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Reviews of El Mangroove Papagayo, Autograph Collection

4.5 out of 5
El Mangroove Papagayo, Autograph Collection
Papagayo Bay, Sardinal, Guanacaste

Reviews

9.0

Wonderful

Rating 10 - Excellent. 275 out of 413 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 91 out of 413 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 27 out of 413 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 13 out of 413 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 7 out of 413 reviews" "

9.6/10

Cleanliness

9.2/10

Staff & service

8.4/10

Amenities

9.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

9.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

4/10 Poor

George

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service
In general, hotel was ok, bathroom smells like mold, room was not very spacious. Half of tanning chairs stays reserved. Dinner is only available at one restaurant, very overpriced with small portions. We per-arrange transportation from the airport to the hotel. When we got to the airport no one met us, so we have to take a taxi, but as soon as we arrived we were told that we have to pay regardless. They claimed that driver was there but we just somehow didn't see him (at the video he recorded to prove he was there, no one else was around, however when we arrived there were many drivers there), they blamed us we didn't see him, didn't even apologize that we have to look for a taxi, and it was dark, no wifi, no phone service. The vibe at this hotel was all about money. I would not recommend this place.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Christina

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I enjoyed my stay at the El Mangroove. The property was lovely and the staff was friendly, kind, attentive and helpful. Look forward to returning to CR in the future.
Stayed 6 nights in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Wayne

Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

2/10 Terrible

Blake

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Wouldn’t go back. Terrible food - a few other guests were sick from the Mediterranean spot (thank god for Haciendo Bleu 5 minutes away, ginger is great too). Drinks take at least 20 minutes. Unfriendly front desk staff (rest of the staff was nice and wanted to help but clearly work out of fear). It’s in a swamp, not the nicest areas around here. Bugs in all rooms. Weird vibes as half of this is an adults only resort and the other half is full families. The lighting (very dark and poorly pointed) and finishes are all junk as it’s falling apart (tile and decking were cutting many people in the pool). Strips of attitude that does go is pulling up like cheap carpet. I don’t know exactly how to put it in works other than a bad episode of the white lotus where you go to die. Luckily we made friends with a number of people staying and made the most of it but look around. It is not a Marriott grade resort,
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Sevda

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great place for a high end getaway
Stayed 9 nights in Jan 2024
Response from Jonathan Guzmán. on 6 Mar 2024
Hello Dear Stephanie.Thank you so much for your comments.We cant wait to host you againKind Regards.Jonathan Guzmán: Guest Relation Manager.

4/10 Poor

Richard

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Rundown and Dirty
Very disappointing stay. If you are going to market a rundown and poorly maintained hotel as mid-level luxury, then it should at least be clean and well managed. Our room smelled terrible, had mold growing in the sink and shower, had dirty and stained surfaces throughout. Unfortunately, the same was true in all other areas of the resort as is evident in the photos. The pool was full of leaves and other debris and couldn't really be used. When someone did finally decide to clean something, it was a staff member using a leaf blower right next to the chairs we were using. We also got a nice wakeup call at 6:30am when someone decided it would be a good time to use a blower right outside our window. During our two-week journey across Costa Rica, our stay at the El Mangroove was the absolute low point. We ended up staying only a single day, but even that was too long. ** Since the lack of cleanliness kept us from eating at the hotel, we did find a nice little local restaurant (La Marina) about 15 minutes away by car. We would highly recommend if you're looking for a local experience.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

6/10 Okay

Andrew

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024
Response from Jonathan Guzmán. on 6 Mar 2024
Hello Dear Stephanie.Thank you so much for your comments.We cant wait to host you againKind Regards.Jonathan Guzmán: Guest Relation Manager.

6/10 Okay

Rachel

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I am not in the wedding party
The place is amazing. Excellent food, rooms are so comfortable and the pools are beautiful. Only problem…there was a huge wedding going on across from our room. The music was so loud until 10pm that is all you could hear at the restaurants, pools, and in our room. El Mangrove prides itself on Eco Friendless and the noise pollution was out of control. It would have been nice to get just a heads up about the wedding so we would know in advance and be prepared
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Mike

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 7 nights in Jan 2024

6/10 Okay

Shanna

Liked: Staff & service, amenities
Pros Staff was very nice. Very quiet place to stay. Maid service was very attentive to details Beautiful pool and beach area! Loved those Cons Its a minimum of 20 minutes driving from anywhere Our room had no hot water- they did fix it within the hour Our coffee pot wouldn’t work. They did fix it The coffee pot had old water with bugs floating in Our biggest issue was with Expedia. They advertised this as all inclusive. I had the screen shots of this. When we got there we were told it was not. We called Expedia and said it was in the fine print. I asked what about the very large letters saying all inclusive. They said it wasn’t their problem. Don’t believe I can use Expedia again
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

elizabeth

Travelled with family
Liked: Amenities
This is a top notch hotel and provides everything you need. Abundant pools, great food choices and a great staff. Highly recommend.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2024
Response from Concierge on 20 Jan 2024
Hi Elizabeth.We are very happy to heard that.Thank you again for sharing your experience.We hope to see youy soon in our property.Best

10/10 Excellent

Stephanie

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Everything was perfect!
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024
Response from Jonathan Guzmán. on 6 Mar 2024
Hello Dear Stephanie.Thank you so much for your comments.We cant wait to host you againKind Regards.Jonathan Guzmán: Guest Relation Manager.

