JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort and Spa

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

3502 reviews

• 

  Wish I could’ve stayed longer

  Fabulous destination. It is AT THE END of the road Middle of nowhere. Beautiful Botanical Hotel is 5 star ***** for a reason Full featured Pricey Great food Room was ocean front. All staff professional and pleasant Live music was thematic and colloquial Super good place

  Apr 24, 2025
• 

  Gorgeous but expensive

  We didn't do our homework before we booked, and accidentally ran into one of the busiest weeks at the resort. Holy Week means government employees have off, and they go to the beach in droves with all of their small(and not so small) children. Even so, the resort was very clean, the food was good, and the service was as good as could be expected with the amount of people there (fully booked). We had daily room service with clean sheets and new supplies including much needed water. The pool was PACKED every day with most chairs being reserved with towels and belongings by 6 am. Wait service was a little spotty, but they did their best to keep up with demand. The sheer number of children made it unpleasant to be next to the pool, unless you wanted to get wet. One thing I want to add is the weather was HOT. 96-98 degrees Fahrenheit (and humid) every day and exceptionally windy, which means you couldn't use the umbrellas, which made sitting in the sun by the pool unbearable for me. I had to spend most of the daylight hours in the room or on the balcony where there was some shade. We did a tour of a volcano and it was much cooler at altitude, but it was also raining. And be prepared for sticker shock on pretty much everything. Two 1.5 liters of water and a mini coke was $20 US. A regular sized hamburger/fries was $26, and breakfast buffet was $32 per person. I had coffee and fruit so it was hard to stomach paying that much. Diesel fuel was almost $5/liter, not gallon. A sun-shirt cost $115 that I could get at Costco for $29. Be prepared to spend $100-200 per person on food each day if you eat at the resort. Local restaurants are about 50% of the resort price. Glad I went, but wouldn't go back.

  Apr 21, 2025
• 

  Set expectations realistically: not 5-star

  We just returned from a week at the JW Marriott. It’s a very nice resort and the grounds are beautifully maintained, but absolutely not a five-star resort. When I think of five-star, I think of pristine spaces with no detail spared—and this just didn’t meet that standard. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful, but it seems like the resort is understaffed across the board. Pool service was subpar—chairs were “reserved” with towels early in the morning, and it took forever to get someone to take a food or drink order. In the afternoon, we would have to remove all the empty cups, trash, garnish, etc. ourselves so we would have a clean spot. The pool cushions were nasty… bird poop, spilled drinks, stains—it definitely took away from the vibe. Seems like it would be such a worthy investment in the property to replace the chairs (or cushions at least). Bath towels were very poor quality (I felt like I was exfoliating just drying off). That was a big disappointment, especially thinking we’re coming to a top-tier resort. The service at the restaurants was good, but the food was just okay. I wish we knew to venture out for food sooner. Again, it felt understaffed. There was a 10–15 party wait just to get seated for breakfast. The room service burger was really good. It was the best meal we had. We ate at all the restaurants except Tamarine. We had much better food outside the hotel at Il Rustica, Lola’s, and the Beach Club. Speaking of which—I highly recommend taking advantage of the Beach Club about five minutes away. It’s $5 per person and offers a full menu, a nice pool, and access to a great beach for surfing. The food and service there were far better than at the resort. I just wish we had discovered it earlier—we would have gone every day. Again, I don’t attribute this to the resort staff…just a lack thereof. On the positive side, we loved having a rental car desk right in the hotel—it made things super convenient. The gift shop was great for grabbing daily snacks or items we forgot to pack, and the ice cream was excellent. Gym is very nice. Spa looked wonderful, though we didn’t have any services. Nice bikes you can use. Owen is great at recommending excursions, etc. Be sure to ask for him. A special thank-you to Alfredo, who was incredibly helpful every day with anything we needed. We also met so many other kind and welcoming staff members—Gainer, Kevin, Lidia—who truly made our stay more enjoyable. With an increase in staff and a refresh on some of the details, this resort would be top notch.

  Apr 19, 2025
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  One of our best Holidays

  We stayed at this amazing property. Beautiful pools, lawns with lush tropical foliage all round. We were upgraded to hacienda style ocean front large suite with a large well appointed bedroom and gorgeous living room leading to a beautiful garden patio private plunge pool. The restaurant were good for dining albeit a little on the pricy side. They had a lavish breakfast buffet spread with with the most amazing variety of fruits , fresh juices, the best coffee and phenomenal local and internationall dishes. The service was friendly. Carlos Adan and Manfred at tamarind for recommendated good drinks Sabanero their steakhouse was our favorite restaurant at the property. The beach has beautiful sunsets, warm waters and there are so many tide pools when the tide recedes. Manfred Adan Carlos gave good recommendations at tamarine for drinks Miguel and Ronnie at sabnero gave great service Monserat Karen Randall were always there with a friendly smile at breakfast .

  Apr 12, 2025
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  True relaxation

  Our stay at the resort was wonderful and very very relaxing . staff very friendly and attentive. facilities were excellent and clean.. my favorite meal was breakfast with a wide variety of tasty food, and with a special call out to the resort's Azul restaurant and it's manager, Josue, and staff who went out of their way to make our dining experience so very special.,.,

  Apr 10, 2025