Disappointing experience

So many people, it felt like a cruise ship. Long lines at the buffet. Mediocre food. Could not reserve a table for an evening meal at any of the restaurants because they were booked solid. Overall, it did not feel luxurious. I’m glad we only booked a room for one night.

I suggest better food, other than that ok

This was our second time at Barcelo Tambor. The staff was just as friendly and helpful as the previous time. This time we elected to ride the horses on the beach which was my wife’s life long dream, this was also excellent and thoroughly enjoyed.

-The personnel at reception were rude and the aea dedicated to persons with disabilities was not respected. -There were no hand towels nor facial tissues in the room when we arrived. -Shower towels were not changed every day, we had to ask for that -We noticed missing weet floor signals in many areas of the hotel during rainy days. -The main restaurant was overcrowded almost every day and there were not enough personnel to serve drinks.

...

Convenient

The property landscaping is beautiful. Long lines at bars and guests confused where lines begin/end…perhaps some signage could clear the confusion

The reception area was nice. The restaurant staff were (mostly) very good. The reception staff were very good. The bar staff were not good. They all looked thoroughly grumpy all the time, as though they didn't want to serve anyone ever. Only at the lobby bar in the evenings were the staff pleasant. At all bars the drinks were weak, poor quality and the cocktails bad tasting. Their idea of rose wine was to mix red and white. The hotel was fine, the rooms are dated but clean and the air con worked well. I don't like all the disclaimers you have to sign about not being sick in the pool or rooms and the associated fines - how much are they allowing people to binge drink that this happens often enough that all guests have to sign waivers? You see the bar staff just pouring endless quantities of liquors into people's own flasks and then wonder why people are smashed drunk and sick??? Yet it takes forever to get served just one glass of something if you are behaving normally. There are nice features at the hotel - mini golf, a climbing wall for kids, trampoline and a nature park with lots of parrots to see. The playground would be nice but it's very broken and needs repairing in lots of places. You can't swim in the sea because of crocodiles and stingrays. It's also quite pebbly and not soft sand. The food was pleasant but limited choice and rather bland. The hotel is very far from being a 5 star. Our family rates it 3* at best. I wouldn't come back.

Nice hotel, needs updating. Beach was somewhat dirty and plastic waste could be seen in the sand. Not the hotel's direct responsibility but cleaning campaigns in the area might help.

Getting onto the resort our car check in was thorough, which gave us a sense of security during our stay. We booked a room with one king bed, but were given a room with two queens pushed together. There was a nice hammock attacked to our room which was private and had a beautiful view of the water, but the room itself was slightly dirty. The pool was beautiful!! Our only complaint was that they closed the pool at 7pm so swimming was often cut too early. The food was... ok. There were plenty of options but the quality was not what you would think for an all inclusive.

the hotel is very dated and could do with an upgrade, food was mediocre and there isn't anything close to the hotel anything touristy is a bit of a drive away.

This resort was amazing for the price!

No happy with food and beverages options

We stayed 2 nights at the resort. It was a decent stay, but nothing grand. While the outside grounds/buildings were immaculate, the inside of the room we stayed in was very outdated, aged and not overly clean. It was disappointing. The mini fridge was not stocked when we arrived and when it did get stocked, it was very minamally done and with no beer. A let down given it’s an all-inclusive. Also, the resort doesn’t do anything for birthdays unless you pay. Too bad because we were on this trip for my husbands 50th.

Had a great time

Amazing place

The staff was not friendly upon arrival and check-in, service at the bars was slow and unfriendly. The food was ok but all the restaurants that we went to had basically the same things other than the entree. The pool was warm like a hot tub, not cool and refreshing. The beach was rocky. The room was dated and our toilet and shower didn't work properly. Luckily it was in beautiful Costa Rica which made up for everything and the tour that was offered to Tortuga Island was awesome, with a great staff and food!!

The property grounds were nice and there was wildlife everywhere. The pool was great as well as the landscaping. The food was average or below compared to most other all inclusive resorts i have stayed at but there were many options to choose from and you could always find at least a few things that were decent at the buffet. The entire resort is catered to locals which was a cool experience except for all the shows and activities were in Spanish only. They seemed great and as long as you speak spanish but my family does not and the it didn't keep the kids interest. The customer support team was extremely helpful and the staff was friendly. We enjoyed our time but if i were to book it again i would choose a different resort. Last time to costa rica i stayed at the rui and stayed at secrets and visited the riu... both of which i would recommend over the barcelo because of the food and language barrier. Over all we enjoyed our stay.

