Riu Palace Costa Rica - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

10671 reviews

• 

  Serviceable Stay!

  ​We recently stayed at RIU Guanacaste to celebrate our belated honeymoon and my birthday. Overall, it was a good experience, but I would shop around for other properties if we were to return. The physical grounds were exceptionally well-kept; people were always painting, cleaning, and sweeping. The staff across the resort was also extremely courteous, making service a true highlight of our stay. We spent a lot of our time at the pool bars, which were excellent. On my birthday, the resort was thoughtful enough to decorate our room, and the spa experience was excellent; I thoroughly enjoyed my one-hour aroma therapy treatment. The view they provided was also excellent and ocean facing. ​However, there were specific areas where the resort failed to go above and beyond. A significant concern was the beach cleanliness. Each morning, the shoreline was littered with trash, including cans, RIU cups, paper goods, and bottle caps. This seriously distracted from the beauty of the area and raises environmental worries about avoidable plastics entering the ocean. Another disappointment was our accommodation; despite indicating our preference and the occasion at the time of booking, we spent our honeymoon in a room with two queen beds instead of a king, which the resort could not accommodate due to being fully booked. While the accommodations were clean and monitored, housekeeping staff was inconsistent with necessities like replenishing towels. Additionally, the resort app was frustratingly difficult to use. ​The food was generally serviceable, falling into the not great, not terrible category. The buffet was okay, and the Mexican specialty restaurant was decent. However, the Japanese restaurant was terrible, and the steakhouse had a line that could practically reach the front desk every day it was open. The selection of fresh fruits was excellent, but we were disappointed by the lack of native Costa Rican cuisine to try; you can only eat so many French fries. The taco spot and the ice cream stations were welcome and enjoyable surprises. The standard resort coffee was serviceable, but the coffee from the speciality shop was excellent, though we paid $14 for two lattes, which is on par with specialty pricing back home. While we had a good overall experience, the combination of inconsistent detail execution and the beach trash issue leads us to believe we would explore other options before rebooking here.

  Nov 14, 2025
• 

  Horrible unless you like waiting in lines and inedible food

  ⭐️ 0/5 — Stunning scenery, everything else was a disaster I almost never write negative reviews, but this trip was so consistently awful that future travelers deserve a heads-up. If you enjoy standing in lines and eating barely edible food, this is the place for you. Otherwise, keep looking. Check-in: We waited 45 minutes in the heat just to reach the desk, only to be told our room “wasn’t ready” and we’d need to come back and wait in the same line again. When I asked, I was told this is normal every day. That was true — the lobby was packed from 1–5 pm daily with people trying to check in or get basic help. Rooms: The room was visually nice but came with no shampoo or conditioner, just hand soap. My room overlooked a courtyard where they blasted loud music every night until 11 pm, making it impossible to sleep. Pools: Pools themselves were lovely, but there were kids everywhere, even at the “adult” swim-up bar. Zero enforcement. Food: The food was the worst part. I genuinely didn’t know it was possible to ruin rice, but here we are. Everything is a buffet, even the “nice” restaurant, which is only open for 2.5 hours and has a line forming an hour before opening. Cold, bland, undercooked food across the board. I basically survived on white bread and pineapple for days. Beach & Activities: The scenery is undeniably gorgeous, but the water is rough, murky, and absolutely not swimmable unless you’re strong. There was also a noticeable smell of sewage at times. We booked a sunset catamaran tour, and while the view was nice, staff promised they would help my mother on and off the boat — that didn’t happen. Other guests had to step in, and she ended up falling and cutting her leg. The next day she couldn’t safely get on the snorkel boat due to how rough it was. Any other excursions were 1–2 hours away by bus, requiring a 10–12 hour commitment, so realistically you’re stuck at the hotel with very little to do but drink. (Drinks were the only consistently good thing here.) Bottom line: 10/10 do not recommend. Choose another area if you want real activities, swimming, surfing, jungle tours, or anything besides standing in line and being disappointed by buffets. The scenery is beautiful, but everything else made this a miserable trip.

