Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Immerse in serenity at JW Marriott Guanacaste, a beachfront haven within Hacienda Pinilla's private, gated community. Experience Costa Rica's charm at Playa Mansita, your exclusive beach paradise. Savor luxury in hacienda-style accommodations, surrounded by lush landscapes. Explore nearby Tamarindo or unwind by the pool. Adventure awaits: surf, swim, golf, or connect with nature. Escape the everyday and rediscover serenity at our award-winning spa, choosing from a rejuvenating massage or a bespoke treatment. Unwind in spacious rooms with ocean views, plush amenities, and modern comforts. Live the Costa Rican dream in ultimate luxury.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
This summary was created by AI, based on recent reviews.
Powered by AI
The JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa receives mixed feedback, with many guests praising the friendly staff and luxurious, hacienda-style ambiance. Cleanliness is a standout, with housekeeping consistently earning accolades. However, opinions on value are less favorable, with several travelers finding the pricing steep for the experience.
The resort's location is appreciated for its seclusion, though it does necessitate private transport for convenience. While the range of amenities, including a large pool and beach access, is popular, some guests have reported issues with room maintenance and dated decor.
Location
Remote
Atmosphere
Luxurious
Rooms
Basic
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Immaculate
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Comprehensive
Was this helpful?
Tripadvisor is not responsible for this summary or the opinions in it. For more information, please read the traveller reviews and learn more about how the site works.
The JW Marriott at Hacienda Pinilla is in a relatively remote location. The nearest town, Tamarindo, is a 30 minute drive to the north. The closest off-premises restaurant or bar is a 35 min walk down the beach to the south. That being said, the hotel offers a broad variety of experiences that made for a very enjoyable week. Now that I've got that out of the way ....
The hotel layout is very well planned and architecturally interesting. The Hacienda style is fits nicely into the Costa Rican vernacular. The staff was plentiful, very attentive and appeared to take great pride in their work. This all was evident in how well maintained the hotel is - a testament to both the hotel staff and management.
Our room was large with a second floor balcony overlooking the pool. Being from a cold climate, we enjoyed sleeping with the AC off and the balcony doors open, awakening to bird songs each morning (except the night when they forgot to turn-off the music in the pool courtyard).
We really enjoyed the large buffet breakfast spread each morning, noontime Mojitos at the pool and cocktails at the Sandbar Lounge for sunset each evening. We visited each of the restaurants for dinner and were never disappointed.
Three of the days we made the 35 min. walk down the beach to Lola's at Playa Avellanas for exercise, great people watching, and to take in the surfer vibe over a cerveza frio. Our one piece of advice on that front is to get back before sunset and high tide as there are a couple minor rock scrambles and a small estuary to cross along the way.
On one night, we took the shuttle into Tamarindo to change things up a bit. We had drinks at the Green Papaya (cash only) and dinner at La Oveja Surf House. The environment in Tamarindo is the total opposite to the JW Marriott and felt like we had been transported into the Wild West. It was a worthwhile experience nonetheless.
We opted out of the excursion tours offered through an affiliate of the hotel as the photos and descriptions made them seem like we'd be taking an expensive and long drive to either the equivalent of an adult waterpark or a curated zoo. This being our first (but not last) trip to Costa Rica, we agreed that we'll need to do our homework if we hoped to experience the unspoiled natural beauty of the Costa Rican Rainforest.
We truly enjoyed our stay at JW Marriott, Hacienda Pinilla and hope to go back as part of a longer trip to explore more of this beautiful country. My only advice to the hotel is that they should make their shuttle service more accessible (lower cost or free). The hotel is a jewel and need not feel isolated.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2025Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
These comments and compliments are a bit late, but better late than never. We had another very relaxing and much needed 2 week stay at the JW Marriott Guanacaste in February 2023. The staff encountered, new and experienced, were friendly, professional, and helpful at all times. As a Marriott Bonvoy platinum member, we were happy to be rewarded with a room upgrade, a delicious daily complimentary breakfast in a lovely, quiet setting with indoor and outdoor seating overlooking a beautiful flower garden. Thank you to Karen, Rony, Astrid, Alexander and the chefs for making our mornings so welcoming and delicious! This time, we were also happy to see the road leading to the resort nearly 100% paved, which certainly made coming and going much more pleasant than other years. This resort has a large pool overlooking a beautiful uncrowded beach with options for walking or hiking, complimentary bikes, and surfing a short walk around a point. If you want to relax by the pool overlooking an uncrowded beach with excellent service from the pool bar guys like Joseph, this is the place for you. Definitely one of the best in Costa Rica. Thank you also to Daniella, Flor, Freddie and others for assistance several times at the Front Desk as well as Astrid for no problem dinner reservations and a great seat at the resort's outdoor superbowl party. We had a wonderful vacation and will most certainly be back!!