Pros: The property is absolutely beautiful and the pool areas are fantastic. The beach is amazing and enormous, it seems like you can walk forever without a care. Wish-We-Knew: This property is designed for Spanish speaking families with small children, not so much for English speaking tourists. Very few of the staff are fluent in English and nearly all the entertainment is intended for small children. Every night the entertainment venue/stage offers cartoons and live kids entertainment, really nothing for adults. All the bars on site are only open from 11AM to 6PM (odd for a beach resort). After 6pm only the lobby bar remains open and the lines can be 10-20 minutes long just to get a drink with everyone relying on this one location. The buffet as good and seemed to offer new options each night. All of this stuff is obviously fine but we really wish they had made it more clear on this website that the resort is geared for families with little ones. Had we known this up front we may have made a better choice for a husband/wife trip.

We loved the ocean, sushi, tuna tartare. We were not impressed by the long queues at breakfast and lunch. Drinks limited.

We liked every thing

The hotel seemed short staffed. Long lines to access the dining area buffet, the check in and check out. Unable to schedule dining at the restaurants with family. The reason for our visit was to celebrate family and we could never sit down together to share a meal. There were flies and roaches in the buffet. The waiters were not friendly or accommodating in any way. The night shows were boring and plain. The beach was the best part but there is no hotel services there. At other all inclusive they serve drinks and snacks by the beach too. The food was pretty much the same every day.

Old, buffet covered with flys, outside dining space,

This hotel offers a good balance of price, food, location and service. The rooms are clean and comfy. The food is excellent with many options. The drinks variety are also good.

Very good attention and services

The overall stay was very good. There was a lot of mess in the main reception, however, the premium level reception was much better. Everything else was excellent: meals, services, entertainment.

Las llaves de la habitación dejaban de funcionar a cada rato y había que caminar mucho para llegar a la recepción para solucionar el problema. Habitación estaba un poco sucia también cuando llegamos.

Property was beautiful but ROOMS were very outdated! For a 5 Star Property, you expect more from the rooms. The WiFi also was spotty, which as a Canadian without Data, was frustrating!

The rooms sre dirty

Bad Business, Old hotel

RUN! I’ll claim my mistake. I arrived a day early and thought that the night was booked. I stayed on the phone with Expedia for an hour while they tried to talk the hotel into sliding my reservation back a day. The hotel wouldn’t budge. They did happily sell me a room for $223 for that night. I actually stayed in that room all 3 nights. Management had the Opportunity to DO THE RIGHT THING and failed. That’s poor business Barcelo! This is a predominately Tico resort and me and one other family were the only ones speaking English. Everyone was friendly but the food was awful in the buffets. Beans and cheese were dried over on the top. Glad I paid for premium level and had some food to eat there. It would be well worth paying another $200 a night to go to a nice All-Inclusive. Don’t waste your time on this dated place. I hope this honest review will cost you that $223 dozens of times. It wouldn’t have cost you a single thing to do the right thing and help me move my reservation.

It's a nice place with good food. Beverages are so simple, not well done, only one kind of beer. Check out is terrible.

I liked the height of the waves on the beach. I like the closeness of the hotel to the beach. The entertainment was great. The food was ok in the buffet. Need to have the buffet in a air condition room.

The people are friendly

We have stayed at 3 other Barcelo properties but this is the first since the pandemic. We felt like they were still understaffed in a few areas and newer/not fully trained staff in others. Just glad that they survived a 9 month total shutdown. There is a macaw rehab/breeding center on the grounds that should get more press, fantastic! Nice pools, great ocean beach.

Liked that there was so much to see and do on the property. All of the staff were outstanding.

Okay

Disliked absolutely everything Will not be booking with barcelo group ever again.

Tropical unique place, beautiful flowers, plenty of food, love the Parrot sanctuary.

The grounds and location are amazing. Tambor beach is very beautiful. Best to go during low season. We went during high season, the hotel was full and they didn't have enough staff to manage it all and it was really noisy. The entertainment was very loud and on top of that many of the guests brought their own music and would play it really loud by the pool. There were long lines to get drinks. During meals it was hard to get drinks as well as there were very few waiters for the amount of people dining. Our room was spotless. A lot of wildlife around which is really enjoyable. It was a mixed feeling visit as there were things we loved and others not so much.

The option for having a Vip section to eat, check in and check out was great. What I didn't like was that they don't respect the reservations we made on Expedia app, and also they had now first aid option when you have ear problems or any minor issues, like plain aspirin, you have to actually pay a doctor to see you in the facilities.

