TOBY2003

My girlfriend and I are planning a romantic 2 week vacation in July on the coast in Costa Rica. The two hotels we are considering are the Tamarindo Diria and the Fiesta Premier Resort & Spa in Papagayo.
I have read some recent reviews of the Diria which were not very favourable at all. Can anybody provide me with your recent experiences at the Diria or the Fiesta Premier. Are the Sunset Ocean Deluxe Rooms at the Diria clean and right on the beach? Is Tamarindo too busy a place in the summer for a romantic vacation? How is the beach and the water in both places?
Thanks for your help.
Toby

Percy

Hi TOBY2003

I cannot believe that no one has answered you about this question you posed.!

I have been to Tamarindo twice and I have been at the Diria Hotel but I did not stay there.

The place is nice and is along the main street of Tamarindo.
It is next to the beach.
It is one of the oldest hotels in Tamarindo and in fact my tour guide told me it was the first luxury hotel in Tamarindo.

It has been renovated every so often so they keep it in good shape.
The inside and outside looked good to me.!!

I was at the Fiesta Premier for 16 days in December 2004.
This is a very lovely place, the rooms are very nice..they are duplex style bungalows built on the hillside....so depending which suite you get you could be up high or down lower.

All the amenities are there:
Casino
Night Show each evening
Gift Shop
Internet room...$5.00/ hour
Three tiered swimming pool(s)
Howler Monkeys in the trees behind your suite if you have one of the suites near the forest!

The grounds a meticuously kept.
Food is good.

Coco beach and town is a 18 minute ride away.
Handy for Vargas Tours to pick you up from here.

There were three honeymoon couple there in December.
The beach is nice but the Fiesta Premier is not located on a straight beach but rather in an alcove....you can see the Allegro Papagayo across the water.

In July the weather should be about 100 F or near there everyday.

If you decide to stay along any of the reosorts along the Papagayo Coast, then you should fly into Liberia airport

Percy

gannetmusic

I definitely would NOT suggest the Diria for a romantic getaway.
The place is a bit seedy / sleazy and the bar is a well known gathering place for 'working girls'.

Can't comment on the Fiesta Premier from experience but have heard positive things about the place.

Jerry

shillmac

Try Cala Luna or Capitan Suizo!

Iza

As much as I love Capitan Suizo, I would not recommend it for a romantic vacation in July. It is very popular with families and there are lots of kids at the property during July and August.

Cala Luna may be a better option. Or check out Sueno del Mar.

posstinuse

me and my girlfriend just spent the week of march 19-26 at the fiesta premier in papagayo and could've have been happier. the people are suoper nice, the resort was beautiful, the food was awesome. i was a little skeptical about the whole buffet thing, but it was great, they have a different theme every night and the whole time we where there the theme never got repeated. the diria is 2 hours away from the liberia airport, fiesta is 20 minutes away. we went to rincon and paolo verde (about 1 1/2 hrs each way). the distance isn't far, but the roads are very bad, thats why it takes so long, we rented a car and drove ourselves around, it was a blast. the reosrt is a bit hilly, but they have little 'taxis' that pick u up, we never wiated more then a minute or 2 for one to pick us up. we saw mionkeys on the resort. i can't say enough how much we enjoyed our stay there

dcd

We were in Tamarindo last Dec. If you settle on Tamarindo, I strongly recommend Casa Cook which is directly on the beach and about a 5-10 minute walk from Diria. Very romantic, especially if you can get the Casa Banyon which is a stand alone cabin with its own swimming pool. You can check out my full report on Trip Advisor. That said, I wouldn't want to spend 2 weeks in Tamarindo or in any other single location. There's not enough to do in any one place in CR for that length of time, IMO. I would move around and there will be plenty of romantice places to stay where ever you settle on. The Tamarindo beach is nice and wide but it's not the loose sandy type of beach. It is hard packed sand. People ride bikes on it, push stollers on it, etc. Still, people lay out. It's good for surfing or swimming. In the summer, the area around Tamarindo is apparently pretty brown because it's the dry season. Hope this helps.

Dave