Barceló Tambor

Property class: 4
All-inclusive Paquera hotel with full-service spa, connected to the convention center

Choose dates to view prices

Barceló Tambor features a nightclub and a free kids' club. You can grab a bite to eat at the restaurant and visit the spa to be pampered with hot stone massages, facials, or aromatherapy. An outdoor pool, a poolside bar, and a fitness center are other highlights at this all-inclusive hotel. Fellow travelers say great things about the helpful staff.

Reviews

7.4 out of 10
Good

Popular amenities

  • Pool
  • Spa
  • Free parking
  • Free WiFi
  • Restaurant
  • Air conditioning
The current price is $172
$194 total
includes taxes & fees
Nov 11 - Nov 12

Room options

Available filters for rooms
Showing 2 of 2 rooms

View all photos for Superior Room

A hotel room with two beds, a desk with a mirror, a ceiling fan, and a balcony with colorful curtains.

Superior Room

7.0 out of 10
Good
(49 reviews)
  • Garden view
  • 37 sq m
  • Sleeps 4
  • 1 King Bed

View all photos for Premium Room (Level Superior)

A hotel room with a bed, a desk, a chair, a phone, and a view of the outdoors.

Premium Room (Level Superior)

7.0 out of 10
Good
(10 reviews)
  • Beach view
  • 37 sq m
  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 4
  • 2 Double Beds

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About the neighborhood

Map
Playa Tambor, Nicoya, Paquera, Puntarenas, 60105

What's nearby

  • Parque Nacional Curu - 16 min walk - 1.4 km
  • Los Delfines Golf & Country Club - 2 min drive - 1.8 km
  • Montezuma Beach - 30 min drive - 21.4 km
  • Santa Teresa Beach - 47 min drive - 34.2 km
  • Manzanillo Beach - 55 min drive - 37.6 km

Getting around

  • Tambor (TMU) - 10 min drive
  • Cóbano Airport (ACO) - 24 min drive
  • Juan Santamaria Intl. Airport (SJO) - 58.4 miles/94 km
  • San José (SYQ-Tobías Bolaños Intl.) - 61.9 miles/99.7 km
  • Daniel Oduber Intl. Airport (LIR) - 69.3 miles/111.6 km

Restaurants

  • ‪Restaurante El Tucán - ‬3 min walk
  • ‪Palenque Bar - ‬3 min walk
  • ‪Bar Cocobolo - ‬3 min walk
  • ‪Al Chile - ‬4 min drive
  • ‪Mariscos Tambor - ‬4 min drive

About this property

Barceló Tambor

  • Barceló Tambor features a nightclub and a free kids' club. You can grab a bite to eat at the restaurant and visit the spa to be pampered with hot stone massages, facials, or aromatherapy. An outdoor pool, a poolside bar, and a fitness center are other highlights at this all-inclusive hotel. Fellow travelers say great things about the helpful staff.

All inclusive details

  • This hotel is all-inclusive. Onsite food and beverages are included in the room price (some restrictions may apply).

Gratuities and taxes

  • Gratuities are included.

Food and beverages

    • All buffet meals, snacks, and beverages included
    • Dining availability limited at one or more venues

Land activities

    • Fitness facilities
    • Soccer
    • Tennis
    • Volleyball

Lessons/classes/games

    • Aerobics
    • Dancing

Entertainment

    • Access to onsite nightclubs
    • Access to offsite nightclubs
    • Onsite live performances

At a glance

Hotel size

    • 402 rooms
    • Arranged over 2 floors

Arriving/Leaving

    • Check-in start time: 2 PM; Check-in end time: 3:00 PM
    • Late check-in subject to availability
    • Minimum check-in age: 18
    • Check-out time is noon

Special check-in instructions

    • Front desk staff will greet guests on arrival at the property
    • Information provided by the property may be translated using automated translation tools

Required at check-in

    • Credit card, debit card, or cash deposit required for incidental charges
    • Government-issued photo ID may be required
    • Minimum check-in age is 18

Children

    • Free children's club

Pets

    • No pets or service animals allowed

Internet

    • Free WiFi in public areas
    • Free WiFi in rooms

Parking

    • Free onsite self parking
    • Wheelchair-accessible parking on site

Other information

    • Smoke-free property

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Reviews

Barceló Tambor Reviews

7.4

Good

8.0

Cleanliness

8.0

Location

7.6

Staff & service

7.6

Property conditions & facilities

Popular mentions

Food
Room
Drinks
Service staff
Entertainment
Family friendly
Buffets
Beach
Lunch
Bar

