Borinquen Thermal Resort

"This hotel purports to be 4-star and was supposed to be the culmination of our 2 week visit. It was worse than disappointing.

4-star hotels are supposed to be luxurious, make guests feel pampered, and make life easy. It’s a beautiful location and campus. There is some cool wildlife - yellow and black birds with hanging basket nests - Oropendolas. The accommodations are nice and reasonably comfortable

The “everyone has to deal with” problems at this hotel:
1. The entrance road is horrendous. It isn’t just dirt or gravel, it’s some sort of hardened jagged potholed semi-cemented intermittent surface. The potholes have large sharp edges which could easily flatten a tire. The road is so rough I didn’t go over 15kph for 15-20 minutes or more. It is absurd that a 4-star place would have such a bad road. Even if everything else were perfect, I’ll never go back because of the road. We skipped an activity off campus because of the road. I wouldn’t mind such a road if I was driving on it by choice, but with this one, I had no choice. I was very worried about the possibility of wrecking our car - Yes it’s a rental, but I still don’t want the inconvenience of a broken wheel, suspension or tire. I wasn't even able to enjoy the view because I had to keep eyes glued on the few flat spots between the pot holes.
2. The reception/lobby is far from noticeably elegant (a requirement of a 4-star) - there are two “office type” desks, one of which is check-in. There is no normal bureau or other typical hotel lobby stuff, no concierge, etc.
3. Parking is only at reception - you can’t have your car anywhere near your room, so you have to take everything you want with you in their shuttle vans which you have to call (& tip) every time.
4. It’s a steep climb up and down everywhere on this campus. The pool and hot springs are at the very bottom, so a hassle and not relaxing. They are about 20 stories down a steep hill. This is no place for someone with any mobility impairment.
5. There are no menus for the restaurants available. Not in the lobby, not in your room, and not online either, just at each venue. So to see what available, you must go (climb) to each food service place to see what they offer.
6. The restaurant is very limited and there are almost no other options.
7. They ask you to make a reservation for dinner at a specific time when you check in, even before you get to your room.
8. The room service menu is a sad photocopy
9. The campus map is a sad photocopy and poorly designed with lots of confusion - not at all crisp, clean, or easy to read.
10. Like almost everywhere in Guanacaste (but not in some other parts of Costa Rica), the restaurant staff regularly lie say tip isn’t included. They have a big line to leave additional tip even though there is a 10% service charge included by law that is the tip. My policy is “If you lie to me to try to milk me for an extra tip: No tip. If you tell the truth and your service was good, I’m happy to leave an extra tip."
11. The restaurant management hides a bad exchange rate. They charge in US$, offer an option to pay in Colones, and have a 10% margin to convert back to colones, upon which I had to pay another % to my bank. You’re better off paying in US$.
12. Most of the staff speak very poor English. This is in contrast to every other place we’ve been in Costa Rica where the generally spoke excellent English

The Whopper: Because of the lack of access to our car, on our 2nd to last day we packed some of our unneeded things and took a couple of our bags in the shuttle to the car before we left for an activity. Sofia at reception was told by the shuttle driver we had put luggage in our car (I have no problem with staff keeping the office informed of what’s going on on campus). But instead of checking our file to see if we had any unpaid bills (we were fully prepaid), Sofia seems to have jumped to the conclusion that we needed to be stopped at the security gate and without explanation demanded that we return to Reception before being allowed to leave. Upon returning to Reception, we were asked to explain why we had put luggage in our car. I was already pretty unhappy with the place based on the previous list of 12 problems, so I demanded to speak with the manager. They pretty much ignored me and checked our file and account to realized that we were in fact pre-paid and had no outstanding bills on file. They said they wanted to make sure we were going to return with their key. I again demanded to speak with the manager and they looked at me blankly and said nothing. I asked if the manager was coming. They finally said “No.” So I left and was finally allowed through the gate. I was absolutely stunned that instead of doing what’s best for customer service, they seem to default to a paranoid assumption. This is one example of several of how this place is not run like a 4-star."

"My husband and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in Costa Rica in November, 2018. We stayed in Tamarindo for the 1st half, and in Borinquen for the 2nd half.I was hesitant to stay in Borinquen because of the 1 restaurant - no other choice - what if I don't like it? After reading reviews, we booked and were more than pleased! Our kind and friendly waiter, Edwin, made us feel like old friends and we looked forward to seeing him and tasting the delicious meals each night! Super fresh fish - my favorite!
Definitely recommend this location - remote enough to feel 'away from it all' yet not too far. "

"First we were overbooked, or so they said. We had to leave our lovely pre-paid room and go to another "resort." I won't comment on how terrible it was. Dirty, room adjacent to horse pens, full of pushy tourists on buses, bad room.....Then when we were to return to Borinquen we waited at the appointed time and an hour and a half past that. They said the car broke down but actually they had forgot us. We had to return to Borinquen to join our tour.
Borinquen is beautiful. Most rooms are great. The problem is walking up and down the steep hill between the rooms and the lodge, pool, etc.
We loved being there and the hotel did make it up to us financially. However, time in Costa Rica is precious and money does not make up for over a day out of our vacation lost. The food at Borinquen is delicious. The pool is wonderful.
If you go Be Careful about your reservations. I understand there was a change in management (they admitted their mistake to Expedia) We managed but felt sorry for the young couple with two young children who had to leave as well. They were not compensated last I heard.
Also, the roads in that area are almost non-existent. Very, very rough and probably impassable in bad weather. Do not attempt that drive yourself! If you are allergic to topical sulfur be careful if the volcano is erupting gas or if you go in the mud bath.
We love Costa Rica and this was definitely the worst experience we had in our 6 trips. "

"Amazing resort -- everything you could want...canopy tours, ATV rides, horseback rides, hiking, full service spa, pool(s), restaurants, hiking, volcanic mud pits, hot springs, natural saunas, etc. etc. This is the ultimate vacation/honeymoon spot! The staff is extremely accommodating, and the grounds are absolutely spotless. I even went during the "slow season" and was greeted with freshly-made frozen drinks & had my lunch order taken perfectly while we waited for our tour of the grounds. Spectacular service, incredible accommodations...can't wait to return!"