Riu Palace Costa Rica - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

10710 reviews

• 

  Good experience/beautiful large rooms but could use some more live music during the day in different areas.

  Mama/teen get away to our long awaited destination of Costa Rica was the first week of Jan after the holidays and we come back wanting to return to the country to see more! Our overall experience was pretty good but will give some specifics below with some thoughts that we thought would improve the experience. Hotel arrival was great and no issues with check in although we did it online made no difference. Fast and efficient service. Had a 5th floor room in the new section facing the zip lines which was amazing because we woke to the howler monkeys and we got to see/hear them during the morning /evenings. Overall area was pretty quiet. Room: gorgeous and newly renovated. Very large! Beautiful decor. Could use some wall hooks for things but closet and drawers were great. Double sinks were amazing with a teen!😀 Sewage smell did come thru the pipes when toilets flushed but was manageable. Had issues with no hot water the first few afternoon/evenings but always had it in the morning. They offered us another room but chose not to because we loved the area. In the end they got it working. The RIU app was a great tool to report issues. Hotel grounds were beautiful but a few things we thought would make it better. Lights around the trees near the pool area would make it pretty to take photos while walking in the evenings. Also more live music in different areas would be great during the afternoon before and while the kids show is on to give people options to watch something else. The grounds are very large and would be nice to have coffee station/cart/truck at different places during the evening. Entertainment we didn’t feel was the greatest. We have been to a few and found other RIU were better. Pool games/live music poolside/ silent discos would be great ideas to enhance. Food/restos: we didn’t find any issues as we saw many poor comments. We managed to find something with the main buffet but feel there needs to be a better system for reservations with we use the app or at a desk like other resorts. 2 hr is too long to be standing/waiting. We didn’t even bother. Pools are great and clean! Maybe would be five to have some activities/music In The evening would be nice. One thing we would like to see is a better explanation on arrival to what we have on the resort. It’s a big reset and was only thru other people we learned what we had available to us. Also if we can use the palace grounds etc. Overall we left with a good experience of our first visit to CR!

  Jan 12, 2026
• 

  Surprised

  This was the first time we stayed at a RUI Resort anywhere. Our usual stays were at Barcelo/Occidental properties in Mexico. We were impressed of the size of the resort. Room was clean and spacious, but during our stay the mini bar was not restocked. The buffet was excellent, but their specialty restaurants lack organization and food preparation and taste. But really, no complaints, we do recommend this resort.

  Jan 11, 2026
• 

  No frills

  Traveled as a family with a 7 year old December 29th- January 5th We made the best of it but wont be returning. I was told by my travel agent that this resort was newly renovated and that was my main reason for choosing this resort. The positives: The hotel was newly renovated and looked great. But they should invest in newer towels. They smelled musty and looked really worn. The waterpark was nice, lots of slides and lots of fun for kids. There was also is a little refreshment area and washroom near by which was great. There is also an area where you can go see monkeys near the resort. Just walk along the beach towards the Palace, there is an area with some local vendors and in the trees there’s monkeys. My daughter was able to feed the monkeys! The negatives: The customer service is poor, do not expect any service! There is an app where you can request housekeeping and mini bar services. Housekeeping will come but if you require mini bar services they wont show up until the next day. Considering you cant drink their water, they should be filling the mini bar with water everyday but they don’t. Every other day maybe, if you request it. And you cant even get water bottles at any of the bars or restaurants. We were going to an excursion and called to the front desk twice and asked for water and they said ok we will send someone. They never showed up , so after 2 hours my husband went to the front desk and they said its coming. It never came! The food was lackluster and is very repetative. Same food at different stations and the food is repurposed throughout the day. The pizza tasted like cardboard as per a 7 year old. Don’t even try to get into one of the a la carte restaurants because it will be at least an hour wait. There is no pool service, they only pick up used cups. The bars are slow and make medicore drinks. They don’t seat you in the restaurant it’s a free for all. So you have to go find a table on your own. I was sitting at a table and had a lady come up to me with a plate of food to say she wanted that table, she said she was just grabbing food to come back to the table. There was nothing at the table to say that someone was sitting there, not even turned over cups. They should have a hostess bring you to a table to eliminate confusion. This no frills resort is for someone that just wants to go somewhere warm and requires no service. They just want a nice hotel room and some sun. If you expect to be serviced, you will be disappointed.

  Jan 09, 2026
• 

  A lot of complications while I was at the Riu Hotel.

  My stay at this hotel was very disappointing. I was moved three times, and each room was bad in a different way. One of the rooms had a strong septic smell coming from the toilet, which made it very uncomfortable to stay in. When I tried to book RIU Palace, I was told it wasn’t available because they were giving priority to Costa Rican nationals. I explained that I am Costa Rican, but after I changed my reservation and called back, the room was suddenly no longer available. Because I used my U.S. passport, I honestly felt I was treated differently. I filed a complaint but never heard back. The most upsetting part of this trip involved my 17-year-old daughter, who is on the autism spectrum. She was asked to leave a restaurant for being “not dressed appropriately.” When I spoke to the manager, Carlos Sandi, he made an insensitive comment asking why I wasn’t with her “if she has problems” and then denied that anything had happened. Nothing was done after I reported it. I’m also a RIU Class member and was told I was getting the best price, but later I found the same stay almost $300 cheaper when I searched without my account. To make things worse, while being moved to another room, I became sick and started vomiting. I asked the staff member helping with my luggage to please get the room key for me, but he refused because his shift was ending. Overall, this hotel lacked empathy and proper management. It was a very disappointing experience, and I would not stay here again. This is my entire history of what happened this a real review from a real person. This is not artificial in any way. I wait people to this happen to me won’t happen to someone else. My is Grettell Delcid sbd everything was written here is tru.

  Jan 08, 2026
• 

  Highly recommend this resort

  Staying at the riu guanacaste right now and it is fantastic. I honestly don't understand how any one can complain about this place. I can't think of a single problem. Food is incredible and variety every day at the buffet. I don't stand in lines so we decided we were only going to do buffet when we read reviews about lining up for a la cartes. This system I don't understand about the lining up for dinner but it's fine for us just means less people in the buffet! If you're vegan or vegetarian , this place is great, so many options in Costa Rica for this diet. They also offer almond milk and soy milk for your lattes and Cappaccinos in the sports bar. The resort is so clean and new and beautiful and every service provider is so friendly. Check in was so quick and smooth. Tip: fill in your information for check in from home on the app before you go makes arrival very quick. We got a forest view room and the monkeys were in the trees right outside our room every morning. Amazing. We did an excursion through Nexus tours called explorer pass. Incredible fun day , reasonable price, very safe highly recommended Also, we accidentally left our safe open in our room and everything was still there when we got back after maid service and mini bar service. Trustworthy staff. I don't want to leave! Anyone who can complain about this place just likes to complain about anything in life. I would definitely recommend this place and return.

  Jan 07, 2026