Reviews

Verified review

10/10 Exceptional

Beautiful spot with bird sanctuary.
Verified review

10/10 Exceptional

Enjoy the activities entertainment the areas clean
Verified review

8/10 Very good

The staff was extremely nice and very helpful. The specialty restaurants were all great, but the traditional buffet felt repetitive. Did 2 excursions that the hotel organized and those were both great. Overall, the property needs a little upgrading, but the services were amazing.
Verified review

8/10 Very good

Great staff. Best location. Good value.
Verified review

8/10 Very good

Pretty sunrise
Sunrise
Verified review

10/10 Exceptional

Great hotel and location, maybe slightly outdated but we liked tropical style of the hotel. The hotel is oriented mainly for Spanish speaking people.
Verified review

6/10 Good

Our stay at Barceló Playa Tambor was okay overall. We traveled with a group, so we joined the trip, but otherwise this would not have been my first choice. I was pleasantly surprised to receive an ocean-view room, which was a nice upgrade. However, the room smelled stuffy, as if the windows hadn't been opened in a long time. The food was average. It seemed like some of the menu items were repurposed into different dishes toward the end of our stay, which wasn't very appealing. On our last night, I got sick and went to the front desk to request housekeeping because I needed my sheets changed. They told me someone would come, but no one ever showed up. That was very disappointing, especially when I wasn't feeling well. The highlight of our stay was the service from the restaurant staff. The servers were friendly, attentive, and provided good service throughout our visit. The grounds are beautiful but need a bit more maintenance.
Verified review

6/10 Good

I will start by saying the 3 star rating is for the long waits for food and overcrowded pools The property is very beautiful and is right on the beach If you have 3 or 4 kids under 10 and want to let them run wild then this is your place If your going as a couple then choose any other hotel I would not stay here again We are frequent travelers to Costa Rica
Hour waits for food every time, every meal Then a free for all to try and get food
Queen beds pushed together We just pushed them apart so we could get on and out of bed
Verified review

6/10 Good

The grounds of the resort are well kept and quite nice. The rooms are pretty worn out and not very well cleaned. The beach is great and the pools are nice. The food was pretty good with lots of options. Some of the staff were awesome, like a handful of them. However most of the staff, we found to be very unfriendly. Unlikely to return, mostly because the vibe didn’t feel overly welcoming. The rooms were not great but we didn’t mind as we spent almost no time in the rooms.
Verified review

6/10 Good

Great for the location, but old facilities

The location of the hotel is absolutely amazing, along the Tambor bay. However, the rooms were very old and the buffet quality average.
Verified review

10/10 Exceptional

This hotel offers a good balance of price, food, location and service. The rooms are clean and comfy. The food is excellent with many options. The drinks variety are also good.
Verified review

10/10 Exceptional

This was our second time at Barcelo Tambor. The staff was just as friendly and helpful as the previous time. This time we elected to ride the horses on the beach which was my wife’s life long dream, this was also excellent and thoroughly enjoyed.
Verified review

4/10 Fair

Rooms dated, staff not friendly and food below average
Verified review

6/10 Good

Getting onto the resort our car check in was thorough, which gave us a sense of security during our stay. We booked a room with one king bed, but were given a room with two queens pushed together. There was a nice hammock attacked to our room which was private and had a beautiful view of the water, but the room itself was slightly dirty. The pool was beautiful!! Our only complaint was that they closed the pool at 7pm so swimming was often cut too early. The food was... ok. There were plenty of options but the quality was not what you would think for an all inclusive.
Verified review

2/10 Poor

Our experience at this resort was extremely disappointing due to a lack of customer service and several concerning issues during our stay. Throughout the evenings, we were never offered beverages with meals, and it was often difficult to get staff members to acknowledge us. The level of service consistently fell below expectations for a resort. The condition of our room was also unacceptable. The bathroom ceiling was covered in black mold, which raised serious cleanliness and maintenance concerns. Additionally, we had an unpleasant experience at the pool. After placing our towels and shirts on lounge chairs and entering the pool, we watched our belongings being tossed on the ground, and taking our chairs for other guests without any communication or explanation. During our stay, several local guest informed us that the resort primarily caters to local visitors. We felt unwelcome as American guests throughout our visit. As a result of these issues, we chose to leave the resort early. Although we had paid for a six-night stay, we departed after four nights and incurred an additional $500 in airfare costs to return home ahead of schedule. The one positive aspect of our experience was the food, which was consistently very good. Unfortunately, the quality of the dining experience was not enough to offset the numerous service and accommodation concerns we encountered. American tourists are definitely not welcome at Barcelo.
Verified review