10/10 Excellent

aschen-leighe, milwaukee

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024
Response from Jonathan Guzmán. on 6 Mar 2024
Hello Dear Aschen-leigheGreetings from El Mangroove and thanks for you comments.Kind regards.Jonathan Guzmán- Guest Relations Manager

4/10 Poor

Matt, Bozeman

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
We paid nearly $500/night for a room with a view of a chain link fence and construction behind it, the room had a hint of sewer gas smell which was in the bedding, and they wouldn’t move us to another room. We ordered room service the first night and my wife got food poisoning and spent our three days at the hotel in the room very sick, and the staff responded to us with, “you should have told us of any allergies you had before ordering”, completely ignoring it was food poisoning from a margherita pizza! Huge disappointment from a Marriot hotel and for ruining our 25th wedding anniversary trip and first time to Costa Rica. I’ll never stay at an AC Marriot hotel again.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2024
Response from Jonathan Guzmán. on 6 Mar 2024
Hello Dear Matt.Greetings from El Mangroove.Apologies for the inconvenience on the property.I want to contact you, if you can share with me your email address, I will be more than glad.Looking forward to hearing from you.Kind regards.Jonathan Guzmán- Guest Relation Manager

6/10 Okay

Victoria

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
The property is beautiful and built exclusively by and for the environment it is in. Only one complaint: their room cleaning team is lacking.
Stayed 6 nights in Jan 2024
Response from Jonathan Guzmán. on 2 Mar 2024
Hello Dear Victoria.Greetings from El Mangroove.Thank you su much for your comment, we feel so glad to heard that you enjoyed the property, and regarding the HSKP team, we so apologies for the invonvenience. We will do a following up with our team.Kind Regards.Jonathan Guzmán: Guest Relation Manager.

10/10 Excellent

Richard

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 7 nights in Dec 2023
Response from Jonathan Guzmán. on 1 Mar 2024
Hello Dear Richard.Thank for your post.We can wait to hosst you again.Kind regards.Jonathan Guzman: Guest Relation Manager.

10/10 Excellent

Jessica

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I celebrated my birthday and there was a hiccup on the first night. However they took accountability and made sure that the rest of the stay was magical. Jesus was amazing. The staff was always friendly and safety was very important to this team. Was able to get transportation to wherever we wanted to go. Airport transportation was a little pricey but glad they had it in place. Food was good.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

6/10 Okay

muhammad

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
Food was not tasty at all
Stayed 4 nights in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Sami

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We stayed here for a week as a family. Everything was exceptional. Despite construction in the neighboring area, there was no disruption. Staff was great. Location is excellent. A separate pool provided a nice escape for the adults and the kids didn’t want to leave the pool and play area all day.
Stayed 6 nights in Aug 2023
Response from Concierge on 24 Aug 2023
Greetings from El Mangroove Hotel!Dear Sami, We appreciate your comments and continue working to provide the best experience. Thank you for allowing us to be part of this trip in Costa Rica. We hope to have you back at El Mangroove.Best regards,Carlos AmadorConcierge-El Mangroove Hotel

10/10 Excellent

Rodney

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The staff was awesome, all of them. The food was great and had options of three different restaurants. Would definitely recommend to go there!
Stayed 8 nights in Jul 2023
Response from Concierge on 24 Aug 2023
Greetings from El Mangroove Hotel!Dear Rodney, We appreciate your comments. We continue working to provide with the best experience. We hope to have you back at El Mangroove.Best regards,Carlos AmadorConcierge-El Mangroove Hotel

6/10 Okay

Kamal Ahmad, Dearborn

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023
Response from Concierge on 26 Jul 2023
Dear Mr. Ahmad,Thank you so much for letting us be your hosts in Costa Rica. We hope you enjoyed from El Mangroove, we look forward for your next visit with us.Best regards,

10/10 Excellent

assi

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Super friendly people and staff, amazing food and so green and clean.
Stayed 5 nights in Jun 2023
Response from Concierge on 29 Jun 2023
Greetings From El Mangroove Hotel!Dear Assi,We are very glad you could enjoy from our property and the beauties of Costa Rica.We look forward to your next visit with us!Warm regards,