  Nov 13, 2025
• 

  Good value for the price

  Newly renovated when we arrived November 1st, 2025. Good value for the price. Surrounded by lush mountains with no other resorts or structures in sight (with exception of one building high up on the mountain for the adventure park that is conveniently located next door (Diamante). The ocean water was warm (not clear), and the sand was soft and mostly clean of debris. The landscaping was impressive with many large palm trees and lots of native plants. Animals that we saw on the grounds included iguanas, raccoons, a toucan, and squirrels. Hardly any bugs which was great and surprising. They do have buckets on the trees that probably catch mosquitos. The three generations we traveled with all appreciated the selection of food and drinks. On one occasion we ordered our 5 yr old son a non alcoholic drink from pool side staff with extra cherries. It came with no cherries so luckily grand dad tasted it first to make sure it was the right drink and it was alcoholic. So to be safe taste test all drinks before handing to the children. We mostly picked this resort for the large water slides for our 5 and 8 yr olds. Only the 8 year old was tall enough to ride the water slides at 50" inches (minimum height). But they both really enjoyed the kiddie slide area. The check in process went smoothly for me but my in laws were asked to prove the credit card used was theirs. This took time as the credit card they used months prior to pay in full had been replaced with a new card and number. They had to connect to the wi-fi and download old bank statements and then email their personal bank statement to the staff as proof. They were hungry and tired after a long day of travel and it took a very long time to find everything requested. Also, if checking in on a Saturday the lines can be very long in the afternoon. We arrived in the evening and there was no line. For the restaurants it is recommended to be in line at 5:45pm to get in on the first wave with no wait (all open at 6pm for dinner). The photos taken by the staff are excellent quality and highly recommend booking a photo session however insist that they be delivered via airdrop from the mac computers there as the download feature does not work. For an all inclusive I did expect more waiters to take your order from the pool side but that only happend one time. You will need to order your own drinks from the bar for the most part and there is no service on the beach. Do take advantage of the adventure park next door (free transportation shuttles) to see the two toed sloths and other animals. Lastly, if you choose the transportation option from the Liberia airport you will need to download the app on your phone for Nexus and check in. One BIG CONCERN that I would be remiss to not mention. My husband stopped by the kid zone child care center (Riuland) to pick up art work our son had done the day prior. Only a cleaner was inside who let him in and he noticed on the front desk (low profile) was a black pistol. He didn't pick it up to examine if it was real but even if it was a toy it would be inappropriate to have one that looked as real as it did. Stricter staff policies are needed to ensure weapons are not laying about. With that being said we never felt unsafe at the resort. One recommendation I would have for the resort is to add a playground.

  Nov 10, 2025
• 

  Disappointing

  When we arrived the facilities were quite nice well manicured and clean. Great first impression, that would change soon. We went to our room to drop our bags and the fire alarm started going off (wouldn’t be the last time). We had been traveling all day just wanted to grab a bite to eat and a drink and settle in. We went to American Country the 24 hour bar/restaurant on property. Menu is limited but whatever. So we ordered our food and drinks. Waiter wrote it all down and off he went. Well our food comes out still no drinks mind you it was a daiquiri and a beer. Ask the waiter again for our drinks, he again writes them down and disappears. We finish eating still no drinks. We know he knew where the bar was as he was behind it talking the entire time we ate (He was not a reflection on the rest of the staff as the majority were great pleasant and attentive.) So we left and went to another bar for a drink. There is not a lot to do at the resort itself. There is a beach but there is no bar service on the beach. And be ready as soon as you get to the beach the vendors swarm you like a used car lot!! It’s advertised that’s there’s a casino. That’s false casino was turned into guest rooms during renovations. Let’s talk about food. They have 4 speciality restaurants plus an actual buffet. But mind you only the steak house is a full service restaurant all the others are buffet. So you get dressed up to go out to dinner and get to serve yourself. Also please note there is NO bar service in any restaurant. Wine, beer, and soda that’s it. The steakhouse was disappointing to say the least. They claim to have a 12 oz rib eye. Well I’m afraid the rib eye must of been anorexic as it was 3 maybe 4 ounces at best. The food throughout the facility is fair. The steakhouse isn’t worth the hour plus wait to get in! You can book excursions for a fee. We did 3 separate excursions and they were great. Highly recommend Diamanté Park and also Nicaragua. They tell you at check in if you need anything just dial 9 this includes EMERGENCIES! Well problem is you dial 9 it rings and rings picks up speaks Spanish in a prerecorded message and then hangs up on you. Doesn’t matter how often or when you call same scenario each time. Now on the 5th day we were barely getting any hot water it was eventually lukewarm. Not to worry though on day 6 NO HOT WATER!! Prior to no hot water the shower drain clogged 2 days in a row. Upon talking to another couple they had the same issue. Dialed 9 rang and rang to be hung up on. Walked to the front desk and was told yes there’s an issue hot water might be back by 330p this was 1030a. Here’s the question if there’s no hot water how are they washing things like glasses silverware plates etc?? WiFi yeah they have it (in spots) this also gets a fair at best. This was our first time trying RIU this was also our last time trying RIU. We spoke to people who have stayed at other RIU properties and stated this one is a disappointment. In all honesty if it weren’t for the majority of the staff and the grounds this would have been a one star review. We would definitely come back to Costa Rica as it’s beautiful here but we will most certainly not stay here again!

  Nov 08, 2025
• 

  Guests of newly renovated hotel.

  Stayed at the Riu Guanacaste. The hotel design was like a mile plus long with one or two doorways and one set of elevators. For a hotel this size, it is not user friendly, particularly for seniors and mobility challanged guests. Walkways around pools and beach long and windy. The staff work very hard cleaning, many times, too clean. One has to avoid wet mopped areas for fear of slipping. Entertain in Spanish only, and no side gigs.

  Oct 24, 2025