Read more
Date of stay: February 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A lot to digest? Read an AI-generated summary of recent traveller reviews.
We had another excellent stay at the JW Marriott Guanacaste in late January/early February! Being a Titanium Elite member and returning guests helped to enrich our experience at this resort, located on a very private beach called Playa Mansita that leads to a longer also quiet beach called Playa Avellanas, both pristine. This year we not only did our usual daily activities such as hiking along the beach, biking on the trails near the resort with the complimentary bikes, and surfing (a 5 minute walk around a point), but also golfed every few days at the Hacienda Pinella course in the company monkeys, iguanas, and a variety of birds, a lovely course with several holes near the ocean and not very busy so you can do 9 or 18 pretty much anytime and is a two minute drive from the resort. We were especially thankful to the breakfast crew (our favorite meal of the day) for making our stay extra special once again thanks to staff like Karen and Raquel, the chefs who made us delicious acai bowls and salmon benedictine, as well as Ivania and Jessica.  They and others warmly greeted us every morning, made special coffee for us a number of times and Raquel kindly gave us a chorreador prior to leaving so we could enjoy a nice Costa Rican style cup of coffee at home. We thoroughly enjoyed our restaurant experiences with reliable professional staff such as Alexander, Rony, and Joseph, and wish to thank Steven at the concierge desk for making accurate dinner reservations every time and for his great sense of humor. At the Front Desk, Maikol, Daniella, and David were always very helpful from start to finish as well as the bell guys such as Alfredo. We had room service several times, which was delivered in 45 minutes or less every time. Our only wish would be for the Azul restaurant near the beach to be open for dinner in the evening or perhaps have a beach barbecue buffet once or twice a week (similar to what is available to groups), which would give beach-loving guests some special beach time in the evening. In summary, we absolutely recommend this resort for a quiet, relaxing vacation and further recommend having a rental vehicle if you are staying a week or more and wish to go to other beaches, nearby Tamarindo, and other places on your own schedule, although the resort does have shuttle service to Tamarindo. We were also happy to see the road leading to the resort completely paved all the way in! Many thanks to the staff for a wonderful time!! We had an excellent time and will return!!
Read more
Date of stay: February 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â If you're staying for week or more, having a rental vehicle will make coming and going more...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Where do I begin? This is a $700 per night stay in a dated hotel that desperately needs updating. We had no hot water for 3 of the 4 days we were there and management did nothing to fix the problem or contact me about it. The grounds are nice and well maintained with plenty of local plants.
Food and beverage service and quality is barely average, and many times your order is taken and never received, but billed, so monitor your check. Food is very expensive for what it is, $20 chicken wings, (That we waited 75 minutes for), $ 22 hamburgers, and $24 fish tacos that are worth $5. Drinks are also expensive and there is a 10% service charge included so watch your check. The breakfast buffet is awesome and worth the cost. Lots of fresh fruits, eggs, and local favorites.
The resort is isolated and transportation can be difficult. If you're planning to go into Tamarindo for dinner or at night, make sure you have transportation back. Finding a taxi to take you back is difficult and expensive, the later it gets. I do recommend Tamorindo as there is something for everybody and plenty of great food, drinks and nightlife.
I would be remiss if I didn't say that after several complaints I was given a 50% discount for food and beverages which amounted to about $200. Considering we had 9 rooms at $700 per day for 4 days, I think they could have done better but I appreciate the courtesy.
Special thanks to Gabriel at the front desk and Nelson the F&B supervisor who worked hard for me and took time to listen and entertain my comments. They couldn't have been more courteous and professional.
