Oasis Papagayo Village

Nice clean complex with some good places to eat close by. The apartment was spacious however the toilet was directly opposite the kitchen, which we don’t like. Some mould and damp on the walls but overall good. Cleaning service was good and we were not disturbed at night. Reception service was excellent.
However the majority of places to eat and the beach are a good half hours walk away along a busy road. This is not easy with small children and there is no courtesy bus as we were promised when we booked the holiday. We ended up spending over £150.00 in taxi fair so be warned!
Also there is no heated pool on this complex, again this was promised in the brochure and by the Travel Agent, so we were all very disappointed. Although the complex boasts a number of pools and they are very impressive, they were so cold that during our whole stay we never managed to swim once.
The children were very disappointed and again this meant more money on entertainment. The television in the apartment is extra 60 euros for 2 weeks the safe 30 euros for 2 weeks.
At present the Water Park opposite the complex is closed, due to Health & Safety concerns. However we were told that the water in the park is not heated either so we wouldn't have been able to take small children of 3 & 6 years. Disappointing as another reason why we booked this resort.
This is not a cheap holiday and we spent on average £100.00 sterling a day and that was watching the pennies and we are not big drinkers.
All in all I would not return to the canaries as it is expensive not very scenic and too cold to swim in any of the pools or sea, and I mean cold.

We had a great time at this complex. We had visited the resort 3 times before staying at the all inclusive (as it was then) Bristol Playa. We now have 3 children so the 2 bedroom apartments here were great - our 2 oldest boys 11 & 10 sharing 1 room and our youngest (2) in with us. The apartments are clean and spacious and if you are one of those very unusual families with 3 children! Are really good.
Like most people we hired a car - book this in UK through the likes of holidayautos and you are looking at about £130 for a week.
The staff at the hotel are really helpful and my youngest fell for one of the ladies in the dining area. This brings me to the main gripe of the holiday! Thompson will let you book a half board option for £10 per person per day. So for us thats £10 x 5 x 7 for the week = £350. If we had booked half board direct with the hotel when arrived it would have cost €90 per adult, €45 per child over 3 and under 3 eat free - total €270(£187.50). So you can see if you book your meals through Thompson they'll charge you nearly double what you pay by booking it when you get there. I wrote to Thompsons about this and they didn't want to know!
So in conclusion this is a great place to stay - the weather is superb and the beaches are fantastic - but book your meals when you get there and save £160!

This apartment was one of the nicest I have ever been to. Really large and spacious, clean and airy. The bathroom was very big.
The complex itself was clean with neat gardens. It is a huge complex and takes some time to get from Reception to your apartment! They have 3 lovely pools with an outdoor Jacuzzi.
Food at pool bars was not very good and quite pricey. Food at the Don Corleone Pizzeria (on site) was excellent. We had pizza and steak which was a really good standard.
Supermarket well stocked and quite reasonable. There is a pub and bowling alley and plenty of other entertainment on site.
Only bad thing (wasn't problem for us) but there is no air-conditioning in apartment which may be uncomfortable during the summer.
Obviously everyone has different opinions on things but I am known to be quite choosy! I hope you enjoy as much as we did.

