘off’ in the way that makes you go, ‘Oh- maybe they don’t know how to cook X well here”. The nachos come to mind – it was a curious choice for the cheese, as it wasn’t the more artisanal melted-on style (my preference), though it wasn’t the liquid ballpark or movie theatre style, but it was somewhere weirdly in the middle.
Lastly, keep in mind that Peninsula Papagayo, while expansive, is accessible – particularly via hotel shuttle. So sitting down for dinner at one of the other hotels on Peninsula Papagayo, such as the Nekajui, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, or the nearby Four Seasons, is entirely possible and a good way to switch things up. If you’re staying on points at the Andaz and skipping out on the higher accommodation costs of these two properties, you could always treat yourself to a nicer dinner at one (or both) of them throughout your stay to get a feel for them, to see if they are worth it on a return visit. Just some food for thought. (Sorry).
Service
I have to shout out the team, particularly Whitney, for the excellent service. I had a package of household goods/items shipped to meet me at the hotel. The package was held up at customs due to some complete BS, and although I wouldn’t ever receive it (cough, cough, I didn’t want to pay the bribe), the team at the hotel did everything they could to help me communicate with FedEx and the local customs agents. Additionally, all the interactions I had with staff members were extremely pleasant – from the folks delivering room service to the spa attendants to the team members offering a friendly hello as they whizzed by on a golf cart – the team did a great job of making us feel welcome as guests.
Conclusion
The Andaz Papagayo is one of the better representations of the Andaz brand within Hyatt’s portfolio. Although several of the resort’s key amenities were under construction during our visit, I still thoroughly enjoyed my time. It’s easy to both relax and stay busy at this property – whatever you fancy. If there’s one knock on the property, I would say it’s the price – the hotel was a better value on points in years past than it is now, as it’s moved from a Category 7 property to a Category 8, meaning it’s no longer accessible with a Free Night Award 1-7 Certificate and costs at a minimum 35,000 points per night. This isn’t to say that the Andaz isn’t worth it. It’s more that if you are contemplating paying the corresponding cash rate, particularly during high season, you may be better off checking out the nearby Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Four Seasons, or Waldorf Astoria. With that said, if you do take the plunge, I’m confident you’ll enjoy your stay. Pupbeard sure did!
