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Immerse in serenity at JW Marriott Guanacaste, a beachfront haven within Hacienda Pinilla's private, gated community. Experience Costa Rica's charm at Playa Mansita, your exclusive beach paradise. Savor luxury in hacienda-style accommodations, surrounded by lush landscapes. Explore nearby Tamarindo or unwind by the pool. Adventure awaits: surf, swim, golf, or connect with nature. Escape the everyday and rediscover serenity at our award-winning spa, choosing from a rejuvenating massage or a bespoke treatment. Unwind in spacious rooms with ocean views, plush amenities, and modern comforts. Live the Costa Rican dream in ultimate luxury.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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The Jw Marriott Hotel Guanacaste Resort & Spa is often described as a hacienda-inspired retreat with beautiful pools and a variety of activities that garner positive feedback. While guests appreciate the clean and comfortable rooms, some express concerns over maintenance and booking issues. The remote location is noted to be picturesque but may require a car or shuttle services.
Despite the friendly service, there are occasional reports of slow responses. Travelers criticize high prices for dining and activities, questioning the overall value. Cleanliness overall is commended, though the pool cushions could use more attention.
Location
Remote
Atmosphere
Charming
Rooms
Comfortable
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Mixed
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Well-appointed
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We truly enjoyed this luxury hotel and would return! The beds were very comfortable and our room was extra spacious as it was made for a wheelchair accessibility. Our room was on the lobby level, around the corner from a little bar. Our screened in balcony lead to a spacious terrace which was a great spot to watch the sunset. The Marriott was luxurious in many senses…the grounds, the rooms, pool and beds. It was not crowded and there were chaises available at all times but the ones closer to the beach were harder to get. We happened to be at the hotel for Superbowl and we loved watching the game on a large screen beneath the stars. Drinks were expensive but that was to be expected. The hotel also provided talented musicians in the evening on the lobby level. We enjoyed this. The lost and found was fantastic, as I was able to retrieve a pair of lost sunglasses. It was windy when we were there for 2 nights. As a result, some glassware fell from an upper restaurant just after we walked passed. Luckily there were no injuries from this but one member of our group had a closed umbrella fall on his head in the high winds. He had a slight bump but was fine. The towel person was having people sign waivers when we got to the pool in the afternoon. I would love to return to this hotel!
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Date of stay: February 2020
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We first stayed at the JW Marriott Guanacaste in 2010 fairly soon after it opened. Our second visit was this past week, 10 years later. I was pleased to note that the physical condition of the property was still very good although there are things that you would never see in a five star hotel. Example would be the lock on the ladies room stall door. The original piece of hardware was long gone, and the cheap slide bolt in its place didn't even work properly. Our shower was constantly too hot (better than cold!) because the controls were in bad shape. On the positive side, the bed was heavenly as was our view. Our day time maid service was top notch. The service for the coffee maker was sketchy; sometimes they would replace the coffee pods but not sugar or creamer. The birds are hip to the coffee area if you leave your balcony door open. They are polite enough to at least remove the sugar or creamer to outside before they peck it open. The staff are extremely courteous although the front desk ladies could improve. We had a problem upon arrival which they had no interest in helping us. It could have been handled better but my sense is that employees at large chain hotels are not encouraged to think outside the box. This is a large place. There are many people and the pool lounge chairs are occupied almost 100%. Most people would leave towels on the lounges in the early morning then arrive at their leisure. Not sure I like this practice but it seems to be the way it is. The population of guests was varied. Mostly middle-aged (30's to 50's) and a fair amount of drinking going on. Or at least it seems that way because these groups are hard to ignore. We might return but our expectations will be lower, based on our recent experience. Restaurants are not particularly good and are not cheap. Five of our seven nights we drove into Tamarindo. The Hacienda Pinella Beach Club nearby has become very popular and less enjoyable. If you want a true five star experience, I would not recommend staying here. I have given the hotel four stars because the property itself is in a gorgeous location. Amenities were closer to three stars. Be aware that you are charged $30 per night for the resort events such as a free weak cocktail at sundown, yoga on the beach in the am and a bon fire with music on select nights. Not our gig.