10/10 Excellent

Ho Ying

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Clean, safe and comfortable.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2023
Response from Concierge on 26 May 2023
Greetings from El Mangroove Hotel!Dear Ho,We appreciate your visit and hope you have enjoyed from the beauties of our country.It was nice to have you on our property and hope to have you back!Best,

6/10 Okay

Ricardo

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Underwhelming dining choices, breakfast is not included in an overpriced experience. Limited beachfront, better spots elsewhere.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2023
Response from Concierge on 23 May 2023
Dear Mr. Ricardo, Greetings from El Mangroove!We appreciate your comments.We are doing our best to make dinning options for all our costumers. Regarding our breakfast, we have buffet style and a la carte menu, some reservations comes with breakfast incluided, the ones that does not can choose between the options I mentioned.Once again, thank you for your visit.Kindly,Concierge Department

10/10 Excellent

Alexander, Miami Beach

Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Aida

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nice resort! Great staff, convenient access to the beach, good restaurants on premises.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2023
Response from Concierge on 2 May 2023
Dear Aida,Greetings from El Mangroove!Is good to know you enjoyed our gastronomy. Each of the restaurants has a unique concept and different from each other.Regarding the beach, we are glad to hear that you were able to enjoy the sunsets and the calm waters of Playa Panama.Thank you for your visit.

6/10 Okay

Wendy

Liked: Cleanliness
Construction ongoing and noisy near one building/set of rooms. All day including Sunday.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2023
Response from Concierge on 23 Apr 2023
Dear Ms. Wendy.Good morning, we apologize for this inconvenience.We hope that this inconvenience has only affected part of your stay, and that you and your family have been able to enjoy our facilities.Our goal is that our clients can receive excellent service and can create beautiful memories to share.

10/10 Excellent

BABAR

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The resort was just amazing. Cleanliness 10/10 and property was gorgeous. Staff were very friendly and courteous. They pay extra attention to details and you can’t walk away not feeling better connected with nature and yourself. The beach is not crowded at all and the water was warm.
Stayed 6 nights in Mar 2023
Response from Concierge on 2 May 2023
Greetings from El Mangroove!we are very happy to heard you had an amazing experiences in our property, that you enjoed the Panama Beach area. We will say to our staff yor feedback.we hope to see you soon, If you ever come back remeber the Pura vida style!

10/10 Excellent

Adriane

Travelled with partner, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great resort. Would suggest better lighting in the sink area.
Stayed 4 nights in Feb 2023

8/10 Good

Nelson

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful, new hotel. The D2D staff were nice and friendly. We travelled with 2 girls, age 4 and 7. I was disappointed that the kids club “guppies” wasn’t in service with no alternatives. It was listed as a service during the booking. We wouldn’t have stayed there if we knew. When I asked the front desk all they offered was an expensive 3rd party baby sitting service. I got the impression sometimes they’d prefer this be an adult resort. I travel a lot but don’t normally write reviews but I wish someone gave me the heads up about this in advance. Love Costa Rica and the people.
Stayed 4 nights in Jan 2023

8/10 Good

Phillis, Dallas

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023

8/10 Good

Andrea, Sperryville

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
We enjoyed our stay at this resort. Our room was large and comfortable with a few odd design features. This property is not walking distance to anything worth seeing, so you are relegated to the property. Food was fresh and well prepared. Spa had limited availability and needs more capacity. Exercise room is just basic and could use some upgrading. Staff were friendly, especially Adrian, who brought us mangos when we mentioned that we liked them. We enjoyed the limited hiking offered on the beach path and swimming in the lap pool. A nice place to relax.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2023

10/10 Excellent

Georges

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2023

10/10 Excellent

Darrel

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Very unique environment. I really liked the live dinner music.

10/10 Excellent

Andrew

10/10 Excellent

James

Stayed 1 night in Oct 2022

10/10 Excellent

Colette

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderful El Mangroove
Absolutely beautiful place, lovely welcome by staff who could not have done more to make us feel at home. The grounds are well kept and the pool areas are stunning. Our room (Nesto suite) was large and comfortable. Would definitely return!
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

Matthew

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Had a wonderful stay at El Mangroove! Beautiful property, very nice staff, a tasty food. Great for families and couples. Would highly recommend staying here if you want an upscale luxury experience!
Stayed 5 nights in Jul 2022
Response from Masiel on 2 Aug 2022
Thank you very much for your comments, we will share them with our staff. We are glad to know that you liked our gastronomic offer. Thank you once again for choosing El Mangroove. Masiel Chana| Concierge concierge@enjoyhotels.net 2105-7575 Ext 609

