The Palms At Coco Beach

I love Costa Rica, but my first stay at this Coco hotel was awful. I was severely bitten while staying in room #38 from Thursday November 27th-29th over Thanksgiving. I tried to deal with it privately and asked the hotel to inspect the room and refund me for the miserable experience. I told the front desk at checkout, and Priceline also contacted them for me, but the hotel refused to acknowledge the issue or provide a refund. The front desk guy said the bites were from mosquitoes. As a nurse, I knew they weren't: they had the classic "breakfast, lunch and dinner" pattern, only on my right side, where I sleep. I was bitten on my arm, finger, torso, and buttocks. The bites became cellulitis and sent me to urgent care for treatment. A month later, I still had scars on my arms. I'm extremely disappointed with how this was handled. I love CR, but I'll never stay here again. Be aware you may leave with bedbugs, especially in room 38. As a brand, this should have been treated and acknowledged as an urgent situation.

The people running the place are absolutely lovely, and the pool is clean and nice, with outdoor showers. It's very close to the beach. The connected restaurant and bar include a great breakfast, with seating between the pool and the stage where musicians play. During our stay there was an open mic with very talented musicians. Depending on the night, they have bingo, salsa lessons, a guest musician, or open mic. I failed at salsa, but everyone was nice. One odd thing: they say you only get room cleaning if you ask, but the cleaning ladies knocked every day to offer it. I didn't want service, and I also lost a large sun hat with my name across it, a gift from a friend. I last remember setting it inside the door. When I came back, it was gone. People there hadn't seen it after they saw me wearing it, and it was never turned in. Maybe I left it at the restaurant, or misplaced it, but it was never found. I guess whoever has it now needed it more than I did. All in all, a lovely experience. If you're coming here or deciding where to go, I'd suggest renting a car. Rides are so expensive that a rental per day costs about the same or less. Also, at check-in they photocopied my passport. I thought that was really odd, though I guess that's a thing in Puerto Rico. It had never happened to me before.

Of the five hotels I stayed at in Costa Rica, this was my worst experience. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the pool amenities were nice, but the room and shower were really poor. The bedroom was small, and the pillows hurt my neck. Water wouldn't drain from either the shower or sink. At one point the pressure was so low that nothing came out of the pipes, and the shower never got warm. If this had been my only stay, I'd have thought cold showers were normal in Costa Rica, but every other place I visited had showers that got really hot. It was also noisy at night. I regret spending my money here and won't return.

We only visited the restaurant, not the hotel. The atmosphere was great, though service was slow. My burger was extremely greasy, enough to soak the bun completely, and the onion rings had so much batter that they were hard and too big for me to eat. I think the others at my table enjoyed their meals. I wouldn't recommend the burger.