Hotel Punta Leona -- a Gem in Costa Rica

 

We took an Air Transit all-inclusive package to the welcoming Hotel Punta Leona in the province of Puntarenas in Costa Rica from December 17 to December 27.

This wonderful resort is located on the Southern Pacific Coast of Costa Rica within a lush tropical area of the country. The room was large and comfortable, with coffee maker, a medium size fridge, and a huge television, We lived in a quadraplex, but the accommodations felt more like our own private cottage. Our full window looked out at colourful tropical plants higher than the full wall window. What a great way to wake up in the morning seeing the beauty just outside our window. Hurrah, the water was safe to drink.

The hotel had 3 pools, a buffet and three restaurants, one 24-hour bar, a café, two beautiful white sand beaches - Playa Mantas and Playa Blanca.

The guests were mainly Spanish families from Costa Rica and surrounding countries. Their children were incredibly well behaved. Everyone could see the strong love between mothers and fathers and their children, event the teenage children. It was heart warming to see. There were also a few English and French Canadians as well as some guests from France.

The staff were so efficient, friendly and helpful. I must admit in all my travels, I would say that the staff at Hotel Punta Leona rank among the top we have every dealt with. It was also obvious that the relationship with the manager/supervisors was excellent.

The resort was huge and there were other resorts and residents which separated parts of the resort. We were in Selamavar, I believe to be the larger residential area in the resort. We were a two-minute walk from the fabulous Carabellas Buffet which served among the best variety, quality, and tasty food we have ever had in our 50 years of travelling. The food was so excellent that we never tried any of the other food venues. There was also next to the Carabellas, a small pool with a man-made waterfall, a nice place to do some laps or just sit by the pool to relax to the calming sound of the waterfall. Also, the sushi restaurant was located there.

About 1 kilometer away was the reception area, the miniature golf, the tennis courts, the pickle ball court, the other two pools, the 24 hour bar, and the Playa Mantas. The Play Mantas was the larger of the two white sand beaches. There was also a restaurant in this complex, complimentary for lunch, but a pay restaurant for supper. I am not certain why, but we liked this beach area the best.
About 4 km from our cottage was Playa Blanca, at this beach guests could rent an umbrella and 2 lounge chairs for the day for about $20 US for the full day. There was also a bar and a complimentary restaurant, but the bar was not open 24 hours a day.

To facilate guest’s going to both beaches, there was a shuttle which started at our residence area, Selvamar and went to the other beaches and facilities. The shuttle was supposed to pick up guests every half hour, but we found the shuttle to be unreliable. Thus, we used to walk to Playa Mantas. However, the Hotel offered its guest a complimentary van service, 24 hours a day, which would take us from Selmavar to any beach and back to our cottage. We ended up using the van service.

We had a wonderful experience at the Hotel Punta Leons. I would recommend the resort totally.
Although, I would not recommend Air Transat because their flight schedule is not conducive to a nice holiday. We left from Toronto at 6 pm on December 17 and with transfers to the hotel, we did not arrive until December 18 at 1 am. On December 27, we had to get up at 2 am to get picked up by the transfer at 3 am so that we would arrive at the San Jose airport in time to go through security for our 7 am flight. There are other tour services to the Hotel. Use them instead of Air Transat.

Having said that, I intend to enjoy the Hotel Punta Leons again before the end of the spring 2025.