When planning a trip, there are usually a few compromises my husband and I make.  A beautiful room and view rank high on my list, while exceptional food is more important to him.  Finding a hotel that can accommodate both our preferences, in addition to a few other things, is not always easy.  I’ve found this becomes even more difficult when traveling to a tropical beach location.  Finding a hotel with a great view isn’t too hard, but it’s rare to find one that also offers a real treat for the foodie traveler.

Thankfully this time neither of us had to compromise!

The Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort in Guanacaste, Costa Rica checked off both of our wish lists.  Nestled in the hilly coast of the Papagayo peninsula, this lush property overlooks the Bay of Culebra.  Since I’m all about views, I was so pleased our room had a beautiful balcony with a great view of the bay.  That’s where I enjoyed spending most of my mornings.  (Speaking of the room, it featured the most amazing rainfall shower that opened up to the balcony.)  For me, I could have lounged around for hours just admiring the bay and looking for monkeys in the trees…

While I got my wish, so did my husband.  The food was seriously some of the best we’ve ever had.  The highlights for him included many versions of ceviche, along with the Chao Pescao resturant, which was like a Costa Rican tapas restaurant.  Everything on the menu was delicious, especially the arepas and the empanadas.  Also, it featured an extensive list of cocktails, including a smoky Old Fashioned that even I loved. (And you know I prefer my bubbly!)  Our other favorite place was the elegant Ostra restaurant where we had a beautifully decadent dinner one evening (I hope you saw it on my Instagram stories) and enjoyed having a lunch of fresh ceviche every day.

Spending the day lounging by the pool was my favorite part of the trip.  What I love about the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort is the personal attention.  The Andaz feels like a boutique hotel but with all comforts of an oversized resort.  Everything from the dreamy spa to the smaller and more intimate restaurants made our stay more personalized.  Also, the architecture made me feel like I was out in the jungle somewhere.  I loved all the bamboo details that surrounded the resort and I just wanted to photograph it all.  Like the curved treehouse-looking lobby.  Doesn’t it look like it’s out of the Jungle Book?

I hope you enjoy the photos of the hotel as much as we enjoyed our stay.  I’m so excited to show you more photos later this week.  And in case you missed it, be sure to check out this outfit post!  It shared some more pictures of their amazing lobby!

Thank you, Andaz, for such an incredible stay. We hope to visit again soon!

If you’d like more details on the hotel or the outfits, feel free to message me!  This post was sponsored by Andaz Peninsula Papagayo.  Thank you for supporting the brands that support this blog — XO