We stayed in the Oasis Papagayo over Christmas. We didn't take the coach from the airport as we hired a car. If you do hire a car make sure you know exactly where to go as we got lost. Even though the complex is big the reception building isn't so you have too keep your eyes peeled for the Oasis Papagayo sign. (If you drive past flag beach keep going on that road and after the second round about it is on your left hand side next to the supermarcado). You don't need to worry about finding a parking space as there were lots of spaces available.
The reception staff were quite friendly and seemed to work their way through the massive queue quite quickly. Even though the complex is massive it is easy to find your apartment as all the paths are signposted. Its very well maintained and there was always a member of staff around doing the gardens or seeing to the rubbish.
We had a one bedroom apartment and that was big enough for a family of 4 (with the kids being on the sofa bed). It seemed to be quite clean but could have done with a Hoover but the maids just sweep so you could see all the dust and dirt collecting in the corners and under furniture, but no major complaints. The beds were a little hard but the bedding seemed clean and the towels were changed a lot, so no complaints about the service.
The kitchen was well equipped with a microwave, toaster, kettle, lots of plates etc. The one negative thing I would have to say about the buildings is that the walls and ceilings seemed pretty thin, especially if you have a herd of elephants above you coming in at 3am drunk and moving the chairs around and setting up the sofa bed resulting in my children being woken, or people arriving at midnight wheeling their suitcases around the complex. Thank God I took earplugs with me.
There are two pool areas(four pools), the main one is quite big with loads of sunloungers around and the other pool is for toddlers. Can't comment on the pool bar as we never used the pools. There are two mini parks (well just a climbing frame with slides), one for bigger kids and one for toddlers which kept my twins of 2years amused.
A lot of people are saying that the supermarket was expensive but I didn't think so. Maybe the alcohol was - we don't drink often so didn't price up the alcohol, but everything else seemed reasonable - and they have toys in there as well as beach tents etc.
Can't comment on the food at the restaurants as we never ate there.
The reception was quite spacious and there was always a member of staff at the desk. There is access to the internet in reception but they were having a lot of problems getting it to work and whenever we wanted to use it was broken.
The entertainment in the evening for the kids is great, not sure if they do much for the adults after as we could only manage to keep our two up till about 9pm. Cocktails were about 5euros each.
There wasn't much building work going on, not sure if that’s because they stopped over xmas but our room didn't overlook any cranes anyway and the bowling and water park were up and running.
As we hired a car we never walked to the town centre. If you don't have kids then you could probably manage it as it isn't too far and I suppose it would be a nice walk at the end of the night but you can't really do it with kids but taxis are cheap enough.
Flag beach is only a short ride away (beware of the nudists). The kids enjoyed playing on that beach everyday.
If you are going on your holiday with kids under 2 (kids club only take from 3years) with the idea of sitting by the pool all day doing nothing then you will love this hotel. If you don't want to spend all day by the pool then you might be a little board so I would recommend that you hire a car and explore.
I would probably return to this hotel (with my earplugs) as on the whole it is a great complex for all.

The Oasis Papagayo complex was extremely well maintained and well laid out. Despite its large size, it was always possible to find a secluded spot and feel as if you had your own space to enjoy. The apartments were of a very high standard, with separate sitting room, television and a well equipped and clean kitchen. The bathroom was also of a very high standard with fresh flowers laid out to greet us and copious supplies of clean towels.
The most striking feature of the complex was the beautifully laid out and palm landscaped gardens which surrounded five separate swimming pools.
The hotel reception area was very impressive, with plenty of space to sit and relax.
As we were keen to see the resort, we did not try the restaurant, but other guests appeared to be suitably impressed.
The only slight difficulty was the distance to the main resort, although it was a fairly pleasant walk, avoiding much of the construction work, which was underway in a rapidly expanding resort. There was also a ready supply of reasonably priced taxis, so travel was no great problem.

I went to stay at the Oasis Papagayo for my birthday in February for a week with my husband & two children aged 6 & 4 we had a brill time everyone was really helpful the reps were great, couldn't fault the place in fact its the best holiday I have been on, that good I have just booked to return in May 06 for 2 weeks this time - can't wait.
The place was spotless, clean and tidy. the a la carte restaurant was fantastic. taxi to the centre costs around 2 euros but you could have walked which we did some nights.
Roll on May......

Have just returned and read the previous reviews which are a great mix of marvellous to awful so each to our own.
My husband and I stayed at the Papagayo for two weeks self catering. Overall the holiday was excellent and we would return but probably only for a week and doubt it would be in the Papagayo.
The nearest beach, contrary to what the brochure says, is approximately 1500 metres (about 15 - 20 mins). Small and busy but very nice with an excellent beach bar (Beleten - not Cortinia - that was dreadful). Not enough sun beds.
We hired a car and toured the entire Island. Two and half days and it was done. Some very pretty areas, some very bleak areas, some dreadful areas.
The resort was spacious, staff were excellent (how the Thomson reps manage with all the screaming kids every day and keep smiling is beyond me).
All the areas within the complex were clean with the exception of the apartment, which we complained about as it was dirty but nothing was forthcoming. None of the bedding fitted and you ended up in a tangle, laying straight on the mattress. The towels weren’t big enough.
The extra charges were very steep. TV was an extra 54 euro for which you got sky news, sport, eurosport, kids, movies, CNN and BBC world, the other 24 were foreign. The safe was an extra 30 euro. Free sun beds but an extra euro or two for cushions!
Local supermarket was very expensive.
On the plus side. The Italian restaurant was excellent and A La Carte was good. The pools were cleaned every day and the pool bar extremely good with very hard working staff.
Beware of the Blue Flag beach which is outstanding but certain visitors had the tendency to sunbathe around the Ice Cream huts without any clothes on. Not that we’ve got anything against people wishing to show off their bits but it can put you off your ice-cream!!