Good premises. But not so good food. Also, service was not good. Had a lizard in room and when called service desk, service desk kept saying to send someone but thay never showed up. Room had a phone which was not working. The sliding door was stuck.

Great location for a quiet vacation. Great staff who are very friendly and accommodating non Spanish speaking clients.

I like the nature and the facilities real nice. What I didn't like was the exit at 12pm with out the lunch included I did not expected I though we were able to get lunch.

Everything was great but I would have the staff clean the bathroom floor better. Also there was no remote control for the tv and the room telefono didn’t work. I told the front desk and nothing was done.

Ok

The food is horrible the beans and rice which is something they serve every day were burnt. They serve the same thing for breakfast every day there Is no creativity from the “chef” since they don’t serve anything good. Food was often burnt or over salted. It was a very disappointing experience, the area and the hotel itself is nice, however the food and the drinks where super low quality and to top it off the customer service was horrible. I asked why they had not re filled my mini fridge and I called 3 times and they kept stating we don’t know when they will go all we can do is create a report but can’t guarantee anything.

The kids comedy show was very. Enjoyable

Excellent service at the hotel I give 10 Stars

You get what you pay for

I want to start with the positive and that´s the staff, they were all so friendly and hardworking trying to be everywhere and make sure everyone is comfortable. The hotel grounds are well maintained, clean and beautiful green outdoors. Now for the rest, not so positive, if you are looking for a very cheap all-inclusive then this is the hotel for you. The food was awful for the most part, the highlight was the fresh fruit and veggies but the rest eww nope! Cleanliness was the biggest issue, our room was very below standard and other common areas were extremely disappointing. Paying for a "premium or superior" level room not recommended, you don´t get any benefit from it, don´t waste your extra $50-$60 for nothing. Overall if you are looking for a low fee and are not concerned about high cleanliness and stale, cold food then this is the place for you :) good luck!

Me encanto , Todos muy amables , el lugar expectacular .

Clean

Food was horrible staff rude They our room because lock was bad then the second room lock was also damage the air conditioner broke and beer was definitely water down unknow whiskey place need repairs and a manager who cares

All inclusive

all is well

The area around the hotel is beautiful and secluded. Although clean, the rooms are a bit old and dingy. The worst part for me was the breakfast buffet with flies dead and alive on the food. I think they could work a little harder to cover the food. Other than that, service was great.

This is a 3 stars not more

1/10 workers/hotel employees speaks English. Even for emergency, the staff isn’t speaking English which was an issue for us. Rooms are old and they smell humidity. The toilet is cleaned per the employees, but everything is broken or isn’t working properly. Drinks and food are ok. At the price we paid, it was ok. But don’t spend to much, the place is outdated and for non Spanish speakers this is not an easy stay.

Very family friendly

la alimentación no es buena

I would say the property is good for family the kids have a lot to do. Super nice with animals you could tell they take care of animals, you see monkeys,birds,they have a butterfly garden is great. They offer things to do like horse back riding, ATV’s, zip lining outside the hotel. The Japanese restaurant is Great!! My favorite. What the hotel need is to put more bars the lines are crazy to get one drink. Also they need more nightlife and the rooms a little more clean the bathrooms.

Upon arrival we room 505 was assigned to us. Infested with bugs and maintenance issues. Went to customer service who was very friendly and helpful. We were transferred to a beautiful upgraded suite over looking the ocean. I was very pleased with the resolution of our problem and the wonderful and understanding customer service manger. Thanks.

Do not waste your time here

Got to Barcelo Tambor and first impression was not good, I waited 1 hour to be checked in, but I thought this is not the end of the world I can manage to still have a good time, we got to the room and found the floors wet ,I thought it was condensation from the air, we set up the room and went to have lunch to come back fee hours later to a wet floor again, I called the front desk and they send a lady to dry the floor and another person to let me know the air had been fixed but the condensation still happening, I asked to have the room changed since all carpets were wet and they did, so I picked up the bags and moved to another building on the opposite side of the hotel, set up my bags again and went to enjoy the show to then come back and find no hot water, no towels and no phone to call the front desk, I got dressed and went back to the front desk to ask for the hot water to be fix only to find out there was not hot water on that building either so I was asked to move rooms again, I asked to talk to the manager but he was too busy to attend to me, so I went back to my room to wait to be changed again to another room in the same building that was wet witch I refused ,so they changed me to a building behind the reception and upgraded my room, I was recieved by a guard that said this happened several times today, on my way I talked to a lady that had rented over 10 rooms for a wedding and they all had the same problem. The hotel is in a rural área, no much to do around

The all inclusive aspect is very good

Wished the stuff spoke more English. Had hard time as an English speaking only. Due to the Covid long waiting to get inside the restaurant.