I loved Costa Rica and Tamarindo and will return for sure. As for the JW Marriott, one and done.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2025
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My wife and I had the pleasure of staying at this resort for a work conference. After a long day of travel, we arrived tired and hungry. We went to the poolside grill (Palapas) near our room and were greeted by Luis with a warm smile and a "pura vida" (a common greeting in Costa Rica meaning "pure life"). For the remainder of our stay, whenever we ran into to Luis, he would greet us with that same smile and greeting, calling us by name of course. We received very similar greetings and excellent service from so many of the staff across the property, but first impressions are truly the most impactful. All staff were very accommodating of my wife's food allergies (tree nuts and avocado) and always asked before we ordered if there were any allergies or dietary restrictions. Even a drink typically prepared with amaretto liquor during the mixology class was specially prepared without that so my wife could enjoy safely and be a part of the class. We enjoyed the hotel activities such as cooking class, mixology class, bike ride, and bonfire (marshmallows) on the beach. We enjoyed sitting by the pool and always found plenty of available chairs under the umbrella. We would highly recommend the resort to anyone traveling to the Guanacaste area of Costa Rica - just be sure to use the bathroom and grab a snack/drink before leaving Liberia airport!
Read more
Date of stay: May 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Â The property is a distance away from the Liberia airport and it took us approximately 2 hours by...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tldr: This resort is a good place if you're planning to loaf around and relax inside the hotel the whole time, otherwise, it's not a great way to experience Costa Rica.
We booked through Costco with their Black Friday deal, which was definitely worth it for a 6 night stay at a JW Marriott during their busy holiday season. However, this resort is not worth the price booking directly. The hotel is situated on a private property 1 hr 30 minutes from the Liberia airport. The security is great and the property is very private, large, and safe, but the property is far from everything. If we wanted to go to a supermarket or eat locally, we would either have to pay for a 30 min shuttle to Tamarindo or drive out ourselves using a rental car. Otherwise, we are stuck in the hotel. The asian-fusion restaurant and the steakhouse were okay, and the Italian restaurant was pretty average. I wish the resort offered local Costa Rican cuisines and restaurants. Luckily, the tours we booked gave us an opportunity to try traditional Costa Rican cooking/cuisines for lunch, otherwise we would have been stuck eating hamburgers and pizzas in the resort. For families planning to stay inside the resort most of their stay, the resort is pretty nice and offers many activities. The pool is one of the highlights of the resort, and there's a schedule of different events, like a bike tour and yoga session, offered by the resort. We took their bikes out on our own to ride around the property, which has lots of wildlife right next to the resort, since the bike tour spots were limited and fully reserved. For families that plan to go on excursions, the hotel is not in an accessible location, and travel times back and forth will add up and is very tiring. The property is far from all tour destinations, which results in long rides or drives of 4-6 hours a day to and back from a tour. The room was clean and spacious, and the nice balcony offered lounge chairs that we could relax on if the ones by the pool were filled with people (which often happened). The views around the resort and outside on the property were the best part of the hotel. The staff are all very kind but some services, like the front desk and the concierge, can be slow from the rush of travelers during the busy season and the little number of desks available. The beach was an okay place to swim (pretty rocky), but we used the beach more as a great place to observe hermit crabs and search through the tide pools during the day and stargaze at night.
Read more
Date of stay: December 2022
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JW Marriot, Guanacaste is a very nice hotel, however I would not call it 5 stars, as for my standard. I found it to be over priced for what they had to offer and hotel outdated in design and function. Elevator broke on two occasions, luckily we were on the second floor. Staff was very friendly, happy and eager to please, pool side service was excellent wait and bar staff bar worked very diligently to make sure, that while under their care we experience the meaning of "Pura Vida". Front of the house workers, bag handler, Jose, remembered all of our names, his greetings were always warm and welcoming--- like family! Maid service was superior, we throw out something that was broken and housekeeper repaired it and placed it on the night table, room cleaning was immaculate. Owen Morales, over at Destination Services was very knowledgeable and friendly, I would recommend booking with him for amazing tour experiences. The Agent at Alamo rental, Luis was incredibly helpful and courteous. He went above and beyond to assist us with our rental. While the rental process took longer than we expected, it was worth the wait as we received excellent service. Don't know if doing the rental online would cut processing time, but if you're are not in a rush, I highly recommend this location.
