Margaritaville Beach Resort Playa Flamingo Review

Nestled on the shores of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, this 4-star resort had a ton to offer from multiple restaurants to adventurous excursions.

Our family stayed at the Margaritaville Beach Resort in Playa Flamingo for Spring Break. One of the first decisions you have to make when staying at this resort is around transportation. We opted to book a transport through the resort that provided round trip transportation to and from the airport. The total cost was around $130 USD, not including a tip for our driver. The commute from the airport to the resort was an adventurous 45 min one-way trek. We drove through a riverbed that is apparently not passable during the rainy season, which my kids thought was an absolute blast.

The check-in process was pretty straightforward, and we were welcomed with a refreshing smoothie while we waited in the lobby. We were also given the dreaded plastic wristbands that we needed to wear all week. The wristbands were used as our room key and they were color coded depending on the package you purchased such as: All-Inclusive, Breakfast Included, and Room Only. We opted for the Room Only because the cost of doing the All-Inclusive for our family of five was +$400 USD per night. There was no way we were going to spend close to that on meals every day. We did feel like we were the only family that did the Room Only option based on comparing our band colors to others at the resort. However, this decision literally saved us thousands of dollars for the week!

Speaking of food… The food at the resort was decent, but we have definitely had much better at other All-Inclusive resorts we have stayed at. Our absolute favorite restaurant on site was Capriccios Pizza Bistro and Cafe. They are only open for dinner, and you have to have a reservation, so make sure you go to the Banana Wind Cafe in the morning to secure your spot! Our family loves pizza and the pizza at Capriccios was fabulous. The service was also top notch thanks to Jaime and team. We loved this place so much that we ate dinner there three times. The other restaurants at the resort didn’t really wow us. They were ok, but nothing to write home about.

Enjoying pizza at Capriccios Pizza Bistro and Cafe

We did venture off the resort for dinner a couple of nights to a restaurant called Coco Loco about a half mile walk south on the beach. We would watch the sunset on the beach and then go have dinner. This was by far the best restaurant we went to, and we tried a number of different things. My wife and I really enjoyed the ceviche, and the drinks were fantastic. I also tried the Yellowfin Tuna Tacos, and they were quite delicious! The restaurant does not accept American Express, but they do accept US Dollars, Visa or Mastercard.

Waiting on food at Coco Loco

Yellowfin Tuna Tacos with Wasabi Aioli at Coco Loco

The pool area of the resort was the place to be during the day, but there was not much shade which can get problematic with small children. There was an area around the kiddie pool that was well covered and another area by the swim up bar, but that was about it. We were lucky enough to find seats by the kiddie pool every day that we went so it wasn’t a huge deal, but I could see how it could get frustrating if we hadn’t been so lucky. There is a swim up bar and a mixed grill restaurant in the pool area, which was also super convenient. My only word of caution is to watch out for the Giant Lizards. They are the size of small dogs, and they are quick! We ordered chips and salsa, which were delivered to our loungers by the kiddie pool. I was holding the basket and a lizard ran across the pool deck and jumped in my lap. My entire family ran away and left me holding a basket of chips and salsa with a giant lizard ready to pounce on them. Thankfully, there were no injuries or spilled food, but we were definitely on high alert whenever we had food on the pool deck.

Our pool friend, Liz, catching some rays!

The pool area also had a number of activities throughout the day, such as water aerobics, crafts, live music, etc. There were all posted on a flyer at the check-in counter. My kids really enjoyed the crafts, but they were on island time, so don’t expect them to start promptly on time.

The towels for the pool are managed by a card exchange system. You are given one card for each member of your party and the card can be exchanged for a towel at the check-in counter. You can either return the towel and get your card back or just exchange the soiled towel for a clean one. If for some reason you lose a towel, the cost is $20 USD for a replacement so make sure you keep track of them.

We tried to go over to the beach off the resort about once a day to lay out and swim in the ocean. Each time we walked over, we were met with multiple people trying to rent us a canopy, beach chairs, etc. After about the fifth person asked, I was kind of over it, so be prepared if you go over there. I also suggest water shoes if you are going out into the ocean. It isn’t bad initially, but maybe about 30 yards out I stepped on some jagged rocks that I wasn’t expecting and cut my foot a bit. I survived, but I didn’t go out very far after that.

