wishgirl77

Review of Villas Sol Hotel & Beach Resor...

Each guest is treated very differently (a colored ...

Each guest is treated very differently (a colored band on your arm and it designates your status, as well as the service you can expect).
Pros: You ll meet a lot of interesting people from many different places and all of the staff speak English and Spanish fluently. Alcohol is provided frequently (during the specficied times) and there are some fun drinks, as well as a beer on tap. The wine wasn t horrible and although the alcohol was not top notch, it didn t make us sick. Room service to clean was available each day for free, although we didn t use it. Wide variety of foods at the buffet, although it remained similar each day. Again, nothing made us sick and we ate many items and most of our meals at the resort. Even the water is perfectly safe! It s smoke free! Loved that. The A-La-Carte dinner was very good and we enjoyed the fancier dining experience one night for free. The front desk is suppose to automatically schedule your reservation, but some people did not get told and had to ask.
We met an AMAZING guy down at the beach at Playa Hermosa (ride the free tram down for free). His name is Gilbert and he s a very nice young man, huge smile and currently has braces. He used to work at the resort, but now he helps arrange for vacation presentations at other locations. He typically hangs out at the entrance to the beach. You can trust him!! He will arrange for you to hear the sales pitch (ours was located in Coco Beach and included round trip transportation and lunch at a real restaurant in town). We already own a timeshare and did not purchase what they were offering and it wasn t a big deal. The BEST part was the new connection with Gilbert. He negotiated excursions for us for free and for reduced prices. He has some amazing connections. He always ensured we had transportation and the arranged excursions at the agreed upon prices. Villas Sol may try to warn you or threaten you about not talking to him or going to another presentation, but that violates your rights. This guy even took us to the airport, like a friend would, when Villa Sol was insisting we pay $40 for their shuttle that was free for everyone else and already going to the airport with empty seats. Gilbert made our trip so much better because we actually left the resort and had experiences that didn t cost hundreds of dollars (zip lining, sunset catamaran with scuba diving, etc). Trust him, he will help you!! I communicated via email with him the entire time. He s responsive and so knowledgeable.
Cons: Bugs and bees. I used bug spray (three types and a pesticide bracelet) and still suffered numerous bites every day. These bites look like mosquito bites, but I never saw a mosquito. Red sores just appeared. Usually you see/feel a bug biting you, but I never did. I did see and feel the bee sting me at the pool bar, while sitting in the water. There are also sugar ants. I had to spray Deet in the shower to stop the dozens entering through the cracks. There are also beetles, dragon flies, wild cats, raccoons, skunks, iguanas, birds, etc. Most want your food. If you don t like critters, try a different place. Steep hills and lots of stairs. If you have mobility issues, this is not the place for you. The deluxe king bed in the hotel is atrocious. Plan on a very very very hard mattress. The nightly music entertainment is pretty sad. Mostly kids singing songs in Spanish for karaoke night and a DJ taking requests on other nights. The prices in Costa Rica were much higher than we anticipated. I think the rich are taking in the money and the working class are in complete poverty, having to work multiple jobs to barely survive. This is clear when you consider the average income is less than $8,000 USD per YEAR! We tried to tip the staff that put forth the effort and tried to make our day special. I think the general moral of the workers is low because they are working really hard for next to nothing and they are exhausted.