Hotel Mirador Papagayo by LIVVO

The views from this hotel if you have a sea view room are stunning and the rooms are fine. Hotel is clean and has a lovely pool area. Sadly this is where the positives end because the hot food on offer at lunch and evening meal is deplorable. I read a previous review where a reviewer noted that the food was like canteen food. This comment is actually a disservice to canteen food as I managed many a canteen in my working life and would never have allowed hot food of this hotel quality to be served to my customers. From sloppy scrambled eggs at breakfast to dry pasta , burned vegetables one day and near enough raw the next with meat grilled to order which was burnt on one side and raw on the other. Risotto made with long grain rice that was tasteless and dry.. This is not a hotel I would ever go All inclusive or half board again. I will say that the cold food offer was fine but then that’s not difficult.

Check-in was rather slow but we were given a glass of fizz. Our room was very nice, bathroom needed some updating but we had an excellent shower. The pool area is great, plenty of beds and most areas had sun all day. The pool was slightly heated but not enough. We were all inclusive and breakfast was great but lunch and dinner were poor. Meat was poor quality, fatty or tough, apart from the roast chicken we had one evening which was very nice. We used the spa one day as the weather was poor. The spa was great. I had a massage which was excellent, although I wasn't asked to provide any medical details which I usually am. I had a pedicure, which was advertised as 55 Euros. When I went to pay I was charged 65 Euros as I had gell Polish on my nails which they removed. They only had regular Polish when my toes were repainted. The pedicure wasn't great, nail varnish was a little messy. I went to my salon at home today and they were appalled at my nails. They had not removed all the gell Polish underneath the regular Polish but had actually made a hole in one of my toenails where the gell had been filed off. I would not have a manicure or pedicure there again. Entertainment was ok but was literally for about an hour. Once the show was over the lights came on and everyone had to leave. I think it would have been nice if there had been some music so that we could have danced or had a drink after the show. There were beautiful views, nice walks to the marina but would I go again? No! It was a restful week but not a 4 star hotel.

Lovely hotel with friendly staff. Pool area is great with plenty of sun loungers any time of the day. Rooms are very comfortable and clean. Breakfast is really nice with plenty of choice for everyone. We stayed half board. Evening meals are ok if you can’t be bothered going out or like canteen type food. We prefer to eat out so only had it for a back up. Walk into Marina Rubicon is 15 mins then another 15 into Playa Blanca itself. Lovely walks along the promenade. Hyperdino across the road plus a nice Indian restaurant. Papagayo shopping centre is a 5 minute walk away with same nice bars and eateries. We had a lovely holiday and would stay again.

Rooms Room was roomy, well equipped with a fridge, kettle, hair dryer and a safe. It was also very clean. Large comfortable bed, super soft bedding. Bathroom was a great size with a powerful shower. Room was cleaned as often as requested during the week. Location of room was super as it opened out to the pool area with our own private loungers. Staff Staff were very helpful. Food This was one of my concerns before going due to some of the previous reviews, but I need not to have worried. There were a few issues with the food, but when catering for so many people with so many different tastes, I think the restaurant did a great job. There was always plenty to pick from, not everything was to my taste but as I said there was always a good selection to choose from. Highlights in the food was the fried eggs and bacon for breakfast and the fresh bread display where you could cut your own. Fresh fruit was also plentiful. There was also food available from the pool bar during the day. There were burgers, hot dogs, pizzas and a couple of toastie machines for diy toasties. Drinks Good selection of coffees available all day, I lived on cortado’s all week. There was plenty of wine and soft drinks available at meal times in the restaurant, as well as water and fizzy drinks. There was also a pool bar which served a full selection of drinks and slushies during the day, which was well used. Good points about the drinks, there was Bombay Sapphire available on the all inclusive, and the measures were very generous. The red and white wine on offer were very drinkable too. Bad points about the drink, I enjoy a good beer, but the draught beer was not good, it seemed to go flat very quickly. Cider was available, bottles of Strongbow, but this was not on the all inclusive, it was very reasonable at €2 a bottle. Facilities If you go here the spa is a must, it was amazing. Well worth the €20 for 90 minutes. The animation team were very active, their pool games were lots of fun, especially the water polo. We didn’t really go to the evening entertainment, but there always appeared to be things on. Location The hotel is located 1km along the promenade from the Rubicon area, which has lots of cafes, restaurants, shops etc. there is also a mini mart just up the street.

Lovely hotel, stayed in a family room which was spacious and everything was spotlessly clean around the hotel. Beds were really comfortable, sofa bed wasnt too bad either. Kids club was great. Food was ok, had 2 small very fussy children and we struggled to get them to eat anything but chips, pasta and bread. I'm also a vegetarian and didnt really have a proper 'meal' to choose from, ended up with salad, chips and veg every day. But everything was fresh and tasty so I didn't mind this, I love salad, veg and chips! Dessert bar was fab. Breakfast was good, lots of choice. We were half board and a few times we had lunch instead of dinner and went out for food in the night instead. It's a bit of a walk from anywhere, would have been fine for just adults but a bit far for the little ones so we mostly got taxis everywhere which were cheap enough, 4-5 euros to get to marina or playa blanca. Only stayed for the entertainment twice as it was a bit late for the kids but we enjoyed it, kids also loved the mini disco. Supermarket across the road from hotel. Staff were friendly and helpful. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel.

We have just returned from a fabulous week at the Mirador (2x adults, 2x teenagers) . We had booked two rooms and emailed reception the week before to ask if they could be close to each other, they responded quickly and on arrival, our rooms were just across the corridor from each other. I was really concerned before arriving about the food situation due to the amount of negativity but can honestly say there was no need for the worry. We were all inclusive and found the selection available was always good. The food was always hot in the main restaurant. The themed evenings were great, Mexican was definitely a favourite. It’s an all inclusive with one restaurant catering for hundreds of guests, you are never going to have a fine dining experience unless you opt for a five star with multiple choices of restaurants. Above all, the staff work tirelessly and this really didn’t go unnoticed by us. The hotel was kept extremely clean at all times. Rooms were a great size with plenty of storage. Daytime entertainment was pretty low key but this suited us. Always a show in the evening but chose not to watch. Main bar area was lovely with always somewhere to sit. Location wise, the hotel is in a quieter area but makes for a great walk into the marina or Playa Blanca. We ate out on two of the evenings just to break the week up, plenty of restaurants to choose from. A good sized supermarket is a couple of minutes walk away. Only minor negatives I would say…the music around the pool is very repetitive, the same very small selection of songs are played on repeat. The service in the pool bar could be quite slow. Overall a lovely weekend away and if I was to return to this area I would certainly rebook.