Punta Islita, Autograph Collection

Celebrating our 10-year anniversary in Costa Rica was an unforgettable blessing, and staying at Hotel Punta Islita made it truly magical. From the moment we arrived, we were greeted with warm smiles, “Pura Vida,” and an incredible level of care. The entire staff treats every guest with love and attention, going above and beyond to ensure your stay is comfortable and memorable. You even get the chance to meet the hotel manager and chef, who, like everyone else, are friendly and focused on making sure you have the best time possible. The hotel offers transportation to and from the airport, making travel stress-free, and a shuttle to the beach and the charming town of Islita ensures you can explore with ease. The beach is clean, stunning, and perfect for relaxation or adventure. Whether you want to sit back and enjoy a delicious drink while listening to the waves or dive into a wide range of activities, there’s something for everyone. The hotel provides incredible cultural experiences and fun activities, including ATV rides, turtle-watching, and more. You’ll be completely immersed in the beauty of Costa Rica’s nature. For relaxation, the spa is fantastic, with skilled massage therapists who will leave you feeling refreshed and pampered. Every aspect of this place feels safe and welcoming, from the lush surroundings to the friendly staff. And the food? Absolutely incredible! Every meal is fresh, authentic, and mouthwatering—worth every bite (even if it means gaining a few pounds). Whether you want an adventure-filled trip or a peaceful retreat by the beach, Hotel Punta Islita has it all. I highly recommend booking a trip to Costa Rica and staying here. It’s an experience you’ll never forget, and I’m already counting down the days until I can go back!

We had a wonderful stay at the hotel over the Christmas holidays. Our bungalow included an outdoor seating area with hammock and plunge pool which we thoughtly enjoyed. The infinity pool and swim up bar near the main restaurant got lots of use as well! There is so many activites at the hotel, we saw baby turtles heading to the beach, visited/learned about the hotel’s incredible garden, saw the macaw sactuary (as well as them flying around the hotel grounds) rode horses, and saw many other animals. Yes the walk to the beach is long and down a hill. However there are plenty of benches to stop and enjoy the incrediable view. I’m 61 and had no problem going back and forth every day. However there is a shuttle for those that are not as mobile. Our room was near the main building of the hotel so that part of the walking was minimal. I have to give a huge shout out to the following team memembers that made our stay even more memorable : Arturo at the restaurent & beach club. The most excellent infinity pool bartender. Marcelino at the pool bar, Joseph who did an outstanding job organizing the excurstions, Luis at the front desk, Jorge who conducted a wonderful bird watching tour as well as the garden/blue zone. A huge shout to Anna at the garden who took so much extra time with us. Last but absolutlely not least, Mo who lead the turtle tours and horses. There are others…It was a magical experience so if you are thinking of visiting, go for it! ** I would suggest if you are visiting to pack closed toed shoes and long pants, many of the activities require them.**

Had a fabulous vacation week there with my family (kids 10, 10 and 12) in April 2025. We relaxed, swam in the ocean (often few to no other families on the beach), boogie boarded, hung out in the pools, went zip lining, enjoyed observing macaws, howler monkeys, iguanas, coati, went on an interesting garden tour with a fabulous multi-course garden meal, dined on the beach, loved every second. Rent a golf cart, especially if you stay high up on the hill in the larger villas like we did. Would go again in a heartbeat. Service was impeccable. Grounds are stunning. It was VERY hot -- 90s. Flew to Liberia, east 3 hour drive, mostly paved.

