One&Only Mandarina

This was my 3rd visit in two years to the One & Only Mandarina. It is paradise. From top to bottom, the service, the accommodations, the food —all much more than a cut above even the finest resorts and hotels around the world. The SPA in particular requires a special mention. This most beautiful place in the jungle has all the amenities and the massages are incredible. My masseuse, ERICA, was a true professional and a most wonderful person. She was gifted in her practice and attention to detail. ERICA epitomizes the Mandarina experience not just because of her great skill as a true massage therapist but because of her infectious warmth,personality and genuine happiness—something you see from most everyone who works in the very special place. I can not wait to return.

When I arrived, After checking in We got a ride on a golf cart that was so cozy up the mountain side to our place and the waves are crazy big which I love to ride in the beautifully colored water as blue as the sky and the rooms hot tube was nice and hot

I've never written a review before, but felt compelled to write this - because the hotel staff really made us feel like queens. People say Raffles in Singapore is number one for best service in the world - but One and Only Mandarina gets pretty close to that. We've stayed at over 20 Four Seasons hotels including Lanai, Hotel Splendido in Portofino, Aman Sveti Stefan before it closed, to name a few. In the last couple of. years, we stayed at One and Only Montenegro and Four Seasons Tamarindo. Having stayed at Auberge Riveria Maya last spring where we felt like just a number, we've now come to appreciate how important service can be. Hotel lodgings - spacious and beautiful villa, Food/breakfast - awesome and understanding of food sensitivities and allergies. Service - best in the world. At other resorts, managers check in with guests like a laborious task, and we always dread having to do forced small talk. Here - managers were friendly and caring - they brought my mom who had just turned 70 special soup in the morning at breakfast after my mom caught a cold. My kids wanted to take a pizza class with my mom and the restaurant manager went out of her way to buy birthday decorations and hats and games off the resort, just for them. Big thank you's to Uriel Melchor, Jessica and Jessica - managers from the popular restaurants, and our hosts Jorge Serrano and Javier Mendoza. Because of you, your hotel stands to be ranked best in the world. To top off our amazing trip of horses, fishing, stunning villa and fabulous food --- we got to release baby sea turtles with community hotel guests... all complimentary. Just part of being a fabulous stay.

O&O was the perfect getaway to celebrate our christmas baby’s fourth birthday. All the staff were exceptionally warm and kind with our two young kids. The highlight of our son’s day was getting to ride front seat with all the wonderful buggy drivers. Our two hosts Juan and Angelita were so amazing , We were in great hands with them during our stay. Juan took us to a baby turtle release that my son loved so much. Angelita gave us a wonderful tour of the resort where we got to meet the horses up close and spotted wildlife like alligators and the ubiquitous coatis. All the pools had breathtaking views. The Jetty beach was very kid friendly with calm waters and an abundance of beach toys and floaties. The Catalan Beach club was more adult oriented and the beach there was too choppy to swim but it was nevertheless a gorgeous beach especially for sunsets. Our couples massage with Benjamin and Erica were fantastic. The spa facilities and the setting in the jungle were out of this world. So tranquil and we especially appreciated the mud station and temezcal. The KidsOnly club and the nanny service we used with Miriam and Susan were amazing with our kids. Our son loved all the various insects and reptiles they had on display and they had various crafts to keep the kids entertained. The tree lighting ceremony was so nice with festive christmas carolers, delicious d'oeuvres and cocktails, and a stupendous fireworks display to accompany the tree lighting. We rarely felt the need to venture off grounds but San Pancho is a lovely bohemian surf town that was well worth the day trip and only a short 20 mins from the resort. We enjoyed most of our meals and checked out every restaurant at O & O. Caroo was our favorite for modern inventive Mexican food. Our least favorite was probably Dokkuh, the evening restaurant at Jetty. The asian dishes we ordered missed the mark. Although the lunch served at Jetty Beach club during the day was wonderful. Amazing ceviche guac and pine coladas. Lastly, our ocean cliffside villa 203 was a dream with the most picturesque views to wake up to, blue ocean waters behind lush jungle foliage. The house keepers kept our villa immaculate despite the best efforts of our toddlers. Our son slept wonderfully on the pull out sofa bed as did our daughter in her crib. They offer all the baby amenities like a diaper genie. O&O is without one of the best resorts we have had the pleasure of staying at. We have stayed at comparable resorts like Nayara Tented Camp in Costa Rica and the Ritz Mandapa in Bali. O&O is a hidden gem that is less than a 3 hour flight from LA and it was just as amazing if not more so than those jungle resorts. We would love to visit every year and would recommend without hesitation to our friends and family.

While this property is absolutely beautiful there are some rough edges. The ocean view villas often have too much vegetation to get a true ocean view. While all of the food was decent as expected nothing was the best dish I ever had or that memorable. Did not justify the price and very similar to the drinks I don’t think anything is under $30 and they were extremely weak and subpar for that price point. Wait staff also seemed annoyed for many special requests. Host/Butler was fantastic though we never had issues with the buggies when we gave them a daily plan. (Although one couple did steal our on the last day when they didn’t order one)