Barceló Tambor

Lovely location and good facilities but poorly run. - You queue to check in, you queue to eat, you queue to get a drink, you queue to report problems to reception. Why you need to get up before 7a.m. to queue to reserve an a la carte restaurant makes no sense. - There was no running water for 12 hours during our stay. No explanation and no sight of the hotel management. - Tambor beach is lovely, but remote. There is little phone coverage and the hotel wi-fi is pathetic. - Not sure why the children’s entertainment at 8pm is turned up with such amplification so you get the full audio experience of the Okey Kokey whilst eating in the restaurant. On the positive side the beach is gorgeous and the hotel itself and rooms are good. Especially impressive are the food & beverage staff who must fight what verges on a losing battle all day supplying food & drink for all the guests.

We enjoyed Tambor Varcello so myst we stayed 3 mmextea bughts!

Disappointing Stay Our stay at Barcelo Tambor was a major letdown. The resort is old and in disrepair—our mattress was literally coming apart at the seams, the bed was uncomfortable, and the pillows were lumpy. Housekeeping was nonexistent for three days, and despite asking four times, we never got clean towels. Requests took days to be answered. The food was disappointing—overcooked, fatty meat, and very limited options. The only decent reservation restaurant was the seafood/steakhouse. Otherwise, I stuck to fruit, salad, and rice and beans. Room service isn’t included, and even basic activities like playing pool cost extra. The resort was overcrowded with kids, even in bar areas, and personal space was not respected. Almost all guests were locals, and no employees spoke English except at check-in. If you don’t speak Spanish, this is not the place for you. Getting there was a hassle—we flew into San José, had to rent a car, take a ferry, and drive even more. Shuttles are an option but are longer & expensive. There’s not much nearby, though we did enjoy visiting Montezuma’s waterfall and swimming in the bioluminescence. Entertainment was subpar, resort was loud/party-club music til 1-3 am each day, drinks were only decent if you paid for premium, and overall, the experience was frustrating. I’ve stayed at many all-inclusive resorts, and this was by far the worst. I loved Costa Rica when we visited Liberia, but after this, I have no desire to return. Would not recommend.

So many people, it felt like a cruise ship. Long lines at the buffet. Mediocre food. Could not reserve a table for an evening meal at any of the restaurants because they were booked solid. Overall, it did not feel luxurious. I’m glad we only booked a room for one night.

I suggest better food, other than that ok

This was our second time at Barcelo Tambor. The staff was just as friendly and helpful as the previous time. This time we elected to ride the horses on the beach which was my wife’s life long dream, this was also excellent and thoroughly enjoyed.

-The personnel at reception were rude and the aea dedicated to persons with disabilities was not respected. -There were no hand towels nor facial tissues in the room when we arrived. -Shower towels were not changed every day, we had to ask for that -We noticed missing weet floor signals in many areas of the hotel during rainy days. -The main restaurant was overcrowded almost every day and there were not enough personnel to serve drinks.

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Convenient

The property landscaping is beautiful. Long lines at bars and guests confused where lines begin/end…perhaps some signage could clear the confusion

The reception area was nice. The restaurant staff were (mostly) very good. The reception staff were very good. The bar staff were not good. They all looked thoroughly grumpy all the time, as though they didn't want to serve anyone ever. Only at the lobby bar in the evenings were the staff pleasant. At all bars the drinks were weak, poor quality and the cocktails bad tasting. Their idea of rose wine was to mix red and white. The hotel was fine, the rooms are dated but clean and the air con worked well. I don't like all the disclaimers you have to sign about not being sick in the pool or rooms and the associated fines - how much are they allowing people to binge drink that this happens often enough that all guests have to sign waivers? You see the bar staff just pouring endless quantities of liquors into people's own flasks and then wonder why people are smashed drunk and sick??? Yet it takes forever to get served just one glass of something if you are behaving normally. There are nice features at the hotel - mini golf, a climbing wall for kids, trampoline and a nature park with lots of parrots to see. The playground would be nice but it's very broken and needs repairing in lots of places. You can't swim in the sea because of crocodiles and stingrays. It's also quite pebbly and not soft sand. The food was pleasant but limited choice and rather bland. The hotel is very far from being a 5 star. Our family rates it 3* at best. I wouldn't come back.

Nice hotel, needs updating. Beach was somewhat dirty and plastic waste could be seen in the sand. Not the hotel's direct responsibility but cleaning campaigns in the area might help.

Getting onto the resort our car check in was thorough, which gave us a sense of security during our stay. We booked a room with one king bed, but were given a room with two queens pushed together. There was a nice hammock attacked to our room which was private and had a beautiful view of the water, but the room itself was slightly dirty. The pool was beautiful!! Our only complaint was that they closed the pool at 7pm so swimming was often cut too early. The food was... ok. There were plenty of options but the quality was not what you would think for an all inclusive.

the hotel is very dated and could do with an upgrade, food was mediocre and there isn't anything close to the hotel anything touristy is a bit of a drive away.

This resort was amazing for the price!

No happy with food and beverages options

We stayed 2 nights at the resort. It was a decent stay, but nothing grand. While the outside grounds/buildings were immaculate, the inside of the room we stayed in was very outdated, aged and not overly clean. It was disappointing. The mini fridge was not stocked when we arrived and when it did get stocked, it was very minamally done and with no beer. A let down given it’s an all-inclusive. Also, the resort doesn’t do anything for birthdays unless you pay. Too bad because we were on this trip for my husbands 50th.

Amazing place

The staff was not friendly upon arrival and check-in, service at the bars was slow and unfriendly. The food was ok but all the restaurants that we went to had basically the same things other than the entree. The pool was warm like a hot tub, not cool and refreshing. The beach was rocky. The room was dated and our toilet and shower didn't work properly. Luckily it was in beautiful Costa Rica which made up for everything and the tour that was offered to Tortuga Island was awesome, with a great staff and food!!

The property grounds were nice and there was wildlife everywhere. The pool was great as well as the landscaping. The food was average or below compared to most other all inclusive resorts i have stayed at but there were many options to choose from and you could always find at least a few things that were decent at the buffet. The entire resort is catered to locals which was a cool experience except for all the shows and activities were in Spanish only. They seemed great and as long as you speak spanish but my family does not and the it didn't keep the kids interest. The customer support team was extremely helpful and the staff was friendly. We enjoyed our time but if i were to book it again i would choose a different resort. Last time to costa rica i stayed at the rui and stayed at secrets and visited the riu... both of which i would recommend over the barcelo because of the food and language barrier. Over all we enjoyed our stay.