Villas Playa Samara Beach Front Resort

I don't really understand the negative reviews on this spot..though if you're looking for fancy I'd suggest staying at the sister hotel Azura next door. Our villa was spacious and clean and about 50 ft from the ocean. We had a problem with the air con late on day 3 and the maintenance team worked on it quietly and quickly. The patio was lovely to sit on in the morning and at sunset. Everyone working here was friendly and helpful. Did they ask you if you wanted something every five minutes? no but that's not what we wanted either. Christian at the restaurant was attentive and kind and always up for a chat. My 8 year old got a jellyfish sting (not very common dont worry) and he brought her a remedy. The buffet wasn't huge but always had something for everyone, everything was cooked with care. I was impressed with the fruit and vegetables available and the meat was never overcooked as is easy to do in a buffet. No stomach issues here. It's worth noting this area has a high calcium content in the water which is great for bones but less so for bloating. There are filtered water stations available. The beach is safe and swimmable even for small children. It is protected by a reef so no rip tides. It's not clear water but you can walk over to Carillo where it is. Many if not all the sea tours leave from right in front of the hotel at the beach so even though it's a walk to town its situated well. Tricoloured squirrels, parrots, parakeets, iguanas and even tiny owls are all seen from the property and the people here respect and love the beauty of the area. We could have happily stayed another week.

Upon arrival around midnight our time, we needed to deal with the Azure resort night manager Luz Wendy as there was no front desk for Villas Playa Samara. Luz was ignorant, had no customer service skills and did not care that we traveled 24 hours. When we entered our Villa, the kitchen taps were making a VERY loud noise and we had to go to the front desk 3 times to get this resolved as we could not sleep. They ended up replacing our kitchen taps in the morning. The second night we also needed to deal with Luz in regards to our A la Carte. This was also a very unpleasant experience as he was stating that we did not have A la Carte, which indeed we had paid for 3 of them when booking with our travel agent. It was finally resolved and indeed we did have 3. Needless to say, Luz should not be a manager nor should he be dealing with any customer. Not sure how he ended up in that position?!? I asked him to speak with his manager and he blatantly told me NO, he was the manager! The staff at Villas Playa Samara on the other hand were very pleasant. I want to give a shout out to 2 staff members at the buffet which are Christian Bustos and Joseph Arguedas. These 2 individuals were very friendly, always happy and pleasant... Two wonderful and polite gentlemen. They assisted me in any possible way that they could. I asked for the contact info of the resort manager to discuss but apparently there is nobody and I was advised to write a review on TripAdvisor. The owner is someone from Quebec, Canada. I would like someone from upper management to contact me so I could discuss this further. It will be interesting to see if I get a response.

We had a lovely stay at the Villas from Feb. 5 to 12. We arrived late at night , and were able to get a meal at the buffet. Our room was not ready , so they put us in a lovely ocean view villa. The front desk were always helpful, even helping us deal with lost luggage. Concierge Luz was amazing- booking us for excursions and helping us with all we needed. We enjoyed the small buffet- lots of variety, and the serving staff were so friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the unhurried pace of the meals. the pool was clean and perfect temperature, and the pool bar was a delight. Hazel could mix any drink that you could imagine.We walked to the beach every day, and it was warm and sandy. We enjoyed the Palo Verde tour. The boat tour was great- we saw monkeys and crocodiles , and lots of birds. The boat operator always pulled up close to the animals and let us take lots of pictures. We also enjoyed the coffee tour. The little beach town of Samara is close by- you can walk or take a 12 dollar taxi ride. It has a lovely beach and lots of souvenir shopping. We loved the grounds- so well kept, and interesting vegetation. We always drank the hotel water, and enjoyed it- we find Costa Rica a very clean and eco conscious country. The resort never seemed crowded, and we never had to line up for anything. It was a great place to relax.