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Date of stay: January 2020
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Ocean view or ocean front rooms/suites are a must.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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This is a lovely property in the middle of nowhere located on part of a 4,000 acre cattle ranch. This resort is about 1 ½ hrs. from Liberia airport and travel through a much different topographical area than eastern part of country. Once you turn off the main road it is about 20 minutes to the resort which is located directly on the beach. The road is a bit rough in parts. Along the way there are very nice homes/condos in subdivisions and a nice brick laid walkway most of the way if you decide to get some walking or bicycling, they rent bikes, in during your visit. This luxury hotel, as you would expect, is very nice and the rooms are spread out in different locations and buildings all which surround the resort pool area. There is a lovely courtyard in the center also with lounge seating and one night while we visited they had music and vendors selling their lovely items here. There was generally a nice breeze coming through the corridors in certain areas. There are several restaurants, a nice gift shop, also a pool bar and a pool bar/restaurant. The pool is very large and a continuous infinity style pool with one end overlooking the beach area. The spa also has a multitude of offerings with a reservation. On the beach there are some picnic tables and a small wash station to clean your feet. At night they had music and a bar set up here as well. The beach is a perfect spot to view the beautiful sunset but you may also see it from certain balconies. The rooms were luxurious and roomy with very hot water in the evening but less of it in the morning. There is a walk in shower and a separate large soaking tub that has a sliding wall partition for privacy or to open and watch TV while you soak. Our room’s balcony had very comfortable cushioned seating and there was a privacy screen since they face out to the pool area. They offered K-pods with the coffeemaker and bags of tea but never could get the coffeemaker to just give me hot water for the tea. There also was no refrigerator in our room although we were told other rooms had them. There appeared to be maybe a wet bar but it was locked. The sleep quality was very good and noise level very low. The staff here will help you book activities in the area and I was told they don’t really have a general business center but someone had to set up one computer they allowed us to use so it wasn’t like most places where you can use at your convenience. Bus tour groups also stay here but there was plenty of room and not terribly crowded the first week of March.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
From the moment I checked into the JW Marriott, I could tell that the hotel wasn't worth the 800+ dollars a night spent for it. The first indication of such was that guests are treated as items in an assembly rather than, well, guests. From reservation making to concierge handling to restaurants, the personal touches just weren't there. For example, my family normally has no problem speaking with the chef in order to accomodate the vegan diets of a few members, but the JW Marriott chef was simply unwilling to help. This leads into the next point—food is poor and utterly expensive. Entrees are 30+ dollars and come cold and prepared poorly (i.e. tough meat, lack seasoning). The Asian restaurant is far better than the poolside Italian restaurant, which is atrociously run. The breakfast we received on our first day came to us in less than three minutes and was served cold rather than hot. I can't help wondering if it was someone else's leftovers. Food gradually improved, but that didn't change the hotel itself from lacking. JW Guanacaste is like a faded Southern belle—probably beautiful twenty years ago with a bit of charm, but simply lacking now. The hotel is rundown, from the restaurants to the pool to the rooms. There is a lingering smell throughout the hallways that is independent of the ocean. Staircases are moldy and damp, occasionally dripping. The rooms were average quality and nothing to brag about. My shower at home, which is usually sadly disappointing after a trip, actually felt like decent pressure after the JW shower, which I guess is a plus? Another thing that the room offered was a crusty sheet-like thing under the bed sheet, which led to uncomfortable sleep. You're also close to other rooms, so it's frequently very, very loud. To their credit, they are good about providing water, which I'm grateful for as it was quite hot. Another sad thing was that COVID precautions were dim to none. Most people were unmasked, which can't be blamed as they're in a pool, but it also seemed as if things weren't clean, which isn't the best feeling. The pool was large but frequently held a plethora of individuals, and the whirlpool hot tub contained packed groups of mixed families that had to be a viral breeding ground. This led me to the beach, which was decently kept but needed more chairs. It also seems that the resort wants to nickel-and-dime guests for every penny. Unless you're a premium Marriott member, wifi is 15 USD per day, which is ridiculous. In 2021, charging for wifi is enough to make a hotel undesirable for guests. There is a shuttle to Tamarindo, the local city, but it costs 20 USD roundtrip, so it keeps people stuck in the rat's nest.
