Featured Hotels near Taboo Beach Club, Carmen

I spent a month in Costa Rica and Panama in January 2024, using Selina all the time. Santa Teresa South was my first stop. Now being able to compare all, I would say this one was okay, but others were better (Puerto Viejo was way better). The biggest difference as a solo traveler is the effort they make to socialise. The Welcome Drink here was me and the receptionist! At other places you were put onto a newbies table and then natural chats started... and you could go for welcome drinks every day. Not here. Santa Teresa is great. If you want to do Selina, stay at ST North. More fun, more social. South is almost all private rooms, so families and couples. But my biggest complaint was a tour I paid over £100 for the 'Cabo Blanco Beach & Forest (Full Hike)', described in their slick literature as 'our guide will show you the wonders of the forest until you reach Caboe Blanco beach, a pardisical white sandy beach where you can enjoy quiet waters for swimming, sunbathing or simply to enjoy the striking view of Cabo Blanco island'... There was no beach. The guide said we had no time and could either rush there and back or enjoy the forest. He also insisted we pay entry to the national park when I confirmed afterwards that this was supposed to be included in the hefty up-front fee. It's clear Selina is not running these tours, even though they word them as if they are. I was encouraged by Juan the manager of Santa Teresa South that he would arrange a refund for me. I would have been happy with a partial refund. But since leaving, I have been ghosted by him in our WhatsApp conversation. I have emailed Selina contacts and had no reply. And posting a complaing on their website give an 'Ooops' error and doesn't allow the complaint to be posted. Go to Selina's, they are good, they are especially good for wifi and working. Don't book their tours. Go direct to the tour companies, save some money, and perhaps have a better chance of being sold what you are going to get. Disappointed.

Our stay at the resort was wonderful. The owner was personally involved and met with the customers. Food was excellent and the staff was very helpful. The facilities were fair, rooms and bathrooms need upgrades. Room service was hard to order. The roads need to be fixed, paving the Main road into the resort would make driving to the facility easier.

I booked two nights and ended up staying a week and a half. Felt so comfortable and welcome by the amazing staff and the serene atmosphere , just a five minutes walk from the rather noisy and dusty northern center of Santa Teresa. The hotel is centered around a lovely pool, where guests can make friends with other guests, surrounded by beautiful lush tropical gardens with squirrels, plenty of birds, and howler monkeys hanging in the trees high above. Rooms are clean and cool with A/C and most also have ceiling fans. The decor and amenities vary between the different room types. I recommend the rooms with 2 queen beds by the pool, they are the most modern. Breakfast is good, although not very big (which is what I prefer) and you can chose from about 7 different choices ranging from typical tico, or omletts , pancakes, fruit & yogurt to my favorite french toasts. Beach access is about a 10 mins walk, at the Selina North, with incredible very powerful surf (in season). Close by good restaurants include Eat Street, Somos Cafe further north, the local Pura Vida soda for typical food. Super Ronny#2 for groceries is very close and is open till late. My favorite think about the hotel is the friendly staff, who are happily to assist with anything. They are all lovely especially Ampi and Thomas at the front desk and the manager Barbara. Will definitely be back :)

We have stayed at a variety of other all-inclusive resorts in both other countries as well as in Costa Rica. We have also stayed at other resorts by Barcelo/Occidental. We have loved every place we've stayed - and Barcelo Tambor was far below our expectations. Positives: -The views from the beach might be the best of any place we've stayed. The bay was gorgeous and many trees lined the beach making for plenty of shade if you wanted it. Plenty of beach chairs for everyone. -The front desk staff, Premium staff, and excursion booking staff were especially wonderful and helpful. -They had some wildlife on the property which was neat. -Would be great for kids as there was plenty of kid amenities. -The a la carte restaurants (sushi, seafood/steak, and italian) were average. Negatives: -It is at least 90% Costa Rican locals who were visiting, which is not a problem in itself, but it meant that much of the staff didn't speak English. My partner is fluent in Spanish and I can stumble through enough that it was fine, but if anyone visiting does not speak Spanish, this would NOT be the place for you. -The drinks were extremely limited. There was a small list of cocktails included, 1 draft beer, and 3 wines. Nothing else. I couldn't even get a mojito. -The food was extremely disappointing at the buffet. While we enjoyed the breakfasts of typical Tico food, it was otherwise about the same every night. Even though the buffet had 'theme' nights, they were all about the same food. Not much variety at all. A lot of it was unappetizing. -In the buffet restaurants especially, the service was EXTREMELY slow, or sometimes nonexistent. We would wait 15 minutes for coffee refills before finally giving up and leaving. They'd stop by once when they sat you to get your drink order but would never return after that for any additional needs. -The room cleaning only consisted of making the bed, giving new towels, and refilling the mini bar. They didn't actually do much cleaning, there would be stains left on the counters. Sometimes they would stop by at 9pm to offer us fresh towels. It didn't make much sense. -The ”premium” was not much of an upgrade at all. It just meant you could go to a different room for snacks/drinks and they had a few more alcohols included. But you couldn't get those premium alcohols at other bars - only that one. -Speaking of bars, there were not enough so you'd often wait 20+ minutes in line at any of the outside bars to get a refill. -There were also not nearly enough chairs at the pool, so you needed to get out there before 7:30am to claim a chair or you are out of luck. Overall, if you have been to any other all-inclusive resort and are used to a certain level of service and amenities, this wouldn't be the place for you. Locals in nearby towns and taxi drivers told us the place has been going downhill fast for the last 10 years. Would 100% return to Costa Rica (as we have before) but would not recommend this resort unless you are fine with