Arrived home last week from oasis Papagayo. What can i say. Fantastic. Brilliant. I travelled with my partner and daughter who is ten.
The apartment was huge, clean and very comfortable. The kitchen had everything you need to cook in. The resort itself was only a short taxi ride (3 euros) away. The beach was also a short taxi ride (2 euros) away and one of the nicest beaches I’ve ever been to. Thomson reps were always on hand, not that they were needed. The complex itself was beautiful and huge with bowling alley, pool, bar, ice cream parlour supermarket and perfume shop.
The only let down if anything was the buffet restaurant were we had breakfast (8 euros) and decided that we would not visit that again in a hurry. The town had great eating places catering for all tastes. This was our first holiday together as a family and it could not have been better. All in all fantastic 20/10.

Wow, returned last week from the Oasis Papagayo and wish I had gone for a fortnight!
The hotel was amazing, very clean and all reception staff were friendly.
Our rooms were cleaned every day and the maids were always very polite to us.
The pizza restaurant on site was lovely as was the ice cream parlour next door and the pool bar. We ate at the buffet one evening and recommend not eating there as the food is not up to much.
Town took us 10 mins to walk to and having the water park opposite is brilliant!
Restaurants in town I recommend are the Slow Boat and the Mexican which did divine food!
The Thomson reps were fantastic and although we did not take children they kept us entertained with quizzes, bingo and water polo!
All in all the best holiday I have ever had and would defiantly go back tomorrow!

This is an OK complex but it's surrounded by numerous building sites which you don’t want to see on holiday.
If you don’t leave the complex all holiday then the building work isn’t a problem - its not noisy but some rooms (like ours) further from reception faced out onto it. The complex is huge so best advice would be try to get a room close to reception so you don’t see the cranes.
The location is poor - we travelled with 2 children under 2 and parts of the path into town opposite were rubble and pipes which made pushing the double buggy really difficult. Next door is a fantastic ice cream parlour and a terribly overpriced supermarket. Because of the remote location you are left reliant on this for supplies like water. If travelling with older children or without them the location would be alright but not for a young family. Its an uphill walk from town which takes a good 15 minutes (less if you are really fit or are running) on a narrow path.
We took a taxi to the sand dunes which was only 4 euros and was the highlight of the trip. Reception staff were pleasant but at night they were unwilling to help, especially if you ring them up as they frequently said that just one person was on duty and no-one could help. A complex the size of the Papagayo and no staff? Clever. If you arrive at night like us (11pm) there’s a big queue to check in so best advice is jump off the coach and run to reception to beat the queues (something you don’t want on holiday).
The TV hire was expensive at 30 euros for a week, otherwise you just got basic channels (CNN, Italian channels etc).
Room cleanliness was a bit dodgy - there were cobwebs around the living room dresser and dried blood splashed up the bathroom door. The cleaners worked hard but didn’t have enough time to clean each room really well.
We travelled in late August/September and there were loads of Italian visitors - their naff equivalent of Superfamily called Volando was unbearable (and yet really funny watching shell suit-wearing entertainers drum-up enthusiasm).
I think our holiday was a bit spoiled by the 17 hour 22 minute delay on the return home, but Thomson did a great job arranging overnight accommodation with minimal delay in Caleta - the Barcelo Club el Castillo which First Choice and Cosmos go to (and its better than the Papagayo).
I wouldn’t return as we don’t tend to stay round the pool all week. The island is beautiful and there are better located hotels and apartments to enjoy this island.