The food was not good, 0 social distancing. We were moved rooms 2 times. 1st room was 1queen bed for 4 people, 2nd room air conditioner was blowing water, phone was not working, toilet was broken, no lock on door. 3rd room was okay, room very outdated.

The food included in the all inclusive was not good. The alcohol drinks were very poor quality. The activities in the resort were not promoted for example we did not know there were horses rides included.

I like the show in the night time, but the staff was terrible they trite people very bad the administration try to over charge for the room, please people don't waste your money and time this is a horrible resort .

La atención del señor Marcos Dávila y todo el equipo del hotel fue más que extraordinaria, atención inmediata, personalizada y de alta calidad. La vista de la habitación inmejorable a solo unos pasos Del Mar. Visitamos el hotel con mis dos hijos pequeños y completamente recomendado para familias. En definitiva volveremos

Needs improvement

I think the last time we were there was like 17 years ago . We love it so much then . We didn’t see much changed except for the room that needs upgraded . Shower head won’t stay upright . It’s just old looking . In the restaurant waiters and waitresses are just like robots , very cold approach The waiting in the dessert area rediculous . What happened to the food , no flavor at all .We left sad because that’s not how it was before .

Nice all inclusive

Great experience, friendly staff! Great location!

Its a great hotel

Beautiful hotel. Easy check in. Very friendly staff although not a lot of English speaking people but it wasn’t a problem it is Costa Rica😂 all part of the wonderful experience. Food great. Drinks great. Fantastic time

This resort could have used an update years ago. The web site does not mention anything about having to pay $12.00 a day for wifi which is ridiculous. There is also an additional charge of $20.00 for lost towel keys. The food was also not up to standards. I would never in good faith recommend this resort to anyone.

High Quality All-Inclusive

A beautiful, clean and comfortable all-inclusive. Access to the beach is great and it’s a Long Beach area to enjoy walking. The pool and bars are clean and the service is very good. The buffet is ample and a nice variety of food. The espresso machines were not so reliable and if you don’t get up and in line for 8am booking you cannot get into any of the two restaurants for dinner. It did not matter to us though as the buffet and snack bar area was adequate. Music and activity every night for entertainment. The room was big and very clean with great water pressure for the shower.

Poor quality in the food ! Not enough waitresses to organize the table when is a lot of people !

Disappointed

Terrible service, horrible food, rocky beach. I would never go back after one night.

They charge for many things, even the wifi and some food

Property is in desperate need of renovation, staff

Worst hotel experience we have ever had. Checkin time on website says 3:00 pm; we were allowed into room at 4:00. A minor inconvenience. When we entered the room there were no towels. We reported this to the cleaning staff, who said they would fix this right away. We went to the pool and came back to the room several hours later, only to find no towels. We reported this to the front desk, who said they really had no idea how long getting towels to us would take. There was a whole stack of towels close by, for people using the pool. Apparently they could not be given to us; we had to report our case to client services. When we did so, after over an hour of waiting we were finally given towels from the pool. And in compensation for having to wait so long for them, we were told that we would get vouchers for lunch the next day (we were checking out and so did not have access to lunch), which we could pick up from reception in the morning. Of course, when we went by reception the next morning, they said they could do nothing about the vouchers and we would have to talk to client services. Except that person was busy and it took two hours of standing in line just to get the vouchers. End result, we spent over 3 hours in line just in order to get our towels and vouchers. And all client services could say was "we're sorry". Dishes were dirty at every meal (food stuck to them). The bathroom in our room was dirty. We've had much better experiences in 2-star hotels.

Very nice property. Right on the beach. Hotels very nice and staff is very nice.

The all inclusive concept which sounds nice when you have young kids becomes a nightmare when what you get is finally very poor food quality (even the fruits..), noisy swimming pool with all day long machina music and people drinking inside the pool, and in addition dirty rooms and nothing really for the kids. Conclusion: escape!

This used to be top property but it has become low dirty and they block our internet so ppl has to buy WiFi Bad experience not recommended

The room smelled and was not cleaned properly. The pool closed at around 6pm. We weren’t notified about reservation requirements in order to eat anywhere in the hotel when we got there, the pool attendant was the one to inform us around 7pm (when it was too late).

I reserved one room with a king size bed and was given a room with two full-size beds. When I requested a different room they told me my reservation was only a request but was not guaranteed of something that I would get. After a long discussion they gave me a room with a king size bed.

