We don’t know where to start with recapping this amazing trip!! This past weekend we visited the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica and it was nothing short of spectacular. We were blessed with perfect weather each day, sunshine and such incredibly kind people. For those who don’t follow us closely on Instagram we stayed at the amazing Planet Hollywood resort which is all inclusive and family friendly. The resort is right on the Gulf of Papagayo and is inclusive of multiple pools, cabanas, a beautiful spa (which we will get into more below), black sand beaches and many incredible, unique restaurants and bars.
For those interested in visiting this area of Costa Rica and are from New York or the surrounding areas, note that we flew out of Newark (EWR) and into Liberia Airport – NOT San Jose. The Liberia Airport is only about a 30min drive from a majority of the resorts/hotels and United Airlines has flights often! The flight there was only about 5 hours and on the way back about 4.5 hours. So not bad!
Unfortunately on our way there our United flight was delayed about 3 hours which was super unfortunate. Due to that delay we landed around 5pm instead of 2pm which made us feel like we missed an entire day of our trip. However we made the best of it and were quickly off to activities! Upon arrival, we were able to meet our amazing personal agent, which comes with upgrading your trip to STAR CLASS @ Planet Hollywood, and we highly recommend. Our agents name was Samuel and he was absolutely amazing. He made sure our days were perfectly set, we were always comfortable and that we were always having fun. No matter if it was setting up a dinner reservation or grabbing chili water shots for us, he was always somewhere close by! We cannot recommend him enough!
(Speaking of Samuel this is him ^ above!). Thursday night the hotel offered a ton of live interactive entertainment, like the dancers shown above! They even got us to dance a few times (lol). Later that evening, it was hotel karaoke night and you best believe we were all over that! Truly the greatest introduction to the trip.
The next morning, one of Planet Hollywood’s incredible managers, Maria, helped set us up with an excursion to the rainforest Sensoria! Sensoria translates to the Magical Rainforest or Land of Senses and let me tell you, it was just that! We were extremely thankful that Maria was able to help us do this directly through the hotel. If you are interested the tour, it is through the tour company Nexus and is LINKED HERE. 🙂 The tour guides are extremely knowledgeable and the trip really was once in a lifetime.
For reference the tour is about a two hour drive from the area of Guanacaste where we were staying (ie Planet Hollywood). However they do drive a large van that is very comfortable and the tour guides teach you A TON about Costa Rica on the way. The drive is a bit bumpy when you get closer to the rainforest, so if that’s something that bothers you, we definitely wanted to let you know up front! Once you arrive to Sensoria, they offer welcome drinks and lockers to store your stuff while on the adventure!
The hike starts at the cutest little treehouse (pictured above.) When you climb to the top you are able to view one of the many volcanoes in the country and is a beautiful spot for photos! From that point we hiked about 45 mins down to the two waterfalls. Along the way we saw sloths, snakes, birds and lizards! Note that the hike is a bit grueling – we deff were panting at some points! There were a lot of stairs – so definitely speak with a rep of the tour company prior to signing on.
The first waterfall we saw was truly spectacular! Unfortunately you cannot get in due to the currents, but it was amazing to look at. We felt the entire time like we were in a fairytale! Especially when coming into contact with such untouched land and pieces of Earth it’s hard to not just stare in awe. 🙂
The second waterfall you were able to get in and the water was so BLUE. This is due to the volcanos in the area and the minerals that flow through them, then end up at the bottom of these pools. The water was a little cold but TBH felt SO good after hiking as much as we did in this excursion.
SHOP OUR LOOKS
NOTE: We had an outfit change here lol. Finally you end the hike in one of their natural hot springs. This was such a relaxing part of the trip and a perfect way to wind down! The water was the perfect temperature and the pool was right in the midst of the trees of Sensoria!
We ended the rainforest trip with lunch on the grounds of Sensoria then got back in the van and drove the 2-2.5 hours back to the resort!
That evening we had the cutest little hibachi dinner AT THE RESORT – wild right?! Then spent the evening relaxing and swimming in their main pool at sunset. It was breathtakingly beautiful and a memory I will never forget. The skies were every color of pink and purple and the weather was perfect!
The next morning, we headed to the pool early and got a little sun! Even though the resort was almost 100% full, it really never felt too crowded because it is just so big and there are multiple pool options (not to mention the beach)! We headed to the spa in the early afternoon for truly one of our favorite spa experiences ever. We relaxed in the hydrotherapy chamber for almost an hour, just taking in the beautiful decor and sounds of the water. We then each had an hour massage and facial. I was so relaxed that I almost immediately fell asleep – I have never done that before and it was amazing.
After the spa treatment, Maria helped hook us up with this amazing poolside Cabana where we ate lunch, swam in our private pool and enjoyed the poolside entertainment. If you are traveling with a family or larger group and plan to spend the day by the pool, I highly recommend booking a cabana! There is an indoor/outdoor area with a TV (perfect for keeping kiddos entertained) and a mini pool to stay cool under the sun. During the afternoon, they have dancers and also had a “foam party” which Courtney was all about. *See below pic – Court is the one with her hands in the air lol*
That evening, we had dinner at their Steak Restaurant and it was so good! At that point, we knew a lot of the workers at the resort and people would stop by our dinner to say “hi” and see how our trip was going – this just speaks to truly how nice the people of Costa Rica really are. Samual helped make sure we booked dinner at the perfect time so we could make it down to the black sand beaches just in time for sunset. The sand was so soft, the temperature of the water was perfect and the sunset that evening was breathtaking. If we could do our trip again, I would have tried to spend more time on the beach!
That evening, the resort planned a really fun beach party – complete with string lights, pillow seating areas (so cute it looked straight out of an anthropology catalogue) and a bumping DJ. There was a fire dancing performance that turned into a major dance party after…I may have been doing cartwheels by the end of the evening….
We left on Sunday out of Liberia Airport and traveled back to Los Angeles and New York respectively. Both of the flights were super easy and felt a lot faster going home.
We cannot say better things about our trip to Costa Rica. It is such a beautiful country, the people are so friendly and you truly relax and feel the vibes of their motto “pura vida” or “simple life.” I am not kidding when I say, we cannot wait to go back!
Let us know if you have any questions about traveling to Planet Hollywood or Costa Rica in general!
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