At a glance:

The Hampton By Hilton Guanacaste Airport is one of 2 Hilton hotels located near LIR – Guanacaste Airport. The hotel was recently opened, offers basic accommodations, and decent amenities for those wanting to be near the airport.

What it actually is: It’s a new hotel near the airport with a bit more flare than most standard Hamptons. With new modern décor, and a nice outdoor pool area, it has more appeal than your typical mid-range airport hotel.

What it is not: A good home base for a stay in the Guanacaste area. Stay here on arrival, or before departure, and move on to enjoy what Guanacaste has to offer.

Room: King Room with Fridge

Time of year: winter (Holiday season)

Scores:

Hotel Design: 80 – Hilton has revamped the Hampton brand to make it more modern, and to incorporate some regional design elements. While there’s an Ikea-esk feel to it all, the lobby and rooms are bright, and feature art and colors that feel tropical instead of the more traditional Hampton style.

Location: 75  – Conveniently located a 10 minute shuttle ride to the airport. Beyond that, there is nothing else in the area, but that is to be expected here.

Sleep: 65  – The bed was comfortable, but soundproofing in the rooms is very poor, especially in adjoining rooms like ours. We appreciate the installed mechanism to ensure doors closes without slamming, but the rest of the soundproofing is poor. Neighbors could be heard speaking at a regular volume, and hallway noise was noticeable.

Service:  80  – Service was efficient and friendly. They did acknowledge our Hilton Gold status. They did not inform us that you needed to pre-authorize your credit card to bill to the room though.

Room Design: 80  – The room is very small, but functional. We liked the art work, which helped to brighten it up and make it seem less of a sad airport hotel. The bathroom was small, but stylish and clean.

Room Amenities: 80  – We had the basics here and everything was expected.

Hotel Amenities: 80  – The hotel has a nice outdoor pool with plenty of lounging space, a restaurant and bar with decent food and drink options at reasonable prices, a decent gym, a hotel shuttle, free breakfast (better than some Hamptons we’ve stayed at), and free parking.

Vibe: 70  – It’s an airport hotel. Like most Hamptons: children running down the hallways and screaming at the pool.

Cleanliness / Maintenance: 80 – Above average. No issues.

Value / Extras & Perks: 75  – The airport proximity, and onsite amenities provide reasonable value for the standard rates (which currently are typically about $175USD per night). The only other similar option nearby is an older Hilton Garden Inn. Hampton is not known for offering lots of perks to Elite members. We did get a welcome drink (water bottles) and snacks as gold members.

OVERALL: 76.5

Would we stay again? Yes, out of necessity and limited options at this airport.