Riu Guanacaste

There were mixed reviews for this Riu, and since it was our first Costa Rica visit and our first Riu, we did not know what to expect. The front desk: fast check in, very accommodating for my extra drinking water request and Coke light instead of regular. They also helped when we realized our flight changed and we needed to change our transfer. There was no time share pressure, which was greatly appreciated. Rooms were fine and very clean. Air conditioning worked great and the small pillows were usable. We enjoyed the monkeys in our tree! The shower/tub has a very high step in and is narrow. If you don't like late night noise, ask to be on the other side, and it was quiet. The swim up bar was the nicest we have seen. Lots of sun, tables, chairs and bartenders! We enjoyed Jonathan in the Sports Bar, it seemed like he was always there, from coffee in the morning to drinks in the evening. There were lots of food choices that did not change much over 8 nights, but you just choose something different each night. The Asian restaurant was buffet style which was very efficient and tasty. The beach was not like Riviera Maya, but we knew that going in. You can walk for about 35 minutes total unless the tide is out. Victor (his office is on the beach in a hammock, Vic Tours Guanacaste) did a fabulous job on our excursions. We traveled 2 hours to zipline, walk natural bridges, and mud bath and hot springs. He goes along and is very knowledgeable in the history and plants of Costa Rica. We also did his ATV excursion to swim by the waterfall. Our next trip there: we would spend some days closer to the coffee plantations and volcano, and then end up on the beach and the Riu for a few nights.

From the moment we arrived I knew I had made the wrong selection. CheapCaribbean is awesome. Riu Guanacaste is not. The onsite AmStar representative was who we talked to first. He explained the check in process and said the Riu staff would take us and our luggage to our room. The underwhelming staff at the Riu simply pointed us in the direction of our room with zero additional help. Our room was dirty. Wrinkled blankets and sheets, TV didn’t work. Remote needed batteries. My wife went to the dreaded front desk to ask for batteries and was refused. They had to send someone to our room. So, the next day, maintenance came to our room and put batteries in for us. The TV reception was similar to a TV from 1982 with rabbit ears. On day 3 we were told that a cigarette smoke detector had to be reset in our room and that smoking was verified by housekeeping. This is a complete and total lie. When I went to the front desk they said that this was just a warning and the next time they thought that I might have smoked anywhere on the premises we would be charged $300. After a heated conversation the front desk admitted that there was no detector that was reset, nor was there any verification by housekeeping, but the warning would remain in place. Smoking cigarettes is illegal in Costa Rica so you are a criminal as soon as you get off the plane. They provide 3 smoking sections with no light, on gravel, and unsafe with unsteady concrete tables. Due to the lack of lighting and non level ground a gentleman fell knocking himself out on one of the concrete seating benches. It took an hour for staff to get him medical attention. The worst part was staff and security gathered laughing about what happened and doing nothing else. The man was tended to by other guests until help arrived. Absolutely unacceptable, but appropriate for criminal smokers I guess. They have more food options than I have ever seen before. Unfortunately I could only find one or two items that were edible. The swimming pool should have been closed everyday we were at the resort. Broken covers, cloudy water, missing tile, unsafe conditions. From Jamaica, Dominican, and from Cancun to St. Thomas, I have never seen such a lack of cleanliness or ability. They had shows in the evening. Not child friendly. Very inappropriate for my 9 and 11 year old, disgusting and not entertaining in the least bit. The whole property is rundown due to a lack of care. Our ceiling fan couldn’t be run at night it made so much noise. The front desk staff would do nothing to help us with this issue. The air conditioner never got the room below 74 degrees. We stopped putting valuables in our safe after noticing it had been tampered with and our belongings had been gone through. Staff can open the safe with a key and they cannot be trusted. The staff doesn’t even acknowledge your existence and people are treated like cattle, and the Riu creates an environment of competition when it comes to eating which makes the day even more unpleasant. People lining up an hour early to get a table at the so called specialty restaurants. Don’t waste your money. Find a real vacation location. The Riu Guanacaste is not a location to be considered at all for vacation. They failed in every way.

My visit at Riu Guanacaste is not what I expected. My friend and I choose the resort compared to others because it showed promising night life. When we arrived we were informed that the club and casino advertised were actually OUTSIDE of the resort and not all inclusive. Secondly we requested a double bed room and ended up with only one king size bed. During our stay we found bugs in our room and one in our bed which was very uncomfortable. It was difficult to communicate with staff as Spanish was the primary language which is fine but my friend and I almost felt that we were shamed by staff due to our lack of Spanish we could speak. We noticed guests who spoke Spanish got better service than we did. Of the 5 restaurants 4 of them you needed to make reservations for to even eat at. They accepted reservations at 6pm but lines started forming at 5pm so days were cut short by the pool and at the beach to stand in line to make a reservation or else our only option was the buffet. I will say the food was exquisite but the process of having to make reservations was tiring. The best bar was the pool bar but unfortunately my friend and I wanted to spend lots of time at the beach but having drinks delivered to the beach was not offered. So we had to carry drinks from the pool bar all the way down to the beach. I have stayed at Riu Resorts previously and they have had staff who took drink orders and brought drinks down to the beach but this was not offered here. Almost every 5 seconds at the beach locals would come by trying to sell merchandise or excursions which made it hard to fully relax there. Even though we dealt with all of these things Costa Rica is beautiful which made these issues minor in comparison. We were able to paddle board which was included at the resort and see wild monkeys and lots of other animals. I recommend the zip-lining nearby! Just want to make sure everyone is informed on the reality of this resort before and if choosing it.

This was an amazing trip with so much to do. We enjoyed the beach, pool, drinks and food. The whole resort was always clean including the bathrooms. Everyone was very nice and friendly!