Monkeying Around at the Andaz Costa Rica
/Costa Rica is such a beautiful, safe and easy to access country. Visitors flock there to experience its lush greenery, volcanoes and wildlife, and to partake in adventures like zip lines, natural hot springs and ATV tours.
Years ago, my husband and I visited Arenal and Manuel Antonio and took part in the typical Costa Rican adventures. On this recent family trip back to CR, we had one objective in mind: to relax in a jungle.
The living is easy and beautiful at the Andaz Costa Rica Resort at Peninsula Papagayo in Costa Rica. It’s a perfect warm weather escape for a family.
You Are One With Nature at the Andaz Papagayo
Relaxing in the sun is great. Relaxing in the sun with many monkeys and birds around is even better.
There are quite a few family friendly resorts out there, but the Andaz Costa Rica Resort at Peninsula Papagayo stands out for one big reason: the flora, the fauna, the monkeys and the coati. The resort was expertly and respectfully built to be a part of its jungle surroundings - lush trees and rolling hills (more on that later) are everywhere. And what this means is that all the beautiful parts of the Costa Rican jungle are on full display for hotel guests.
We saw so many colorful birds and vibrant plants at the Andaz. We regularly spotted families of howler monkeys perched in the trees above without even trying hard. White faced monkeys visit the resort’s pool, beach and open air restaurants daily. One afternoon, on the ground just below the cascading pools, some of those white faced monkeys pranced around looking for food while about 10 coati foraged nearby. It was quite a sight - and we saw it all while casually drinking cocktails in the pool.
I’ve never been anywhere, including on our previous trip to Costa Rica, where amazing wildlife was so accessible and prevalent from my hotel’s grounds. According to Wikipedia, 70% of the land on the Peninsula Papagayo must remain natural and undeveloped per government mandate.
You Can Really Relax at the Andaz
The Andaz is one of three resorts at Peninsula Papagayo, a gated community and Central America’s first environmentally friendly luxury resort and real estate project. The Peninsula lies about 30 minutes from the Liberia airport on the north Pacific coast of Costa Rica. There are direct flights from NY to Liberia and the drive over to Papagayo is well paved and easy to manage.
That said, the Peninsula is NOT a good jumping off point for excursions in Costa Rica - volcanoes and hanging bridges and most zip lines are at least an hour away. And it takes between 15 and 30 minutes just to get off the Peninsula (depending on which resort you’re at).
If relaxing is your objective, then the Andaz is your destination. At the center of the resort are three beautiful cascading pools that look out onto the bay. An adorable van retrofitted to become a bar serves drinks to pool loungers and just above the pool deck is the resort’s all day open air restaurant, Rio Bhongo. Most guests start their morning with that restaurant’s buffet (a la carte also available), including its awesome fresh fruit smoothie bar.
Just below the pools is a stair path to the Andaz Beach. It’s pretty but small. No worries, though, from there, just board the resort’s boat (leaving every 30 minutes) to the Andaz Beach House, a much larger beach on the other side of the Peninsula. The ride takes about 5 minutes and it’s a beautiful boat and trip.
Over at the Beach House, there’s a full service restaurant, motor and non-motorized sports, massage service and a whole lot of monkeys. If the water is too choppy, or you prefer traveling by land, the resort will also take guests by shuttle and then golf cart to the beach. Also nearby there is the Andaz’s Nature Center, which offers all kinds of family friendly activities and nature excursions.
Back at the resort, you can also find two more restaurants - a tapas bar and seafood spot, an adults only pool and a gorgeous spa and fitness center. (Note we found the food to be serviceable but not spectacular at the resort, and the options off property are limited).
The hotel rooms are very large and each has some semblance of a water view from the room’s extra plush private balcony. Our room had one King bed and staff fit two rollaways for the kids easily. My favorite part of the room was most definitely the huge rainfall shower, which has a door leading out to the private patio.
Every day the Andaz offers a slate of daily activities, like yoga, nature walks, bird-watching, mixology and ceviche classes. Some are complimentary, others carry a small fee. My husband and I did an amazing two hour barista class with the resort’s resident coffee guru, Luis, one afternoon for just $21 per person.
Staff at the hotel are uniformly kind and eager to help. Because the Andaz is a smaller resort (about 150 rooms) and you spend most or all your time on property, after a few days, staff starts to remember your name and you’ll build friendships with them and fellow guests.
Your Kids Will Be Happy, Too
Our kids absolutely loved the Andaz. The pools and the monkeys were big hits - especially when they spotted some white faced monkeys trying to steal snacks from a backpack left on the beach.
And an even bigger hit for them was the Andaz’s complimentary and beautiful kids club, Cambi. Open daily from 8am - 5pm, Cambi welcomes kids age 4 and up to come in and out through the day without any reservations or pre-planning. Younger guests can visit with a parent or a babysitter hired from Cambi. Cambi has its own daily slate of activities too - DIY magnets, yoga for kids, smoothie making etc.
We also used the Cambi night program to have a adult only meal one evening - the girls played games, did art, watched movies. And it was $20/hour for the two of them. The staff there, and all over the resort, were warm and lovely.
Another huge family friendly perk at the Andaz is that kids age 5 and under eat for free at all three resort restaurants. At each meal staff asked our daughters’ ages to ensure the little one got her food comped.
The resort does a wonderful job catering to its smallest guests which, when coupled with the luxurious, authentic and safe surroundings, makes the Andaz Papagayo an excellent and easy choice for a family getaway.
One last item to note that perhaps isn’t so kid friendly - the resort, as mentioned above, was seamlessly built into its surroundings and those surroundings are hilly. There are many stairs and hills at Andaz Papagayo. Guests have their choice of burning some calories by walking or calling for one of the resort’s many golf cars to cart them around. Our younger one complained a few times about the steps, but overall, our family of four did fine on our own feet.