TLDR: I cannot recommend this hotel to anyone. The JW Marriott is old, gross, and poorly kept. Don't stay here to save your money—and yourself from COVID.
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Date of stay: January 2021
Value
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed 3 nights at end of tour of CR , including 1 full free day to enjoy all the wonderful facilities of the hotel. Room is excellent , really good use of space, very good ( and needed ) air con , as well as a ceiling fan both in bedroom and on private terrace. There is a fridge in room so a stop at Walmart en route is recommended, as we did, if bar prices are a bit steep for you ( a nice bottle of Malbec is $37 in hotel ). We were on level 3 and thus had a garden, not ocean , view but it was lovely nonetheless. The huge infinity pool is very well designed, it is all one ,but looks as if it is a series of smaller pools. There are sufficient high quality sun loungers and umbrellas for all, no need to scramble to reserve. Service around the pool is good ( $6 local beer, $20 nachos to share ). Hotel is on beach but swimming area is a few yards to the left. Lots of wildlife to spot and a lovely sunset. There is a hamburger bar which was quite reasonable for the evenings. We however ate at Tamarine Asian fusion 1 night , where we were royally served by William , and next night at Sabanero steak house where the service from Andreas was equally good. Bills $91 and $127 for 2 with wine. Well worth the money if you can afford it. The hotel is very remote. We were on coach tour so we were collected for our tour of Palo Verde , and loved our free day poolside. However if travelling independently own transport , or staying by the pool is recommended. A really lovely hotel and a great way to end our tour.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This place is a total tourist trap and full of bait and switch tactics!!! It’s so far away from anything else you are literally trapped there, and so they raise the prices exponentially. $6 for a plain old cup of black coffee? $32 dollars for a puny, wimpy breakfast? Ridiculous!! We drove into Tamarindo every day and for every meal because this place is a joke. The food isn’t even good. We booked a pool view room and were given a room with no view of the pool. It stunk and was dirty upon check-in. The staff and service are totally inconsistent — some people and genuinely helpful and cheerful and gracious, others act like you’re totally disturbing them by asking a simple question (concierge, front desk people) or by expecting them to do their job (waiting at the cash register to make a purchase while the cashier is doing something on her phone). We made the mistake of eating here the first day and were quoted one price ($20 per person for the lunch buffet) and then charged another ($31 per person for the lunch buffet). Conveniently for the hotel, the price is not posted ANYWHERE in the restaurant so when we pointed out the price discrepancy that we were told, they can conveniently say that we are the ones who got it wrong and charge us whatever the hell they feel like. The boast all these activities to do on the property as being *included* in your resort fee but the truth is you can try each activity one time for a limited amount of time, and then they charge you an insane amount for it ($40 for a 45 minute yoga class?!?!). We found out on day 7 of our 9 day stay that there is a beach club that you can go to, but we didn’t even bother visiting because it was just gonna cost us more anyway. There is literally nothing to do on the beach except walk, and the area that you can actually swim in is ridiculously tiny. Good luck getting anyone from the front desk on the phone for any type of help because they just ignore it ringing. The check in process is ridiculously long and no one who checked in while we were checking in could even go to their room upon arrival because none of the rooms were ready. Total disaster of a hotel. Go somewhere else!!!
