Occidental Tamarindo - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

5505 reviews

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  Not the experience we were promised or hoped for.

  This is a genuine review from a family of 3 during our 1 week stay at Occidental with an all-inclusive package.We strongly urge anyone considering staying here to read our review, as we feel we were greatly misled. Most, if not all of the photos of this resort you see online from Occidental are from 4 years ago. The facilities do not look like that now, they are outdated and different and should be updated. The rooms could not be farther off than what is advertised, and we were disappointed so greatly, that we had to pay for an upgrade, which we later found out was near their trash room, and smelled very awful. Our room had roaches. We asked for the trash cart to be moved and only on the very last day was it moved. Our travel agency told us that this was in a wonderful area, with a lot to do. We found it to be incredibly crowded, filled with obnoxious tourists, and little to do. Nothing local about it.. overpriced area, and all the local residents agreed. However, if you enjoy surfing , the waves are incredible and you will have a great time. The beach is beautiful, but the entrance is surrounded by sea rocks, and difficult to enter the beach, and with the high tide, not possible. We did not come there to surf however. We ended up being so annoyed with the behavior of the resort guests and lack of working ammenities, that we rented our own car and ventured out to other cities. We paid 1/2 the cost and had the most wonderful time away from Tamarindo. The only positive part of our stay was the buffet food. It was truly authentic and delicious. Some of the resort staff went above and beyond and treated us like family (Elvin and Adina, thank you!). But the reception was not friendly, and we felt more like a burden here than guests. The Italian restaurant was fabulous, but the Japanese (Kyoto) food was awful, with bad service there. By the end of our stay, we all made a joke about this resort, that it should've been called "accidental" because it all felt like a big mistake. In summary, if you're looking to drink your day away, swim in a smelly chlorine pool, and eat until you explode, this may be the place for you. For those looking for an authentic Costa Rican experience, you will be very disappointed staying here. We wish we stayed in Flamingo instead, its much quieter and beautiful there.

  Jul 02, 2025
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  Will not return

  The resort was far from the town and airport. We tried to get our back door fixed, never happened. The resort needs to be updated badly!

  Jul 01, 2025
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  Family of 5 with Teens/tweens

  Food- was good. Had a good variety for every meal that everyone should easily find something they wanted. They had the main hot buffet line (thinks like rice/beans, plantain, chicken, pork, fish, seafood mix, potatoes, soup, (and some easy kid/American food like fries, grilled cheese, nuggets, nachios) etc. and then something at the grill and soemtimes a second station with things like pasta. Breakfast had egg station and waffle/pancakes and smoothies. Every meal had fruit, bread, deli meat and cheeses. And lots of desserts for lunch/dinner. Most interesting thing was jello at every meal even breakfast. Snack bar was ok - had burgers and then sometime pizza or quesadillas. Always fruit and a few other things (fries, nuggets). If they just added salsa would be great! Drinks- Imperial was only beer (on tap). Mixed drinks were good/fine. Some people just got straight liquor. Sometimes the line got long, but just had to wait for a break. Rooms - we had 2 giant rooms for only 5 people. Both with 2 queens + loft w double bed. No idea why they said the rooms could only fit 4. Not sure if you can reserve those rooms or you just get lucky. I think there were 4-5 building with the top floor having the lofts. And then there were lots of ‘regular’ hotel room in larger buildings. They did not look as nice. Definitely lucked out. Rooms weren’t connected but were next to each other. Also had mini fridge that was stocked each morning. People- was a lot of older people (60/70s), or multi generational large family trips. Not a lot of young adults (or kids) Beach- there is a lifeguard there (I think he’s part of the marine park?). But beach has a permanent red flag (I assume) bc of riptides. He pretty much told everyone not to go past knees/hip b/c it was dangerous. There are also lots of rocks in front of hotel. But if you cross the river (low tide easy) and walk a bit it’s not rocky. There is also a warning for crocodiles and we saw stingray. The life guard said there are tiger sharks, etc. Kids still swam a bit each day but it was a bit nerve wracking. There were always lots of surfers by the hotel and then farther down at the park. We walked/waded across the ‘river’ several times. Each a bit different depending on how close to high or low tide. Location - was pretty nice. It was removed from the town and crazy amount of people. Also very cool to be on/able to access the National park with so few people. It was pretty much us and surfers. A nicer beach would have been nice (or less riptide/rocks) Animals- the coolest thing was seeing (and hearing) the howler monkeys outside our balcony the one morning at 6am (and then watched them for 20mins). Also saw hundreds of crabs (small like hermit crabs) come out around 8pm several nights and head toward the ocean. It was creepy. But walked over them several nights to see the stars at the beach. The star viewing was pretty awesome. Activities -they had games you could play on your own (foosball, ping pong, darts, etc) and a few organized activities. We did some water aerobics and Zumba. Watched the shows at night( mostly we’re dancing, but the Sat night had acrobatics and fire/juggling). There was also a cool fire show at the pool one night. The same 5-7 people do all of the shows and work theirs butts off!

  Jun 29, 2025
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  Very nice, cost-effective All-Inclusive in Tamarindo

  The resort is very nice and has everything you would need. If you're a surfer, it is ideal as the surf break at Playa Langosta is right there! The pool area is awesome with plenty of seating and palapas for shade if need be. The bars and buffet are perfectly acceptable just don't expect a 5 star culinary experience going in and you'll be just fine. That said, you can get a fresh made omellete and fresh fruit everyday at breakfast. There is always something fresh being grilled at lunch and dinner so you don't have to just eat the buffet food although most of it is also good. The Italian and Japanese restaurants onsite are a great way to break up eating at the buffet for dinner every night.

  Jun 27, 2025
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  Would Not Recommend

  Room was very outdated and in sad state of repair and upkeep. Room phone did not work, room curtains were dirty and had holes in them, Sink was missing drain strainer, Water pooled on floor and very slow to drain while taking a shower.

  Jun 15, 2025