Riu Palace Costa Rica - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

10700 reviews

• 

  Not baby friendly, have to hunt for cradles, room flooded, provided keys to occupied room.

  English Review Checked in: January 1 This was the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had, and I’m sharing it so other families, especially those traveling with babies, can avoid going through what we did. Cradle request ignored until I personally chased it down Before our trip, we repeatedly tried calling the hotel to confirm a cradle for our 8-month-old baby. No one answered. We emailed with no reply. We finally had to call the U.S. customer service line, and we received confirmation on December 13 that the cradle was added to our reservation. At check-in on January 1, the front desk confirmed they saw the request and told us a cradle would be sent promptly. Two hours later, nothing. I called the front desk five times and no one picked up. I had to walk to the lobby, where they told me there weren’t enough cradles. That’s exactly why we requested it weeks in advance. After another 3 hours and multiple unanswered calls, I went back again and explained we couldn’t even put our baby down for naps. Only then did they finally send one and assemble it. Room flooded from a shower leak and we were forced to move That first night after showering, water leaked heavily from the shower wall into the room and flooded the floor. Again, calling the front desk went nowhere. The next morning, maintenance and cleaning staff came (around six people) and agreed we needed to be moved after seeing how much water came through when the shower ran. The front desk said they’d send a bellboy, and I’d call when we were ready. When we were packed, I called repeatedly and no one picked up. I had to go to the front desk (not a short walk) just to get help and receive keys. Major privacy and safety issue: given keys to an occupied room When we opened the “new” room, we walked in on a mother changing her infant on the bed. The front desk had given us keys to someone else’s room. The bellboy tried to reach the front desk by radio several times with no success. I had to return to the lobby myself to resolve it. What made it worse was that the front desk seemed to find this funny because they were giggling when I explained what happened. That is completely unacceptable. Third room, broken key, cradle missing again While I was dealing with this, my wife and baby were left waiting in the hallway with our luggage. We were then sent to a third room where one key didn’t work. The bellboy unloaded everything and said he’d fix the key and move the cradle from the prior room. He returned saying he couldn’t access the previous room because it had been locked, so we were cradle-less again and had to stay in bed for our baby to nap. Two more hours passed before someone finally brought a cradle. Promised compensation never happened After all this, I was told management would contact me or leave a letter explaining compensation. On January 3, I called to ask and there was no update. On January 4, I went to the front desk again and was told I needed to meet with the head of HR between 7 pm and 10 pm. I returned at 9 pm and the HR person was not there. Instead, they offered a late checkout, which I couldn’t use due to an early flight. After everything we went through, this felt like a slap in the face. Bottom line: This is not a family-friendly hotel. If you need a crib or cradle, do not assume they’ll provide it even if it’s confirmed on your reservation. You may have to fight for it. And if you need help from the front desk, don’t bother calling because chances are nobody will answer. I truly hope the hotel also apologized to the woman and child we walked in on due to their error. I have also emailed and filed a complaint with complaints@riu.com. ________________________________________ Reseña en Español Fecha de check-in: 1 de enero Esta fue la peor experiencia que he tenido en un hotel. La comparto para que otras familias, especialmente quienes viajan con bebés, eviten pasar por lo mismo. La cuna fue ignorada hasta que yo insistí en persona Antes del viaje, llamamos repetidas veces al hotel para confirmar una cuna para nuestra bebé de 8 meses. Nadie contestó. También enviamos correos y nunca respondieron. Al final tuvimos que llamar al servicio al cliente en EE. UU., y recibimos confirmación el 13 de diciembre de que la cuna estaba agregada a la reservación. Al hacer check-in el 1 de enero, el personal confirmó que veía la solicitud y dijo que la enviarían de inmediato. Pasaron dos horas y nada. Llamé a recepción cinco veces y nadie contestó. Tuve que caminar al lobby y me dijeron que no había suficientes cunas. Precisamente por eso la pedimos con semanas de anticipación. Después de otras 3 horas y muchas llamadas sin respuesta, volví a recepción y expliqué que no podíamos ni acostar a nuestra bebé para sus siestas. Solo entonces enviaron una cuna y la armaron. La habitación se inundó por una fuga en la ducha y nos obligaron a cambiarnos La primera noche, al bañarnos, hubo una fuga grande desde la pared de la ducha hacia la habitación y se inundó el piso. De nuevo, llamar a recepción no sirvió. A la mañana siguiente entraron varias personas (aprox. seis entre mantenimiento y limpieza) y todos coincidieron en que debían cambiarnos de habitación después de ver cuánta agua salía al correr la ducha 10 minutos. Recepción dijo que enviaría un botones para ayudarnos y que yo llamara cuando estuviéramos listos. Al empacar, llamé muchas veces y nadie contestó. Tuve que caminar nuevamente a recepción (no es cerca) para que enviaran ayuda y me dieran llaves. Gravísimo problema de privacidad y seguridad: nos dieron llaves de una habitación ocupada Al abrir la “nueva” habitación, entramos y encontramos a una madre cambiando a su bebé encima de la cama. Recepción nos dio llaves de la habitación de otra persona. El botones intentó comunicarse por radio varias veces sin éxito. Yo tuve que regresar al lobby para resolverlo. Lo peor fue que en recepción parecían tomarlo a broma porque escuché risas cuando expliqué lo ocurrido. Eso es inaceptable. Tercera habitación, llave dañada y otra vez sin cuna Mientras yo resolvía esto, mi esposa y mi bebé quedaron esperando en el pasillo con el equipaje. Luego nos enviaron a una tercera habitación donde una llave no funcionaba. El botones descargó todo y dijo que arreglaría la llave y llevaría la cuna desde la habitación anterior. Regresó diciendo que no podía sacar la cuna porque la habitación anterior había quedado cerrada, así que quedamos otra vez sin cuna y tuvimos que permanecer en la cama para que nuestra bebé pudiera dormir su siesta. Pasaron dos horas más hasta que finalmente trajeron otra cuna. La compensación prometida nunca llegó Después de todo esto, nos dijeron que gerencia llamaría o dejaría una carta explicando la compensación. El 3 de enero llamé para preguntar y no había novedades. El 4 de enero fui personalmente y me dijeron que debía reunirme con la jefa de RR. HH. entre 7 pm y 10 pm. Regresé a las 9 pm y esa persona no estaba. En su lugar ofrecieron late checkout, que no pude usar por mi vuelo temprano. Después de todo lo ocurrido, esto fue una falta de respeto. Conclusión: Este no es un hotel familiar. Si viajas con bebés y necesitas cuna, no asumas que la cumplirán aunque esté confirmada. Probablemente tendrás que insistir constantemente. Y si necesitas ayuda de recepción, no pierdas tiempo llamando porque lo más probable es que nadie responda. Espero que también se hayan disculpado con la mujer y su bebé a quienes invadimos la habitación por su error. También envié una queja a complaints@riu.com