We came here as a family of 4 (2 kids ages 8 and 10). My husband has Bonvoy lifetime titanium elite status so we usually stay in Bonvoy when we can. This place was amazing. Overall our stay was relaxing, fun, and gave us the feeling of wanting to come back. I would have given it 5 stars as my only complaints were the slow flush toilets and the place could use some updates as it being advertised a 5 star resort. But this is an eco friendly fly resort with sensitive plumbing so it makes sense. Some of the rooms and lobby restroom need update as well. I just expected more update upkeeps being a 5 star resort. Service from the staff are 5 stars! SERVICE: All the waiter staff were great. Everyone remembered my daughter’s tree nut allergy. It’s such a small resort, they really get to remember your name and always greeted you with a smile. Joe was our go to guy for activities and any issues that arose. He was so quick to respond and was our girls hero of the trip! He is the absolute best! Get whatsapp downloaded on your phone bc that is the main way to communicate to the hotel/staff and they get back to you quickly. It was my daughter’s birthday and we just asked Joe to provide a candle for her. I was just going to grab a dessert from the buffet to sing for her. They baked her an amazing cake, candle, and had the DJ play happy birthday for her. They truly went above and beyond, you can’t beat the service here. Truly amazing people!! ADVENTURE: They provide so many activities in this resort. You will never be bored and everything is so close. Don’t miss the garden tour, it’s free and I learned so much! I’m not a garden/plant person and the kids and I learned so much about gardening and the amazing ways the resort helps the environment with the food waste. It was truly a different new experience, my kids helped pick fruits from the garden which they loved. We added the farm to table lunch which was awesome. You have lunch at the same garden and they describe how the pick and make the items, everything was delicious. And my kids got to eat some of the tomatoes they picked. The adventure staff were friendly, we did zip lining and monkey quest thru the resort. Zip lining was great for beginners. And I liked how there were escape routes at each zip line in case a little one backs out. Our monkey quest guy really went out of his way to make sure we saw monkeys and thankfully he was successful! We did horseback riding out of the resort but it was right next door and so convenient. You can skip the macaw recovery tour, you see macaws here at the resort all the time so no need to pay unless you want to learn more about them. FOOD: Food at the resort was amazing! Alma restaurant had the best breakfast and dinner. Aura beach club is the only place open for lunch. All superb! Dinner you have Alma restaurant or the resort beach theme. The kids LOVED seeing hermit crabs come out at night when we did the beach theme dinners. If you ever get tired of resort food

Fantastic trip. Customer service was off the charts. And the best thing is that there were practically zero people there are the time so it made our trip all the better. I cannot express how amazing their customer service is, and I love the WhatsApp utilization for any contact resort. Truly amazing and we cannot wait to go back again. Notes: It is about 2.5 hours from the LIB airport but only around 70 miles so it is a slow roll so prepare accordingly About 6 miles of the drive at the very end is on a dirt road so it is bumpy be prepared We drove the whole thing at night from the airport so needless to say it is VERY DARK out there You are at least 30 min from any significant store and a solid 75 min from a big store in Samara which is awesome We did a big shop and cooked in our villa most nights, it was amazing.

The area is fantastic and pura vida but disappointing stay and it really could've and should've been better. The rooms need a major renovation and upgrade especially for this price point. I'm surprised Marriott considers this an "Autograph" property because it doesn't meet the standard especially since you expect everything to be in good working order. Let's start with the good: this property is in a stunning location with very nice vistas, pools, beach club and restaurants to enjoy all the nature has to offer. Because it's remote would advise getting transportation to/from airport if not renting a car. Love the focus on the environment with water bottle refilling station and natural materials throughout the resort with little use of plastic and other wasteful products. Alma Restaurant-serves breakfast and dinner. The food is good, fresh and reasonably priced with variety of beverages, appetizers, entrees and dessert. Aura Restaurant-perfect for lunch by the Pacific Ocean or snacks in addition to juices, healthy drinks and cocktails. Pools-very nice with easy access to showers, plenty of lounge chairs and a bar area. Shuttle-friendly drivers who will take you to the tiny "town" next door, down to the beach area or other sites anytime you want to go. They will also pick you up. The bad: The room. The bathroom was on par with a Motel 6 with chipped, faded tile, ancient faucet and showerhead with very little water pressure. The bed mattress was lumpy and the sofa also worn and uncomfortable. The door to our room broke and took an hour before maintenance guy could get access thru the bathroom window. The outside jacuzzi started gushing water onto the patio and maintenance guy saw it and never returned, it wound up having very little water so unusable. In room fridge didnt keep anything cold. Alma Restaurant-Highly inconsistent service , had some very friendly servers (Francisco, Diego, and Gerard) and some downright surly ones ("ready to order?! Room number?!" ) Be prepared to wait a long time for your food. drinks, and check with the exception of Aura Restaurant. Even though the most crowded was 10 tables max, breakfast always took 90 minutes. Dinner service also slow. The menu doesnt change so suggest going off property for some meals. Housekeeping-left dirty dishes and didn't leave clean glasses or water Front desk-friendly but not pro-active or solution oriented. There was a planned power outage that kept us out of our room from 8am-430pm with nowhere to be but outside without power. I understand that's not in the resort's control but they should've done something (even a room credit) since for 8.5 hours unable to use the room that was paid for. Also should've been warned at check in (not the night before) about the planned outage. Overall, with power outage, broken room door, malfunctioning jacuzzi and bathroom/room in need of major renovations, this was all something I've never experienced at a 4 or 5 star property and it's not s