Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

5870 reviews

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  We give it a seven out of 10

  On a scale of 1 to 10 Papa Gallo's secrets is a six and a half to seven. Food was mediocre at best in most restaurants. Hotel staff was amazing grounds were kept well and beautiful. There are plenty of excursions at an extra cost you can choose from with different times to go.

  Dec 17, 2025
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  Truly enjoyable!

  Great resort, excellent food and service from the staff! Thanks! I would use their services again, even when I am more into national parks and forest tourism.

  Dec 17, 2025
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  Great resort to experience romance and relaxation

  My husband and I stayed at the Secrets Papagayo in Costa Rica November 29th – December 5th, 2025. Upon our arrival we were warmly greeted by Nelson (one of the many friendly bellmen who said, “welcome home!”) and Keneri “Kenny”(from Unlimited Services) that assisted us with our luggage, offering us champagne and cool hand towels with fragrant eucalyptus before directing us to the front desk area for check-in. The lobby is totally open air with an expansive view of the Papagayo Bay; just beautiful. We arrived a few hours earlier than check-in; however, we were given our room number and advised it would be ready by 3pm. In the meantime, we were able to start enjoying the resort. During our wait we had a nice seafood lunch overlooking the bay at the Seaside Grille. This was enough time for our room to be ready. The resort is spread out and extremely hilly but there are shuttles readily available. I don’t think we ever waited longer than 5 minutes for a shuttle. The driver transported us to our tropical bungalow suite that was conveniently near the relaxation pool/spa. Our bungalow was surrounded with a wide variation of tropical foliage; including lemon trees and birds of paradise to name a few. We woke up each morning appreciating the howler monkeys giving us a wake-up call and respect for the massive iguanas that enjoyed sunbathing on our deck. While the resort is large in size it does not consist of an excessive amount of bungalows (less than 300) making it great to enjoy your morning coffee or a glass of wine late night; giving it an intimate, tranquil feel, perfect for couples. That was a real treat! The room was spacious, nicely decorated and equipped with all the essentials. Our only complaint was that the drain in our shower did not appear to be properly draining or there is a poor design. It resulted in a lot of water entering the main area. I called for assistance, and it took a long time, and we ended up cleaning it up ourselves. Not sure if someone ever came to check it or not. We just made it a point to be mindful of the positioning of the dual showerheads. While it was an inconvenience, we did not let it ruin our trip as everything else was going fine. I could go with a daily review but that would take too long and make this review even longer. 😊 I will offer a highlight of things we enjoyed and while we found all the staff to be professional and friendly, there are a few that I would like to give special recognition to for their attention to detail. Nelson – bellman ( friendly & helpful). Offered his suggestion when deciding if we should go to Playa del Coco or Papagayo Marina. Based on his recommendation we went to Playa del Coco to be able to hang with some of the locals. We could also do some shopping and enjoy some local food outside of the resort. He helped us arrange a taxi to take us there and bring us back to the resort. Bartenders: Revive Bar (near the relaxation pool.): Victor may have been our favorite bartender. He knows how to make a cocktail (favorite was the Secrets margarita made w/fresh strawberry puree & basil.) Definitely has talent! Sugar Reef Bar: we enjoyed the nightly humor from Ronnie and Arturo. Barracuda swim-up bar: the drinks were okay. I am used to swim-up bars having more lively bartenders and while the bartenders for the were nice, it was nothing stood out about them. Dariana (sp?) from SeaSide Grille. She had the sweetest personality. Junior from Aqua restaurant and Portofino’s. It was obvious that he has a good spirit about him. He defines Pura Vida. Antonio : nighttime shuttle driver. We shared nightly laughs with him as we told him he picked us up on the “Drunk Bus.” Restaurants: Market Café: We are not big on buffets, but Secrets did a good job for their buffet set-up. We found it to be quality over quantity and not a cafeteria vibe. Food was constantly rotating with fresh options and sanitation was priority. Seaside Grille we ate there for lunch and dinner but found that it was better for lunch than dinner. Aqua: nice healthy options located near the relaxation pool area. Portofino Italian: probably our favorite. They have a salmon carpaccio on the menu that was REALLY good. Himitsu Pan -Asian cuisine: good food but not really our favorite. They also offer teppanyaki, but you must make reservations early. Barefoot Grill for poolside food: the burgers were really good. Pizza…just okay. Room Service: we did this once for breakfast and you can order directly from the app. They will call to confirm your order after you place it. Service was within the provided delivery time and what we expected for breakfast. Couple’s massages with Morela & Jennifer. It was a nice way to cap off our last full day. The spa also offers a dry sauna, hot tub, relaxation area that is available for the full day of your treatment. It is included with the price of the treatment. Arranging excursions with Congo Trails through the excursion office was also seamless. I will highlight that in a separate post. It is a reasonable transfer from the airport, secured resort with lots of appreciation given to the ecosystem. Recommendations would be for the resort to: - place more emphasis on local cuisines to really highlight the culture of Costa Rica. - Full disclosure of what “top shelf” liquors will be provided. I like tequila and the only brand they had that I heard of was Jose Cuervo. That is not top shelf. They considered Nikolai top shelf for vodka. They did have Kettle One, but you had to ask for it, and they may tell you that are out of it. Not good to run out of anything at an all-inclusive resort. - Additionally, to offer more variation of daily activities and nightly entertainment. There seems to have been long lapses of nothing going on during the day and in the evening while the dancers were really good some of the performances seemed redundant. Overall, our stay at Secrets Papagayo was very nice and memorable. We definitely plan to visit again. Costa Rica is really a small piece of Heaven!

  Dec 16, 2025
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  Mixed Experience at Secrets Papagayo

  Secrets Papagayo has some really strong highlights, but also a few frustrations that held the experience back from being truly great. On the positive side, the location is beautiful. Being surrounded by coral made for awesome snorkelling, which was one of the best parts of the trip. The rooms are very nice, clean, and comfortable, and room service was reliable and good. The buffet was actually excellent—easily the best food option on site and consistently better than expected. That said, there were some notable downsides. The on-site stores felt extremely overpriced, with prices that were unreasonably inflated for basic items. The booze selection was pretty poor for a resort at this level, and restaurant availability was a constant issue. Several restaurants were closed during the week, leaving very limited dining options. Food hours were inconsistent and changed often, which made planning difficult. If you have an early excursion, don’t expect to eat beforehand—there were no lunch or early food options, and the buffet was barely open for dinner most nights. Getting into the à la carte restaurants when you actually wanted to eat was often not possible. Overall, Secrets Papagayo has a great setting, good rooms, and solid food when it’s available, but operational inconsistencies, limited dining access, and inflated shop pricing took away from the experience. With better organization and more reliable food availability, this could be a much stronger resort.

  Dec 15, 2025
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  Great Place to Have a Honeymoon

  My husband and I went to Secrets Papagayo for our honeymoon. The resort was nice, it is spread out but everything is within walking distance or you can use their transportation. We liked to walk the beach back and forth to the two different sides. Overall, the staff was absolutely fantastic. I would go back because the service was so good in the pool area and restaurants. Specifically, Alonso at the pool bar/manatee bar was great, he made special drinks and was super attentive. We really enjoyed getting to know him . Jean Pier was also fantastic, he was extremely attentive, kind and fast with drinks. Overall great service from these two. We would definitely come back, the beach is super clean and nice. The resort was nice and the staff was great. It is not too far from the airport, we used AmStar for our ride there and back and they were also great to work with and had a desk at the resort.

  Dec 14, 2025