Read more
Date of stay: May 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed here for three nights at the end of a two week tour of Costa Rica. I'll start with the positives about the resort. The hotel location is beautiful, surrounded by forests and quiet beaches. The rooms are good sized and well designed and have plenty of wardrobe and cupboard space. The bathrooms are good sized and offer all that you might expect from a 5 star hotel. Unfortunately, for us and many of the group that we travelled with the negatives about this hotel outweighed the positives by some way. The hotel runs on the most outdated and unfriendly bureaucratic system. Checking in at breakfast for instance means that there is always a queue of people waiting to be seated. One person checks yours names against a hotel list and then takes you to a table, leaving the queue unattended. The tables are not all available as the hotel tries to fill their prefered areas first instead of allowing people to sit where they wish. Breakfast offers a good variety and is of good standard. Getting more than one coffee capsule each in the rooms per day requires a visit to reception or the concierge desk and then a discussion is required instead of simply supplying the room with adequate supplies on a daily basis. The room at first appeared a very good standard, but on closer inspection revealed that it required a much deeper clean than it had seen for a long time. Dust was sitting on many surfaces and the floor was just swept rather than mopped. This became evident when I stepped on a sliver of glass near the bed whilst in bare feet. The staff were generally friendly although it seemed as though they were acting under management orders to say no to requests in order to save pennies for the hotel. One day our room was not cleaned and at 4:30pm I made the reception aware of this and told them that we were out for the evening and requested that the room be cleaned while we were out. At 10:30pm we returned to find the room had still not been cleaned and my complaint to reception was met with a promise to send a cleaner along to the room now, which was obviously inconvenient and we declined. We ate in two of the restaurants in the hotel, the "sports bar" and the "Asian fusion" . The sports bar had been turned into a buffet, $35 per person, plus tax and service resulted in $98 per couple for poor standard food with very little choice and one beer each. Overpriced, low standard and a clear attempt to get our group out of the restaurant as soon as possible so that could close at 10pm. The Asian fusion was a much nicer experience, better food and service and a much more value for money. In conclusion, the hotel setting is wonderful, but through the bureaucratic management, poor service and low standards of cleaning we would recommend that people choose a different hotel if looking to stay in this area.
Read more
Date of stay: November 2022
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We did not enjoy our stay here. Of 4 hotels we stayed at in Costa Rica this one was the most expensive but not at all impressive. It's the little details that really make an experience and this hotel does not at all live up to the JW brand. The building was literally falling apart in places. Staff were friendly but overworked and all new so it was hard to get answers to basic questions. Simple requests like extra blankets took 3-4 tries to get. The breakfast buffet was legitimately disgusting with eggs overcooked so much they were more grey than yellow.
If you want to do anything other than go to the beach or Tamarindo the hotel location is really far away from attractions but the tour company won't tell you that up front. We learned that the hard way after realizing it would be as much as 4-8 hours of driving roundtrip for ziplines and hot springs.
Read more
Date of stay: December 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Â Stay farther north if you want to do activities or any other hotel if you want a really good...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
These reviews are machine translated from their original language. Show machine translations?
The hotel is very old and despite being huge you cannot smoke in ANY room. You must sign a form. This should be advised at the time of booking. Good for those with children. It has infra. For a couple without any charm. Here's a tip. The check-in staff also leaves something to be desired.
Read more
Date of stay: April 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No it is not all inclusive. Prices are reasonable and the food is good. You can look at the menus on line. Since we did a lot of excursions, there were several days where we were not on the resort so we decided that we were fine without being at an A-I resort
Agreed with other replies - see if you can change flight to Liberia. SJO > Guanacaste is a long drive. Don't rely on what Google maps estimates as driving time. Roads in CR are mainly 1 lane plus traffic.
If airport/flight cannot be changed, would recommend a private transfer from SJO to JW Marriott via a different transportation company outside of JW Marriott.
The transportation company (Go tourism) that is on site at the resort is not apart of JW but an affiliated company that offers their services on the resort (because everything is far from JW Marriott Guanacaste).
There are more places to choose from in the Playa Avellanas area.
PRICE RANGE
RMÂ 2,537 - RMÂ 3,560 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
jw marriott guanacaste resort & spa costa rica hotel santa cruz, jw marriott guanacaste resort and spa costa rica, jw marriott santa cruz, marriott santa cruz
LOCATION
Costa RicaProvince of GuanacasteTamarindoPlaya Avellanas
NUMBER OF ROOMS
310
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