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Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I do not normally care for large chain hotels but this place is so well located and designed that it bowled me over. The approach to the hotel is through an enormous estate which included miles of mostly dry bushland and woods, a golf course, stables and trails. I spent many happy hours wandering the estate and found many species of birds. It was so good that I declined a trip to Palo Verde National Park offered as part of my tour package in favour of birdwatching alone in what seemed like my own private nature reserve! The hotel itself is enormous with 5 restaurants and a gigantic swimming pool. The design is very nice with old colonial style patios etc. My room was lovely with a view of pleasant gardens. It contained a bath as well as a shower and a fridge (and a tip is to buy drinks at a supermarket beforehand as the prices are high here). The hotel backs onto a lovely beach containing both sand and rocks (for the birds) . The sunsets are gorgeous. The buffet in one of the restaurants has everything you could possible want. I didn't try the other restaurants as you have to book. The only disadvantage is that prices are high and the hotel is isolated, so no alternative options, but considering the high standards you can understand why. I believe they offer a free cocktail at the beach bar once or twice a week, although I didn't find this out til too late!
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Date of stay: February 2020
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nice country, nature and people, not much developed hotels and tourism service structure in Costa RICO . I would not recommend JW Marriot due to several reasons: we did not get upgrade of the room due to full occupancy of the resort ( my husband is Ambassador status member), location has no swim beach and no umbrellas, beach chairs and any kind of beach necessity at all, customer service at check in is horrible ( Sergio was nice exception, he corrected mistakes and rudeness of previous staff), Caravan tour groups are staying at the resort about 2 nights, due to that matter, luck of customer service and cence of exclusivity of 5 star resort. The resort itself is very well maintained with nice pool area. We did get a bottle of shampane and breakfast for our short stay in the resort. That gesture made our stay little brighter. Special thanks to waiters, staff and hard working people who maintain the property. Transportation to Tamarindo should be much more frequent and free of charge compare to $20 per person, it would be good point to the hotel, since location is not convinient and road in a very poor condition.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Higher floors have less AC noise
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Very clean gracious staff large room very efficient relaxing laid back evening entertainment was good but not lively would consider returning.
The hotel Asian and Italian restaurants were superb. My husband loved the steakhouse. I just thought it was ok.
Breakfast although pricey- fresh fruit, cage free local eggs quality ingredients.
Loved their complimentary bath products shampoo etc
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Date of stay: February 2020
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip:we were happy with the lower priced room entrance facing the pasture but our terrace facing the...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My husband and I came here for our honeymoon. We were both impressed by the quality of the resort and staff
Everyone treated us royally and though it was before the official grand opening, we sensed that they will do the same regardless.
You can book excursion or Airport transfer from Liberia through Pininos adventures , this family business will take care of you really well , highly recommend while you are in Costa Rica , Carlos is professional, trustworthy and knowledgeable and he can get you whatever tour you want. Tell him what you're looking for and he will offer you options at very competitive prices
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from GeneralManagerJWMarr, General Manager at Jw Marriott Hotel Guanacaste Resort & Spa
Responded Mar 21, 2020
Dear ValentinoRichard, Thank you very much for sharing you experience at the JW Marriot Guanacaste Resort and SPA. We are very grateful to read that our staff provided exceptional services, and that the activities offers were of your liking. We hope to see you soon at the hotel. Best rewards
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
No it is not all inclusive. Prices are reasonable and the food is good. You can look at the menus on line. Since we did a lot of excursions, there were several days where we were not on the resort so we decided that we were fine without being at an A-I resort
Agreed with other replies - see if you can change flight to Liberia. SJO > Guanacaste is a long drive. Don't rely on what Google maps estimates as driving time. Roads in CR are mainly 1 lane plus traffic.
If airport/flight cannot be changed, would recommend a private transfer from SJO to JW Marriott via a different transportation company outside of JW Marriott.
The transportation company (Go tourism) that is on site at the resort is not apart of JW but an affiliated company that offers their services on the resort (because everything is far from JW Marriott Guanacaste).
There are more places to choose from in the Playa Avellanas area.
PRICE RANGE
$592 - $859 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
jw marriott guanacaste resort & spa costa rica hotel santa cruz, jw marriott guanacaste resort and spa costa rica, jw marriott santa cruz, marriott santa cruz
LOCATION
Costa RicaProvince of GuanacasteTamarindoPlaya Avellanas
NUMBER OF ROOMS
310
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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