The booking was specifically made to accomodate 4 seniors...we even confirmated it after. They gave my 90ish year old grandfathers non-accesibily room. When asked they mention they were (bathtub for a 90 year old? He couldn't shower, fortunately only 1 night). The unwilling to help staff its what matter the most. Food ok. Bedding ok

Please read** My experience was less than ideal. The hotel is located about 4-5 hours away from the San Jose airport. Although the hotel does offer transportation for a fee, the fee is significantly higher than the actual price it takes to transfer. So, do not use their service. The food is deplorable. It is the same thing everyday. It is presented, cooked and tastes poorly. The only decent restaurant is the steakhouse, but it requires a reservation (eligible after a 2 night stay). The problem with that is that there is no limit as to how many people one person is allowed to reserve for! So, one person can reserve for 20 people and no one says anything and the restaurant becomes fully booked. The checking-in staff was also very unpleasant. The Wi-Fi was down, after I paid for it, so when I went to go to explain it to them - they didn't believe me. The employee had to go around and ask (took 30 minutes of me standing there) to verify that I was not lying, so rude. There were many other instances, but too many to list. The only pleasant staff was the ones working at the bar at night. The shows were also not at all 'multi-cultural' as they were not even remotely reflective of the cultures they attempted to depict. The location is also very excluded. The hotel does not have any surrounding tourist areas. The beach is unkempt and the chairs are old and uncomfortable - not at all like the pictures. I sincerely do not recommend this hotel.

Nice all inclusive. More hit than miss.

The hotel grounds are beautiful. Service was average for an all inclusive in the price range. The buffets for all meals were very good. The restaurants that require reservations were well below expectations. We stayed in room 517. The room could use some TLC, but overall I would recommend the hotel if you can find a good deal on it. Lots of natural wildlife around. Good tours with helpful staff

Food could be better, there was no variety. Staff is good bit reservations for the a la carte restaurants are ridiculous

This isn't really a vacation property for Americans...

Good service and really nice people and really helpful even though the Expedia stuff made some mistakes they were willing to help me and keep me happy.

Not enough staff for the bar area. Also poor wifi which you had to pay for and didnt work all over the pooland never in the room.

I liked all..it was a good selection about short vacations.

Blah and blah

Property and service were mediocre at best. Paid WiFi, food was not good, but if you don’t make a reservation at one of the two a-la-carte restaurants by 10AM you are stuck with standard buffet for 400-500 (not too appetizing). Lots of other issues too long to list, but would definitely NOT go back. Very pretty and grounds were well kept. A/C in rooms was either so cold you need a sweatshirt or when comfortable the condensation on the floors made them dangerous (I slipped and fell and hit my head and elbow on the tile floor-Not Good)

nice people, good food, super nice hotel, 40 min from the ferry, you can go to Montezuma beach and the water's fall 45 min away nice nice

Pool Bar needs improvement

The bar at the pool should not close that early (18:00 hours)...

Outdated resort

While it may have been a great place in the early 80's.. it's definitely not what is expected now. Staff are nice.

Disorganized at check in and check out.

Basic resort. Wi-Fi and other things cost extra. Food repeats and not a lot of options.

The buffet food quality is marginal at best. The beach is very rocky and not sandy whatsoever.

Nice hotel

Nice people, good food, close to Montezuma water falls, an A+ location.

good stay in general

good for a 3 day stay. clean, great beach, food just ok.

Beautiful beach front resort

I loved this resort I had not been there in over 19 years since I was 16 and it was even better than I remembered. The resort, the pool and the beach were all beautiful BUT what I loved the most was the diversity of guest Costa Rican locals, Canadians, Europeans and people from the U.S.. I loved the fact that I went to a Costa Rican resort and did not just have to hang out with other people from the U.S. The local food served in the all inclusive was awesome, not spicy and very flavorful. They also have a bird sanctuary with beautiful and very colorful birds. The Resort staff were kind and helpful, will definitely be back soon and the price compared to other resorts was awesome!!!

Mom always said if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all. 50% if the staff were awesome and it was like stepping back in time travel 31 years

WE HAD HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND NOTHING BUT LOUD SCREAMING KIDS. THIS WHOLE RESORT IS ONLY BASED AROUND FAMILIES WITH KIDS ACTIVITIES...NOT FOR ADULTS TO RELAX ON VACATION!!THEY MADE US PAY TWICE FOR THE ROOM EVEN THOUGH WE PAID ONLINE THROUGH EXPEDIA!