4/10 Poor

Ian

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Room opposite building works
Hotel grounds were nice, restaurant was good and the food was very good. Really disappointed in the room, which was one of three opposite the building works. These works started at 0700 and finished just after 2100, so sitting on the balcony in the evening was not an option. The view was an eyesore and for $300 a night, room only I did not expect this, even more disappointing was the lack of action to resolve the problem. The hotel did not appear more than 50% full based on numbers of people at the pool & restaurant, so I cannot fathom why they would assign the three rooms facing the building works. If no further rooms of a similar standard were available then guests should be upgraded, rather than be given this view. We also had an issue with a reservation made for one of the resort fee benefits (coffee tasting), this did not happen on the 10th as per the booking made the previous day with the front desk. To be fair to Josue, we were given the coffee tasting at breakfast on the 11th, however the manager did not provide any alternative or resolution over the room which was the bigger issue. Complained at the front desk about the room, just got a sorry, raised it again at check out, got another sorry. Upon returning home complained to Marriott and they reverted it back to the hotel and still waiting to hear back 2 weeks later. As a Marriott Bonvoy member I would expect better service upon raising a complaint, particularly when photo & video evidence was provided.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2022
Response from Masiel on 2 Aug 2022
Dear Mr. Ian Thank you for your feedback. We apologize for the inconveniences and misunderstandings during your stay as we mentioned in the other platforms. Best,

6/10 Okay

Sarah, Halifax

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
The staff was absolutely terrific. A to the front desk, the bell staff, the restaurant staff. My only real concern is accessibility. There is no elevator to the second floor. The stair railings were loose. Some of the paths were very slippery and some were treacherous in the dark. There was a ramp into the pool, but it was slippery and there was no railing. So, great staff and interesting concept but some problems for anyone with a cane.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022
Response from Arthur Viot. on 26 Jul 2022
Dear Sarah, We appreciate your time to comment your experience with us. Your comments are more than important to improve our services. It will be a pleasure to warmly welcome you back, soon!

10/10 Excellent

Jasmine

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I had such a pleasant stay at El Mangroove, the staff was so warming & welcoming! Heidy, Felix, Esther, and many more made us feel so welcomed. The food selection was amazing we didn’t need to leave the hotel, thank you Mangroove for making us feel so special.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2022
Response from Arthur Viot. on 26 Jul 2022
Dear Jasmine, We appreciate your time to comment your experience with us. Your comments are more than important to reinforce our commitment to provide an excelent service to our distinguished guests. It will be a pleasure to warmly welcome you back, soon!

10/10 Excellent

Melissa

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2022

8/10 Good

Emily

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 4 nights in May 2022

8/10 Good

Madhwari

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great property!
Stayed 1 night in May 2022
Response from Arthur Viot on 26 Jul 2022
Dear Madhwari, We apprecite you take this time to share your comments about your experience with us. We hope to warmly welcome you back soon!

10/10 Excellent

Paolo, Conroe

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Loved the hotel! The hotel is beautiful and clean and the view of the beach is gorgeous!
Stayed 2 nights in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Kameron

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A visually stunning hotel
A visually stunning hotel. Top notch staff, the best trained we encountered in CR. Room was very comfortable, great beds. Sits in a mangrove, so loads of bugs. Very expensive food. Isolated from culture, but that is what gringos seem to like.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Carlos

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Amazing food, great staff
Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2022

10/10 Excellent

Cecilia, Woodbridge

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022

10/10 Excellent

Nancy Schwenter

Travelled with family, Travelled with partner, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This is the most unique property I've ever stayed. I have to say the rooms are very unusual and I wished I had some outdoor space instead of indoor space that is screened in. The room was extremely comfortable and I loved the large shower and dressing room area out of the way from the bathroom sink. The bed was very comfortable and I slept well. Never heard the wildlife behind our room until I got up and went out into the screened room. We were there with a wedding party for five days. The staff was so accommodating to us all pulling tables together as the group got larger and larger every day. Great breakfast buffet but since it was not included in our rate and quite pricy, I only chose to indulge one day but everything was delicious. I really think this property should be an all-inclusive since there is absolutely nothing walkable in the area so you are forced to eat on property if you don't have transportation and we found it to be extremely pricy ($700 for five days) for food and drinks (and we didn't drink THAT much). Overall, a wonderful experience for our first visit to Costa Rica! Kudos to all of their hardworking staff for the smiles and hard work they put in every single day.
Stayed 5 nights in Mar 2022

8/10 Good

deirdre

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Really nice hotel with a new renovation on the property but it doesn’t bother you. Wonderful staff and medium quality food for the price. Comfy beds but really didn’t like the locked bedroom chamber separated from the sitting area. Very easy to lock yourself out!!
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2022