Name: JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive
Address: Playa El Jobo, El Jobo, CR
Rating: 8.4

Live guest feedback

Guest reviews

Mixed experiences

80% of 20 recent stays rated 8+

8.4232 reviews

A DREAM
10/10
dboyer414 · Couples · 2025-08-19
“This place was a DREAM come true! The staff were pleasant and welcoming. The location was remote and exotic- we saw monkeys up close every day! The food was incredible- so many choices, excellent quality. The spa and gym were awesome as was the pool and beach. We can’t wait to go back!”
Deeply Disappointing Experience — Major Privacy and Service Failures
2/10
Fearless07630819798 · Friends getaway · 2025-07-13
“I stayed at Dreams Las Mareas Costa Rica in June 2025 and expected a luxurious, guest-centered experience. Unfortunately, my stay was marred by multiple service failures and an unacceptable breach of privacy. On the morning of June 22, I ordered breakfast via room service at 7:14 AM, which never arrived. Despite using the resort’s app (as promoted), my message went unanswered. When I spoke with the concierge in person, I was told I “should have called” instead, completely dismissing the app communication that the resort advertises. Later that day, the resort attempted to make amends by sending a fruit plate and wine to my room — a gesture I appreciated at first. However, just five minutes after delivery, the same staff member knocked once and immediately entered our room using a key, without waiting for permission. My roommate was partially undressed and in the middle of getting dressed, making the intrusion extremely uncomfortable and violating. Even after I formally complained, the damage to our sense of privacy and safety had already been done. This experience fell far below the standard of professionalism and respect I expected from a Dreams property and the Inclusive Collection brand. I cannot recommend this resort based on my experience. I hope management takes these issues seriously and prioritizes proper staff training to ensure future guests are treated with respect and care.”
Exceptional sad to see it close.
10/10
915annet · Couples · 2025-06-29
“Truly amazing and stunning resort! Service was exceptional as was the food and drinks. The resort was clean, staff were friendly and went above and beyond. The grounds were gorgeous and lush, the wildlife was enjoyable and you felt like you were on an excursion for free. The beach was expansive and beautiful. Pools were expansive with great service. Absolutely no complaints. So sad to see this place close. Thank you to all the staff and this beautiful country for this unforgettable experience and memory.”
Not Worth The Money Although Beautiful Location
6/10
Monica · family with young children · 2025-06-23
“The location was nice. The food was really good. Particularly good was the French bistro. The Crepes Suzette dessert was exceptional. The dining staff were professional and warm. The breakfast buffet was varied and delicious.”
Wonderful 50th anniversary celebration trip.
10/10
BonnieLou555 · NONE · 2025-06-15
“The overall resort was beautiful and the staff was very attentive and courteous, Everything was as depicted in the advertisements and the Preferred Club amenities was a nice touch.”
Nice stay!
6/10
yalan2022 · NONE · 2025-06-13
“Overall stay was good. The resort is beautiful, I don’t like that the beach is public. The staff were very friendly and helpful. There’s no distinction between preferred and non preferred guests. The food in the restaurants was delicious, I wish the buffet had non pork options. This is the last month for the resort as it’s being bought out.”
Good
6/10
166genevas · NONE · 2025-06-10
“Overall the resort is nice, unless you’re a preferred guess you will not get any premium beverages. The lighting around the resort is poor and was a security concern. Also the rooms in building 3 need to be upgraded. The pools were very nice and relaxing but limited activities. If you are looking to book excursions, this is not the resort for you, everything is over an hour away. If you’re looking for a nice relaxing vacation with family, this is the place to stay, but if you’re looking for excursions and more of a busy environment, you may want to consider another resort. Most of the restaurants were good especially the Asian cuisine, the buffet is small and has limited selections. The Oceana restaurant by the pool was also great.”
It Was A Dream
10/10
hattiew121 · NONE · 2025-06-09
“The all inclusive was a first for me and will be my go to from now on if available. The monkeys were a joy to watch outside on the balcony. Everything is very clean. The staff around the entire property were very accommodating. The beach was very nice. I shopped on the beach and got a massage all while relaxing and being catered to with refreshments. The party on the beach with our personal chef/staff was beautifully done. The steak with all the fixings was fantastic all while hearing the waves from the beach. Everyone enjoyed it. It was a dream.”
Don’t hesitate-book!
10/10
daram687 · Friends getaway · 2025-06-03
“Currently here and enjoying the experience. Great vibe, very relaxing, and lots to do. I especially loved yoga on the beach in the morning. The rooms are great. There is entertainment with the monkeys in the morning on our deck. The staff are friendly and very helpful. We met people from all over the world. 10/10”
Relaxing Vacay
8/10
GoPlaces592084 · NONE · 2025-06-02
“The resort is clean and the staff is attentive, however staff was limited. Mattresses are super soft and saggy. Food is filling but not satisfying. Pools are clean and maintained but tile surrounding the pools are quite slick causes multiple falls.”
Nice experience but could have been better
8/10
aprilbM6905XP · NONE · 2025-06-02
“Beds were uncomfortable and not all staff are friendly or accommodating/helpful, maybe due to their lack of English or understanding. The cushions on the furniture were stained/spoiled and should be sanitized. There were times that the car drivers were not friendly and did not want to drive us around the big resort. Everything is spaced out which makes the resort huge. The beach was dirty and should be cleaned up and debris removed. They need umbrellas/cabanas on the beach to accommodate beach lovers.”
Great family vacation. We recommend anyone visits.
8/10
merchifernandez · NONE · 2025-06-01
“Overall we loved Costa Rica. Great hotel and fool. The customer service is great. But the hotel needs to be renovated its time. More music by the pool area. They need more activities and entertainment at night. Maybe something enclosed for the night entertainment.”
1st time honeymoon visit
10/10
36jasperc · NONE · 2025-06-01
“The hotel from start to finish was faultless. All staff were friendly, attentive and seemed to genuinely be interested in making the stay as perfect as can be. Plenty of food options for breakfast/lunch/dinner, we ate at all restaurants from our stay and can honestly say will not go wrong with whatever you choose. Pools are clean and dont seem to be cramped unlike other resorts. There is plenty to do for everyone from laying on the lounger to daily activities. There is a very good mix between attention from staff and being left alone to relax and enjoy your holiday away.”
Once in a lifetime experience
10/10
Discover31756117556 · NONE · 2025-05-31
“Excellent stay. Traveled during the rainy season but I enjoyed every minute. Be careful with the wildlife. The monkeys will come to the room via the balcony. The vendors on the beach are affiliated with the resort, so be aware. The outside vendors are friendly but sometimes unwelcome.”
Excellent and supportive staff
10/10
BlameItOnRios · Friends getaway · 2025-05-28
“I am not an all inclusive kind of person. I was pleasantly surprised by the service and the delicious food. There are so many pools at the resort that it never felt over crowded. Most importantly…going back to service, I left my Athleta Jacket and AirPod Pros at check-in on Day 1. I knew it had been taken by another guest because I could see the AirPod location inside a building. In less than 12-hours, Security at the hotel is returning my jacket and AirPods to me. I’m am so impressed by their prompt attention that I would come back and recommend to anyone looking for a vacation in paradise.”
A Vibe
8/10
shantelford · Couples · 2025-05-26
“This all inclusive resort is nice. Staff are friendly, very welcoming. The resort does not seem to be very handicap accessible. The resort is very dark at night , definitely needs more lighting outside as guest are out walking to their rooms.”
Monkeys amazing, resort needs renovations
8/10
jb9896 · NONE · 2025-05-26
“Since the resort will be closing in about a month, I won’t make it too long, as I’m sure there will be significant changes by the time it reopens next year. My adult daughters and I stayed from May 13 to May 22. Airport/transfers: We arrived on a Tuesday around noon. Customs and immigration were a breeze, and we were quickly through. This is a very efficiently run system by them. We booked airport transfers through Ulf Halbgebauer Briceño Real Tours, and the process was incredibly smooth. Our driver, Juan Ponce, was a Costa Rican bull riding champ and also our tour guide on our excursion. He was fantastic and highly recommended. It took about 90 minutes to get to the resort, and everything you read about the horrible roads is true. The country is beautiful, but the roads are terribly maintained. Resort: The resort itself is beautiful, and the staff is incredible and very hard working. There’s a lot of walking to and from the restaurants if you’re in one of the lower buildings. Power went out more than a dozen times or more Beach/Pools: Despite what many people said about the beach, we thought it was great. We also went in knowing it wasn’t a Caribbean beach, so we kept an open mind. We spent most of our time there. We could always get a chair, which is not the case with the pool. It wasn’t crowded at all, which we loved. It was calm enough to just float in, but be mindful that there’s no barrier rope, so you might fall asleep and wake up a ways out. The water was clear and refreshing for the hot days. There are vendors everywhere, so it’s a public beach. They’ll try to sell you stuff, but a polite “no thank you” is all it takes. The pools are okay. There’s plenty of room and space in them, but there’s only one swim-up bar, which surprised me. I could see this being a renovation point when Marriott takes over. The Infiniti Edge pool overlooking the ocean was nice as well. Restaurants and bars: We dined at every restaurant (some twice) and all were decent. Nothing extraordinary, honestly. The teppanyaki was probably our favorite, and the only one requiring reservations, which could be made right on the app. All other restaurants we walked to and were generally seated promptly. At the Italian restaurant, I had forgotten my pants, so we had to eat outdoors. I was fine with it, as it was my own fault, but it can get hot sitting outside. Most of the bars were pretty good. Our favorites were the preferred bar (shoutout to Nelson) and the Beach bar, which was usually manned by JC (Juan Carlos), who was probably the best resort bartender. He was friendly, made amazing drinks, and went out of his way to make our experience great! Rooms: This is where they fall short. They definitely need a refresh when Marriott takes over. We were preferred in building 1A (rooms 1204 and 1205) and had a junior suite with a tropical view and a master suite with a tropical view. The air conditioning in the rooms was terrible. I tried to get them to fix it multiple times, but the thermostats never hit below 72, even though I had set them at 65. The 72 was actually 76, according to my own temperature gauge. The hot water was also non-existent, and I asked about it a few times, but I got tired of asking. Housekeeping would also come in and turn the ceiling fans off when they cleaned and push the thermostats up, which I don’t understand why. The view was great—a partial ocean view. Monkeys on our balconies almost every morning (even as I type this), which was honestly the highlight of the trip. Excursions: We used Ulf Halbgebauer Briceño Real Tours for a mini combo they called it, but it was a 12-hour day to the waterfall, zip-lining, mud baths, hot springs, and a sloth sanctuary. As mentioned above, Juan was our driver, and he was fantastic. Highly recommended! We also did the $1 hour jungle/beach ATV tour through Angie Zapata Adventures, which was absolutely great. We visited roughly 5-6 beaches and saw some wildlife on the way to each. She was fantastic arranging this for us. My daughter also had a massage on the beach with her, and she loved it. Overall, this was our first trip to Costa Rica, and we had a great time. We’ll be curious to see what changes are made in the year it will be shut down for renovations. I also feel terrible for the 700+ that work so hard now that will be out of work while the renovations take place.”
Highly recommend this experience - especially for adults!
10/10
KimE719 · NONE · 2025-05-22
“Outstanding resort and the convenience of an All-Inclusive (our first) is totally the best. Our room, junior king suite, looked out over the forest and beautiful landscaping and we had birds and monkeys (white face & howlers) and even a racoon (outside) one night. The food is top notch with the exception of the Mex restaurant, but the Japanese, Italian, Seafood Grill, World Buffet were all outstanding. The Buffet (breakfast, lunch and dinner) is simply awesome, but you have to take a break now and then from such a large quantity and choices and eat at the other restaurants where you get a normal serving, and outstanding food. The bars are all great as well - well stocked, and such fun to lay around the pools with a drink in your hand whenever you want. Walking is essential, even though they have many many electric carts carrying people here and there, but it's a very large site and lots of walking. There are ample opportunities to sign up for several excursion offers as well, since this resort is remote (90 min from airport and 10 miles from nearest town - La Cruz). We didn't have to rent a call because there was so much to do at the resort, but we did take 2 excursions (one half day 4x4 tour to 5 beaches and one all day to the rain forest & a hike to a waterfall, and a coffee/cocoa/plantain/sugar cane farm which was very enjoyable and interesting. Excellent experiences and our 2 tour guides were very experienced and knowledgeable about what they were taking us to, that it made it fun and more interesting. We saw sloth, coatimundi, poisonous frog and snake, beautiful flowers, and a fun hike to the falls. This one also included lunch at a local restaurant near the park entrance that was very good food. The swim pools are outstanding! I'm a swimmer and many of them are so large that I didn't have any problem finding places to swim laps early in the morning before everyone hit the decks around 10am. Some of them run together, under a bridge, water falls into the next pool, and a swim-up bar that's fun. This resort is for families I'm sure, but we didn't see any teenagers, and only a small amount of babies/tiny children. It didn't seem like a place to take kids anyway because of all the adult activities.”
Awesome vacation
8/10
O583YElisaw · NONE · 2025-05-21
“We had a wonderful time at Dreams in Costa Rica. We celebrated our wedding anniversary & attended the wedding of a family member. The service was phenomenal, the food was amazing the drinks were tasty & there have a ton of pools and activities for your enjoyment.”
Guest review
10/10
Christopher · partner · 2025-04-16
“Dreams is a beautiful property, with all the facilities of a large hotel but feels small with incredible landscaping gardens and wildlife. Staff couldn’t do enough for you, would definitely recommend it.”

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JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive

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Luxurious Suites with Stunning Views

Abundant Activities and Entertainment

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Guest reviews

A DREAM

Deeply Disappointing Experience — Major Privacy and Service Failures

Exceptional sad to see it close.

Not Worth The Money Although Beautiful Location

Wonderful 50th anniversary celebration trip.

Nice stay!

Good

It Was A Dream

Don’t hesitate-book!

Relaxing Vacay

Nice experience but could have been better

Great family vacation. We recommend anyone visits.

1st time honeymoon visit

Once in a lifetime experience

Excellent and supportive staff

A Vibe

Monkeys amazing, resort needs renovations

Highly recommend this experience - especially for adults!

Awesome vacation

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