Sandos Papagayo Beach Resort

Again buffet so eat as much or as little as wanted but the bread rolls were lovely and fresh, Pool bar often had queues but they moved quickly and the staff were nice great ice cream. 3 Pools - all lovely and clean. One adults only which was nice and a Hot tub only warm but bubbly. Entertainment - daytime & each eve; quite a lot going on but we didn’t join in the hotel is large so you can avoid if you wish as it doesn’t engulf the whole outdoor space. Book asap to go to the Mexican/Fusion restaurant - I really enjoyed them plenty of choice nice atmosphere. All staff from reception, to bar staff, to cleaners very professional and helpful. Seemed happy in their work. This is our second time and we’d go again for a lazy week. Great for ‘post pandemic’ holiday as lots of space to move around safely. Covid H/S standards high. Location is nice a 45 minute walk in to Playa Blanca but Hotel has a shuttle bus which runs once am returning pm or bikes for hire) but a nice walk or get a taxi less than 5 Euros All in all a lovely holiday and we made some lovely friends .

Again, less restaurants within this hotel than others we've been to but can't really complain. Food would be v repetitive I'd say, if you can't get into the other restaurant. We thought the Mexican food was nicer as the Chinese food was nearly all far too salty, but also one night the Mexican food was very cold temp

• meat is mainly pork and veal which wasnt great although appreciate this may cater to Spanish taste

Drink *wines were temperanillo which aren't great, depends on your taste, thought quite vinegar like

• beer Amstel which is drinkable but was far gassier than a pint of Amstel had in a local bar... *as someone who doesn't really drink, I was very unimpressed with the soft drinks, all extremely sugary!!!! Only sure free drink in machine was 7up free, fruit juices were extremely sweet, I drank hot drinks and water all holiday. Was even driven to sample some "proper" drinks (haha), cocktails are, as expected, not made with fresh ingredients and are also extra sugary, so is the Baileys substitute and some liquers/spirits, others seemed to enjoy them though, may just be me!!

Pool area/sunbeds

• many of the parasols are in a fixed position so sunbeds under them go first. As mentioned there are always the odd sunbed available at any time but it's the parasols that were more important to us, the moveable ones were not widely available. Also being in a fixed position, you'd have to keep moving your sunbeds around to catch the shade, not always possible when others sunbathing fairly close around you
• you would need to wake up before 8.30 to get your choice of sunbeds, but we have been elsewhere and had to get up much earlier than this to have any chance! *pool area kept very clean and tidy, no eating is allowed here so saves litter and flies

ROOM

*couldn't fault the room really, unlike other reviews our air con thankfully worked well! It was very clean and the mini fridge was handy *his and hers sinks and plenty of storage in bathroom *not enough hanging space for clothes packed for a two-week holiday, I'd rolled mine when packing to avoid creases but ended up with a lot of creased clothes as I had to fold them in the wardrobe *balconies were an excellent size but lacked total privacy as you could easily look fully into neighbouring or lower balconies there is a daily cleaning service however I'm not clear the extent of this, we did have to ask after a week if we could have our bedding changed, I'd presumed this would be done automatically but perhaps not...? In a 4 I would have expected such really *beds and pillows were really comfy

ENTERTAINMENT *unfortunately we feel the entertainment let down the evening experience at this hotel, it was quite poor in comparison to other all inclusives, however we are unsure how much of this is due to covid limitations

• majority of the evening entertainment began at 9.30 or 10pm which is quite late given the bars mainly shut at 11pm, it makes for a shorter evening and some of this short time is taken up further by queueing at bars *one evening act was billed at 10pm, we arrived around 9.55, they spent half an hour announcing prizes for the day entertainment and the singer was only on for 25 minutes! Half of that time was taken up with her getting the audience to sing the songs and stop start between each track. We felt very disappointed
• some nights didn't appear to have entertainment beyond background music and/or bingo/kareoke etc which if you're like us isn't everyone's cup of tea *some of the singers and instrumentalists were excellent but often weren't on long enough or on too late *day entertainment team tried really hard, v enthusiastic but they don't pester you. Most activities were repeated daily but anyone could get involved. Only thing was some of the music was on really loud for around an hour during the day which is not suitable for everyone and could be slightly quieter so you can read etc

