Best Paquera Hotels

We have stayed at a variety of other all-inclusive resorts in both other countries as well as in Costa Rica. We have also stayed at other resorts by Barcelo/Occidental. We have loved every place we've stayed - and Barcelo Tambor was far below our expectations. Positives: -The views from the beach might be the best of any place we've stayed. The bay was gorgeous and many trees lined the beach making for plenty of shade if you wanted it. Plenty of beach chairs for everyone. -The front desk staff, Premium staff, and excursion booking staff were especially wonderful and helpful. -They had some wildlife on the property which was neat. -Would be great for kids as there was plenty of kid amenities. -The a la carte restaurants (sushi, seafood/steak, and italian) were average. Negatives: -It is at least 90% Costa Rican locals who were visiting, which is not a problem in itself, but it meant that much of the staff didn't speak English. My partner is fluent in Spanish and I can stumble through enough that it was fine, but if anyone visiting does not speak Spanish, this would NOT be the place for you. -The drinks were extremely limited. There was a small list of cocktails included, 1 draft beer, and 3 wines. Nothing else. I couldn't even get a mojito. -The food was extremely disappointing at the buffet. While we enjoyed the breakfasts of typical Tico food, it was otherwise about the same every night. Even though the buffet had 'theme' nights, they were all about the same food. Not much variety at all. A lot of it was unappetizing. -In the buffet restaurants especially, the service was EXTREMELY slow, or sometimes nonexistent. We would wait 15 minutes for coffee refills before finally giving up and leaving. They'd stop by once when they sat you to get your drink order but would never return after that for any additional needs. -The room cleaning only consisted of making the bed, giving new towels, and refilling the mini bar. They didn't actually do much cleaning, there would be stains left on the counters. Sometimes they would stop by at 9pm to offer us fresh towels. It didn't make much sense. -The ”premium” was not much of an upgrade at all. It just meant you could go to a different room for snacks/drinks and they had a few more alcohols included. But you couldn't get those premium alcohols at other bars - only that one. -Speaking of bars, there were not enough so you'd often wait 20+ minutes in line at any of the outside bars to get a refill. -There were also not nearly enough chairs at the pool, so you needed to get out there before 7:30am to claim a chair or you are out of luck. Overall, if you have been to any other all-inclusive resort and are used to a certain level of service and amenities, this wouldn't be the place for you. Locals in nearby towns and taxi drivers told us the place has been going downhill fast for the last 10 years. Would 100% return to Costa Rica (as we have before) but would not recommend this resort unless you are fine with