The thought of a trip to Costa Rica usually involves some vision of a beach. While there are great things to do and see inland, great options on the coast abound.
As you can see from this map of Marriott Bonvoy Properties, the majority of options are on the Pacific coast, regardless of whether they are owned by Marriott or not. The Caribbean coast of the country is less developed and harder to get to. On the Pacific Coast, the majority of options are in Guanacaste Province on the Northern peninsula of the country.
We’ve stayed in two different Marriott owned properties in two different places on the coast- The Westin Reserva Conchal and the Marriott Vacation Club Los Suenos. The Westin is in Guanacaste Province and Los Suenos is just outside of Jaco on the Central Pacific Coast.
Both were enjoyable family vacation spots, but offered different things. Below is a comparison of these properties to consider if you are planning a getaway to Costa Rica.
If you want…. | ||
To fly into San Jose | ✔️ It is about an hour and half drive from the airport in San Jose | |
To fly into Liberia | ✔️ It is about an hour drive from the airport in Liberia | |
All-Inclusive | ✔️ | |
Option to have a kitchen in your room | ✔️ | |
Excursion options (catamaran tours, ziplining, ATV riding, etc.) | ✔️ Our Catamaran excursion here was excellent | ✔️ |
Lots of activities that are family friendly | ✔️ | |
A Kids Club | ✔️ Option to leave your kids | ✔️ Have to stay with your kids |
Golf | ✔️ Robert Trent Jones Designed Golf Course | |
Spa | ✔️ Better of the two spas | ✔️ |
Seeing Wildlife | ✔️ Howler Monkeys are throughout the trees on the property | |
Pretty beach | ✔️ | |
Great Pool | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Marina | ✔️ Within walking distance with a lot of great shops and restaurants | |
Fishing | ✔️ We caught a ton of grouper, snapper, mahi and three sailfish on our day trip out of the marina here | |
Food | Multiple restaurant options on the property which were all enjoyable, along with a variety of in-room dining options. Remember, this property is all inclusive, so if a bunch of food and drink is your thing, this could be the way to go. | Food was excellent, but not as many options as the Westin. In room dining is an option. Nearby marina has a variety of restaurants. We enjoyed having Jimmy T’s located in the marina prepare and deliver dinner for us one night. |
Some things you just can’t capture in a table though. Whereas it looks like the winner would be the Westin with more check marks, we would actually go back to Los Suenos before we would the Westin.
At Los Suenos, we had a suite with a king bed, bathroom, kitchen and living area and an adjoining room with two queen beds. This option suited our family better. The rooms seemed more updated in Los Suenos. At the Westin, we had trouble with the air conditioning leaking in the room and bad smells. With the largest room option of a Family Junior Suite which has a king bed, bunk beds, and a pullout couch, we all still seemed on top of each other.
Also, Los Suenos was less expensive for our family even with feeding five people and we really enjoyed our fishing trip out of the marina there.
If you prefer the all-inclusive option with a lot of activities to choose from all day and night, then the Westin is probably for you. You can never leave the property and enjoy a variety of things.
All in all, the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica is a family friendly place to visit with a variety of options to choose from.
