3 years ago
This is a hard review for me to do since we did en...
This is a hard review for me to do since we did enjoy Costa Rica, and Villas Sol, and the people and we did have a good time.
Let's start with how many stars Villas Sol is suppose to.
Villa Sol is suppose to be a four star resort.
Since we have been to many resorts to Cuba, and everything from 2 stars to 4 stars in Cuba, I:ll use that for comparison as well.
Food: Cuba is generally better. We never starved, and it was good, but could have used more flavor and variety. It is small changes from lunch to dinner, and then the next day small changes again, so it can get boring, but you will not starve (in fact I usually overeat)
Rooms: About the same as Cuba, clean and very simple and basic.
Resort: Villas Sols is all choppy with "hills", condos, houses, another resort on the property, villas, etc. So getting around is not easy. To "not take the shuttle" your fitness level would have to be quite high, like 8 or 9 our of a 10 rating, like at a marathon level.
Drinks: Since drinking the beer all day hardly produces a buzz, it isn't 5 % like in Canada, and I would say the drinks are watered down. However, the Chilean wine will do the trick, it wasn't tampered with.
Service: Check-in was fast, and the check out was fast, service generally faster than compared to Cuba. Getting drinks at a busy bar can be difficult anywhere. Everybody was friendly and polite.
Hills: More about the "Hills" on the resort. Let's clear something up here , a hill is a steep incline, and these were not "hills". If you fell off of one of them, you would go straight down, so I would say the resort is built more on a cliff ,then a hill. It's so steep , you will slide on your seat while taking the shuttle, and be careful not to slide right off of it.
Smoking / Vaping: The fine on the resort is $250 USD, and no smoking in your room. Smoking is on the beach, or at the front gate. It is Costa Rican law, so not the resorts fault.
Service in the Buffet: Inconsistent: some really good services and some seem to be racist to Gringos. There will be costa ricans (ticos) visiting the resort, they will get better service and they will not tip. A Gingo will tip and will get worse service at the buffet. Twice we went to the buffet during the week, and we never we offered a glass of water, a drink, or a refill.. The server never came over even once, and other servers had to clear our dishes. So no tip for that guy on that day, we generally left a couple of bucks per meal.
Beach: Quiet and good, but they need to do something about the time share people (not found in Cuba btw). So they will bug every time you go down to the beach the first few days, until they recognize you and stop. The excursions are cheaper by the beach, and Jose with the blue shorts can set you up for a good excursions for a cheap price. He got us a private taxe it Playas de Coco (more stuff to do there) for 10 usd each way (1 to 4 people) . The taxi driver Ebsteven was amazing and we used him three times.
Activities: Well no shows, and there are a few games by the wet bar, but not much. Way better in Cuba I found.
So my final rating is 3 stars for this resort, even though we had a great time, met many people from Canada and the States that were awesome, the whole week it hardly rained, was sunny, water was great, food good, but we wouldn't go back to this resort.
We would definitely return to Costa Rica, it's awesome!!!
But this resort is not a four star. Three at the most, it is dated, and things are not consistent, they really push the time shares, and the excursions, and need more activities and at least some shows for free on the resort.