BARS and RESTAURANTS

*main restaurant was very busy towards end of stay and could feel a little chaotic, canteen-like at times. Sometimes the aircon wouldn't be on and it was totally stifling especially if sat near the glass *Fusion restaurant layout was much nicer, quieter and laid back, table service for drinks, made a nice change *staff in restaurants are all really friendly and so quick at clearing tables *during the day the snack bar and chill out bar are open, the latter can have queues but we didn't use as we don't drink alcohol during the day, other drinks can be obtained from snack bar *Canary bar had a great modern layout and nice outside terrace although availability of outside seats and tables could be limited. There is no music on here whatsoever so if you want that you have to try and hear the music played as part of the entertainment in the other bar which you can't always hear/isn't always on. Would be nice holiday atmosphere if there was some background music on. We felt quite bored at night time, the hotel isn't close to other bars/nightlife so you have to make the most of what is here. As someone in my 20s I noticed not many people the same age as me and the ones who were here seemed to look v bored at night *Canary bar showed main football fixtures which was great, sports bars in the local town were extremely quiet with only 1 or 2 people in even for big games which didn't make for a good atmosphere, so was glad it was on in the hotel *Chill out terrace bar is where most of the evening entertainment is held, again if the act is good it is a race for a seat. Most of them are very uncomfortable especially without cushions. Queues at this bar each night. *Theatre bar was impractically located at the back in a crowded area. We didn't like the layout of the theatre bar (all rows without tables instead of individual tables and chairs), in the present climate it felt too claustrophobic, we didn't go in there after the first night. They did have a few non-music shows in here such as acrobatics/magic but again this isn't our cup of tea

• we were told a couple of the bars have been closed during the pandemic and having these open would have increased variety and made for better evenings I think

LOCATION *I think many people book this hotel thinking it is fairly close to Playa Blanca, in fact the hotel is out on its own in a separate area called Papagayo. 5 mins away is a small complex with shops, supermarket and other amenities, however on the few times we were there it was totally empty of people, sad to see how covid has affected the area. Although its an all-inc hotel we usually go out for a couple of meals however didn't this time as the local area wasn't that sort of place really, however on the front a tapas and seafood restaurant did look nice. *15 min walk to Marina Rubicon with a bit more going on, it's an upmarket resort with a market that does get busy *shuttle bus (free) from hotel x2 in morning and x2 in afternoon, 5 euro taxi otherwise to Playa Blanca. We went there but again, as a few places were closed we exhausted what it had to offer after a few hours *50-60 mins transfer from airport (with TUI)

This review discusses the nitty-gritty of the holiday and ultimately the points I've mentioned did not negatively affect our holiday that much. In fact, it was the rudeness of some other guests which did somewhat spoil it! Never have I been somewhere where there's been as much impoliteness, some people clearly lost their manners during the pandemic! Pushing in and impatient people at the buffet, acting like they won't get fed! Reserving extra sunbeds than what they need, having a territorial approach to areas around the pool, crazy! If you're wound up so tight I really think you should stay at home and let other people enjoy their holiday after what's been a terrible 18 months for so many. Someone even stole our towel pegs off the sunbed! I was also disappointed as, having looked forward to the chance to wear our smart clothes on holiday, we discovered that a high proportion of guests were dressed extremely casually, or even scruffily!! We didn't think WE would be the ones standing out for wearing nice clothes and certainly never used to be the case if you went abroad.

It may be helpful if you need extra assistance to request this with the hotel specifically as there was a very elderly couple who had booked this as part of the package but the hotel weren't aware, there was nobody to help them with their luggage etc.

Very good availability of hand sanitiser (although mainly not used by diners in the restaurant...!!) and masks required in all indoor areas, most people were compliant. The hotel uses recyclable cups around the pool but so many more recycling bins are needed so the initiative is actually effective.

We enjoyed our break away but ultimately would not return as we have been to nicer resorts and hotels

I don't think the hotel really acts upon any of the reviews as they leave a generic response after each review