4/10 Fair

While this property has a very nice pool and beach, the service was very minimal, facilities were outdated and our room was not in good condition. Check in took a long time because the desk was under staffed. We were provided minimal information about the property. We had 2 towels for 3 people, the phone did not work, and there was mold in the bathroom and shower. The sink was not draining, and we found a dead bug on the floor when we arrived. Sheets were stained. Food wasn’t great and the only reason I am not rating it one star is because of the outdoors.
Verified review

6/10 Good

The staff was not friendly upon arrival and check-in, service at the bars was slow and unfriendly. The food was ok but all the restaurants that we went to had basically the same things other than the entree. The pool was warm like a hot tub, not cool and refreshing. The beach was rocky. The room was dated and our toilet and shower didn't work properly. Luckily it was in beautiful Costa Rica which made up for everything and the tour that was offered to Tortuga Island was awesome, with a great staff and food!!
Verified review

6/10 Good

The property is on the older side but was very clean and mostly well kept for what it is. The buffet was not very good. Minimal options and if you asked for anything you wouldn’t see the staff again. Example, pancakes with no options for syrup. Overall it felt safe and most staff was fairly friendly. There was zero effort on the part of most staff to attempt to speak English. It was all in Spanish. I’m always up for learning and practicing a new language, but the shows, kids club and any outdoor activities there was no English at all.
Verified review

6/10 Good

The property grounds were nice and there was wildlife everywhere. The pool was great as well as the landscaping. The food was average or below compared to most other all inclusive resorts i have stayed at but there were many options to choose from and you could always find at least a few things that were decent at the buffet. The entire resort is catered to locals which was a cool experience except for all the shows and activities were in Spanish only. They seemed great and as long as you speak spanish but my family does not and the it didn't keep the kids interest. The customer support team was extremely helpful and the staff was friendly. We enjoyed our time but if i were to book it again i would choose a different resort. Last time to costa rica i stayed at the rui and stayed at secrets and visited the riu... both of which i would recommend over the barcelo because of the food and language barrier. Over all we enjoyed our stay.
Verified review

4/10 Fair

Disappointing & poorly run. Only book if v cheap!

Lovely location and good facilities but poorly run. - You queue to check in, you queue to eat, you queue to get a drink, you queue to report problems to reception. Why you need to get up before 7a.m. to queue to reserve an a la carte restaurant makes no sense. - There was no running water for 12 hours during our stay. No explanation and no sight of the hotel management. - Tambor beach is lovely, but remote. There is little phone coverage and the hotel wi-fi is pathetic. - Not sure why the children’s entertainment at 8pm is turned up with such amplification so you get the full audio experience of the Okey Kokey whilst eating in the restaurant. On the positive side the beach is gorgeous and the hotel itself and rooms are good. Especially impressive are the food & beverage staff who must fight what verges on a losing battle all day supplying food & drink for all the guests.
50 minute queue at 7.00 a.m. to reserve an a la carte restaurant
Verified review

6/10 Good

The reception area was nice. The restaurant staff were (mostly) very good. The reception staff were very good. The bar staff were not good. They all looked thoroughly grumpy all the time, as though they didn't want to serve anyone ever. Only at the lobby bar in the evenings were the staff pleasant. At all bars the drinks were weak, poor quality and the cocktails bad tasting. Their idea of rose wine was to mix red and white. The hotel was fine, the rooms are dated but clean and the air con worked well. I don't like all the disclaimers you have to sign about not being sick in the pool or rooms and the associated fines - how much are they allowing people to binge drink that this happens often enough that all guests have to sign waivers? You see the bar staff just pouring endless quantities of liquors into people's own flasks and then wonder why people are smashed drunk and sick??? Yet it takes forever to get served just one glass of something if you are behaving normally. There are nice features at the hotel - mini golf, a climbing wall for kids, trampoline and a nature park with lots of parrots to see. The playground would be nice but it's very broken and needs repairing in lots of places. You can't swim in the sea because of crocodiles and stingrays. It's also quite pebbly and not soft sand. The food was pleasant but limited choice and rather bland. The hotel is very far from being a 5 star. Our family rates it 3* at best. I wouldn't come back.
Verified review

8/10 Very good

Nice place to spend time with the family
Verified review

10/10 Exceptional

Great resort for the entire family
Verified review

10/10 Exceptional

Barcelo Tambor was so impressive, especially the food selection. All grounds and staff were over the top. I highly recommend this exceptional Costa Rican vacation destination.
Verified review

8/10 Very good

Location was great!