Popular Playa Bonita Village 4-star Hotels

The staff were by far the best part of the resort. Edwin at the preferred bar, Angel at the barefoot grill, Krishna at the buffet, Moises and Zanchez (yes with a Z) in the preferred lounge all made our stay much more enjoyable because of their attention to providing great customer service. Another amazing part of the resort is the unique wildlife you may encounter - including an ant eater, capybara, geckos, iguanas, and even a random raccoon running down the stairway at you. Thankfully the rascally raccoon was just as startled by us as we were by him. The resort is worn down from rainforest weather. We did upgrade our room to the preferred JR ocean view suite and are very glad we did. The room has two separate spaces - a living area/mini bar and the sleeping quarters with bathroom. The extra large lounge jet tub was a nice feature. The view was nice, but every room would provide an ocean view here as long as you’re not on ground level. The room had two balconies, and the furniture was not comfortable. It was reminiscent of wrought iron cafe furniture that is not comfortable to sit on for any length of time. The real perk of having the room upgrade is being labeled as a “preferred guest” and having your own pool, bar with upgraded liquor at the pool, and your own private lounge with snacks and a separate bar above the main lobby. We did travel on the “off season” (aka rainy season) and found the resort was not super busy. The maid service was unpredictable, though we left generous tips, they would not refill our mini bar, and often times would not even leave 2 clean towels. There was one day they skipped our room altogether, so we kind of gave up on having our room cleaned and brought up towels from the preferred poolside to ensure we could dry off after our shower. On very rainy days, the rain ran into our room down the bedroom wall. We traveled with another couple, and we were able to get side by side rooms which was very convenient for coordinating our daily schedules. The restaurants at the resort leave MUCH to be desired. The strange thing is, you never know when they’ll be open or closed from day to day. We had the most pleasant experiences at the buffet in the mornings, then that the same space “transformed at night” to an Italian and French “restaurant.” The Italian food was adequate. The French restaurant was pretty good. The creme brûlée was excellent! We tried the “Oceana” seafood restaurant and had an ok experience the first time, but a horrific experience the second. We waited more than 90 minutes to get to place an order. The trouble is, we couldn’t get up to leave because we didn’t know what other restaurants would have availability. At the resort, “room service” is offered 24 hours a day… as long as you’re willing to wait 60 minutes - 2 hours for your order. Most times we tried, the room service line was busy. When we finally got through, the language barrier was very difficult and our food arrived cold. We even speak adequa

We just came back from a full week here. Check in was a breeze, the front desk agent was very informative and helpful. We got a surprise upgrade to an ocean view room instead of the garden we booked. We live in the Caribbean, so we see Caribbean beaches all the time, but this beach is amazing to watch. The tide is insane! In a good way (not for swimming but it made for good watching haha). So the pros of the hotel: - Very VERY friendly staff. Everyone had a friendly disposition, and always greeted with a smile. The staff definitely carries the resort. - grounds are beautiful and well kept - pools are amazing and one is absolutely huge. - there’s a kids playground that’s always accessible(but bring bug spray and watch for ants!) - we needed covid testing done for travel (our home country still requires them) and the concierge was very helpful at arranging a clinic to come to us to take the samples. Now unfortunately, there are some cons to mention… - housekeeping was inconsistent… room was clean enough, but as you can see in the pictures, there’s mold in the shower and dirt in places that have obviously not been cleaned in a long time. - the pillows on the beds smelled like mold. I was going to request new ones but forgot, and by the third day the scent seemed to have left. - one day we’d get 2 towels, other days 3 and only 2 days of our 7 days we got the correct amount (4). I had to leave a note requesting that. Same issue with the complimentary water you are supposed to get daily… most days we didn’t receive any. Normally not a big deal but since there’s no convenience store nearby or on premises, and we’re not paying 5$ for a bottle of water, this was quite annoying… - nothing in walking distance. No convenience store on premises if you need a water, razor or something like that… - the room was an upgrade, but it had random stains on the walls, rusty shower hinges, and black stains (don’t think it was mold but it did Look terrible!) all around the ac. (See pictures) The toilet seat was broken and moved when you’d sit on it, and the entire toilet door (heavy frosted glass) had its hinges coming out. It was scary, especially since we have kids. We mentioned it to the front desk and they just had someone screw it back in. It proceeded to come out again bit by bit the remainder of our time. - bath robes with holes in them… not exactly the luxurious feeling it’s supposed to represent… - phone Never worked. We mentioned it, were told someone would come check but nobody did. Normally not a problem except we were expecting a call from the testing center. - hotel is nice and quiet unless there’s an event or convention. The last 2 days of our stay it got super busy, and it became clear that the elevators were not enough for the load of people needing them. - restaurant navigation is confusing. There’s a schedule posted in the elevator and at random spots in the lobby indicating which restaurant has breakfast buffet or dinner etc. But 5 out of the 7