Flamingo Beach

This resort also has a family rec room equipped with two ping pong tables, two Billard tables, a foosball table and a theater room. The kids really enjoyed spending time in the rec room, and we would generally stop by after we had dinner at Capriccios, which was located next door. We did rent out the theater room to watch a movie on Netflix one afternoon, which was a nice break from the pool and the sun.

My wife and I used the fitness center throughout the week. It was pretty similar to most hotel setups with a few treadmills, a few elliptical machines, some stationary bikes, a set of dumbbells and an adjustable pulley weight machine. It was sufficient for our needs, and probably enough for most people that aren’t hardcore gym enthusiasts. The windows of the gym overlook the pool and ocean so you can get a view of paradise while running on a treadmill.

Towards the end of the week, Jess and I decided to get Swedish Massages at the Onzen Spa. The massages were very good and only cost $110 USD each, which is pretty reasonable compared to other resort spas we have been to. There are a group of women on the beach offering massages for $30 if is your cup of tea. I have done the random beach massages at other resorts, and I personally didn’t care for the foot traffic while trying to get a relaxing massage and the overall massages weren’t really that great.

Throughout the week we did a couple of excursions that were booked with the Swiss Travel Costa Rica in the hotel. I am sure we paid a little more than we would have with some of the other companies that approach you on the beach, but we felt it gave us a little piece of mind. The first excursion was to an animal sanctuary, which was really neat. We got to see Sloths, Toucans, Poisonous Dart Frogs, and many other creatures. The kids loved the sanctuary, but we had to create our own excursion since the sanctuary was part of another all-day package, which my kids wouldn’t have been able to do. This meant we had to book another private transport to and from the sanctuary, which was another $130 USD round trip, which wasn’t ideal, but everyone had fun and that’s all that matters.

Crazy monkeys at the Animal Sanctuary

Toucan at the Animal Sanctuary

Sloth in action at the Animal Sanctaury

For our second excursion, my oldest son and I went zip lining with Skyline Canopy Tours, which was an absolute blast. There are about 15 or so stations on the zipline course with one of the stations being a Tarzan Swing. We saw a number of howler monkeys while on the course which was really cool. At one point, I was riding on the 400-meter section, which I believe is the longest stretch of line, and I heard a strange sound when I was coming into the station. The guide pointed up and I noticed there were two howler monkeys that were howling right above the line. My son was coming in behind me, so I quickly got my camera out and I was able to snap a great photo of him with the howler monkeys. The guides on the course were extremely helpful and there is a photographer that is capturing photos of you along the course and a video of you on the Tarzan Swing. You can purchase the digital images and video in a package at the end of the course. The cost for our pictures and videos was $50 USD. I would also like to give a special shoutout to our driver, George, who made great conversation during the drive and pointed out a number of things along the way. I also accidently left my prescription sunglasses in his van when we departed, and he brought them back to the resort the next day. You can’t ask for better customer service than that!

Ziplining at Skyline Canopy Tour

Howler Monkeys while ziplining!!!

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to give an overview of our room. Our family of five stayed in the Family Bunk Bed Junior Suite. The room was adequate size for us and could comfortably accommodate six people with four bunk beds, a king-sized bed and a pull-out couch. The room had most of the typical amenities including a coffee maker, two TVs, fridge, etc. Pro Tip - Most TV stations are in Spanish, so you may want to bring a streaming stick or device to watch TV on. The room did not have a microwave, but I don’t feel we ever needed one during our stay. My one complaint about the room was the view or lack thereof. We had a breathtaking view of the parking lot, which wasn’t ideal, but we did not spend a ton of time in the room, so it wasn’t a huge deal, just a little disappointing.

Housekeeping was great, they came in each day and replaced towels, made beds, etc. They noticed that my wife and I are coffee drinkers and they started leaving a little extra each day. They also would do cute arrangements of my five-year-olds stuffed animals, which he absolutely loved. They were great and they helped make sure our stay was comfortable.

Overall, we had a great time staying at this resort and it definitely fit our needs as a family. We would definitely consider staying here again as a family and I hope we are able to come back to Costa Rica again soon.

Pura Vida!

Watching the sunset at Flamingo Beach