Costa Rican it - Occidental Papagayo

As I stepped off the plane at Liberia's airport a large white butterfly fluttered by my feet and I knew that I was right where God wanted me to be.
The ride over to our host hotel, The Occidental Papagayo, was just a little over 30 minutes. In that 30 minutes I've never in my life seen so much green! The lush grounds and flowered trees were endless all around and had me hypnotized. It was absolutely beautiful and peaceful.

When we walked into the Occidental Papagayo lobby the first thing you notice is the view. It's open to a beautiful scene of the lush mountains and waters of Culebra Bay in the Papagayo Gulf. We were warmly greeted and given our bracelets to let the hotel's staff know we are now part of the all-inclusive experience. The resort has just about 160 rooms in 23 different buildings built into the hillside of the bay so it didn't ever feel crowded.

Posing in the lobby at the Occidental Papagayo

Our rooms were not quite ready so we ate at 'the Buffet' until they were. The rooms are quaint and beautifully done. Terracotta tile and sold wood furniture made it feel earthy. The pretty, sheer cream-colored panels flowing over the sides of the bed and down over the ceiling-to-floor windows gave the room an elegant spin on things. However, the outdated bathtub and boxy television set reminded me that I was not at a 5 star hotel but it didn't bother me in the least. I'm in COSTA RICA!!!

After unpacking I decided to head down to the pool and to check out the beach. Disappointingly there was not a swim-up bar but the guests at this resort doesn't seem to be the type looking for a party atmosphere. The pool was beautiful and had a nice view of the winding staircase up to the lobby.

The small walk down to the beach was not as pretty as the entrance to the lobby. The beach was small and disappointing. Rumor has it that the tides were high so that is why it looked unpleasant. Christian, the young man working the bar hut quickly turned my frown upside down with a fresh, cold Miami Vice. Mmmmm mmm, RUM!!

That night for dinner our travel agent group ate at the D'Oriental Restaurant. This is one of their four restaurants. It was truly delicious. Another thing I will always remember about Costa Rica: the water was like Holy Water - fresh and pure.

After dinner they had a soothing live band performing in the open-air lobby. I noticed bright lights across the room... a disco! I made my way over to take a quick peek. I opened the door to a spacious room filled with loud music, a bar, a dance floor and a pool table. It had been a early morning for this girl so I decided to hike back to my room and save my pool shark skills and dance moves for another night. ;)

Since my long day had started at 3:00 am I definitely slept like a baby. I was looking forward to seeing more of Costa Rica the next day, especially the Four Seasons. :-)

To see more pictures from the Occidental Papagayo check out the Flickr slideshow below: