Fiesta Premier Resort Guanacaste

When we were deciding where to stay, we were torn between a tradtional shore-line resort, or staying in a remote, inland resort. Since this was our first trip to Costa Rica, and since we wanted to pack in a lot of adventures, we decided to go with the coastal, traditional one. Unfortunately, overall, I wouldn't say we made the right choice. Half of the resort was under construction (which meant that the spa, second pool and one restaurant were all closed), which limited areas and things you could enjoy.
The food was average at best, and that's potentially being generous. The hotel is also located in a gulf, so it's not the type of beach setting you would imagine. Black, fine, mud-like sand, lots of broken coral makes footing in the water treacherous, and there are no waves. It was a nice beach for exploring, and it was very beautiful. But if you're looking to have the beach as your main attraction, you may want to skip this place. We went during the weeks before Christmas, at the start of the dry season, so the weather was perfect and there were less people than you'd epxect at a resort.
If this resort were packed, my opinions would likely be very different. There are limited kayaks, beach/pool chairs and tables at the restaurant, which was not really much of an issue for us. But I could easily see being annoyed and displeased with this resort if it were anywhere near capacity. We met other couples that were staying at different hotels, and their experiences seemed drastically better than ours. So, do your homework, pay the few extra dollars and choose Paradisus Playa Conchal, or another resort.