Riu Guanacaste

Arrived May 25, 2018 for an 8 day family vacation. First issue was waiting in line at checkin. This location has the capability to handle far more checkins yet they chose to only have two positions opened. Keep in mind we arrived at noon and checkin wasn’t until 3:00. We also were inline with a large group of Jr. High School students and their parents who were waiting in the same line we were. I have nothing against groups but would think a company like Riu would have provisions for large groups. Rooms were ok but smelled of mold and were very damp even though the AC was on and working. Pool area was dirty, smelled of septic or sewage and was packed with locals who come to this resort for an All Inclusive Get a Way each weekend yet they treat the facility as if it were their back yard. The revealing part of this pool area issue was when the locals start check in starting Friday Night the resort suspends bar and food service for the pool area and beach so there is ZERO wait staff working those areas. I have never seen this type of behavior at any other Riu location and more importantly any other resort. After talking to some of the staff I learned that the resort cuts back on services because the locals take advantage of them too much and the locals do not tip which is an insult to the waiters and staff. Bottom-line here is the Riu Guanacaste is far more interested in revenue generation than it is in making sure good paying travelers have a memorable time. The extra traffic the resort gets from the locals each weekend has to put an enormous stress on their infustructure and systems and it’s no wonder the place stinks of sewer doing the weekends. Food was remarkably good and plenty of choices. The staff and chefs were great and always willing to go out of their way. Front desk folks were of little to no help! In particular the Front Desk Manager ingnored us 4 days in a row which amounted to 2 hours of waiting even though he was the one who asked us to come back to share our experience with him. At one point they wanted to upgrade our rooms (we had 3) but that didn’t address the smell or over population. We suggested having them move us to the Riu Palace next door which was in walking distance and we would pay the difference but they dragged their feet on that decision until it just wasn’t feasible. The whole thing was a total let down and big disapointment. If you plan on traveling to Costa Rica and Quanacaste I would highly recommend it. I would not recommend the Riu even for a couple days and if it’s the list expensive option (our trip was not the cheapest by far but we felt as though the Riu has a great reputation) boy were we fooled. I also want to add that we booked through Cheap Caribbean who have been amazing and when I first got back I wrote a letter to Riu who pushed me back to Cheap Caribbean without even an apology. Use Cheap Caribbean but stir clear of the Riu!

Needs improvement in all areas. People are very nice. Over crowded in the pool

Do: Stay at the Riu Hotel take advantage of all they have to offer, great pools and plenty of room, the room was spacious and comfortably, especially the mini bar, wifi surprisingly worked very well, was able to FaceTime and use my apps to talk to family back home, food was good and had many options, spa was beautiful and prices were decent, tours were fun and decently priced as well, staff were friendly and the shows at night were very well done. Don't : resturants were good but you had to get there early and stand in line to make sure you get a seat, I was traveling alone and the first night I couldn't even get in because there were 40 people ahead of me to be seated first, this was kind of a bummer and there was only 1 buffet where you could just go in and sit right away, they did run out of hotel pool towels often, I forgot to bring my sunscreen and ended up paying $35 for 1 bottle and that was the cheapest! Same goes for the bug spray! Lastly the beach was ok but pretty rocky and was expecting the water to be that pretty blue that you can see the bottom but it wasn't. Overall the trip was great and I loved Costa Rica!

this was our first time visiting Costa Rica but not our first time at a Riu...this riu Guanacoste is the worst. It’s does not compare at all with other riu’s we’ve stayed at before. No coffee pots in rooms, no room service and no mimosa’s. Mimosa’s I look forward to having at breakfast when on vaca. No champagne in the entire resort. Service was horrible not friendly at all I would not recommend this resort.