  Jan 04, 2026
• 

  Amazing location and resort but the food could be better!!

  The ride from the airport took about 1 hour and was definitely bumpy. We traveled with a 15 month old girl, a 30 year old couple, a 28 year old and sixty year old grandparents. Check in was easy and efficient, rooms were great but smelled a little like sewage. We saw monkeys from the balcony in the mornings. The property was absolutely gorgeous and so was the beach . We enjoyed the water park, pools and beach. The service at all of the bars was great - the staff was warm and friendly and very helpful with our baby everywhere that we went. In general everyone at the resort was kind and warm. The food is the downfall of this resort. The buffet becomes very boring and repetitive after a few meals. They have the save fruit everyday and the same foods are repurposed throughout the day. The steak restaurant was horrible - and the Japanese restaurant was only a little bit better. All in all we had an amazing time- we fed monkeys right down the beach from the hotel , swam in the ocean and enjoyed the pools.

  Jan 04, 2026
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  Unhappy

  Customer service and hospitality was very poor We waited in lobby over 7 hours for our room keys. Ever-time we go to front desk to ask for room they are like can’t do anything. Food was ok not worth spending money. We are vegetarian and food was not labels.

  Jan 03, 2026
• 

  Nice hotel but food and service worth a 2*

  Been to many Riu and all inclusive at Christmas time for the past 20 years (Dominican republic, Mexico, Jamaica) but first time for this period in Costa Rica. The location and recently renovated hotel and rooms are great. Nevertheless it seems that since pandemic they added 300 rooms in the back close to a new great water parks. Problem is they did not add any restaurant (actually closed the only gourmet à la carte on the beach or make it only available for the Riu palace) and closed the casino as well. So more rooms only one steak house à la carte where people are waiting online since 4h30 when it is opening at 6h30 no reservation system which is crazy and all other are buffet with mediocre food. Service is also very poor in all Restaurant, water missing from time to time in the rooms, pool are closing as they lost the water… I recommend to visit CR out of the hotel but plan travel, no availabilities to rent cars at the hotel

  Jan 03, 2026
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  Good revamp, with thoughtful touches

  We checked in on the first day of reopening after the remodel that took place here. Our visit was great! Our room was nicely decorated, with adequate space. I loved our view from our balcony- it was a great place to sit early mornings or late evenings. The beach is short walk down the path or you can utilize one of the pools. There was entertainment in the evenings and activities throughout the day. The restaurants can be tricky to book, so make sure that you take a moment to figure that out on day 1; several aren't open every day. I felt like we had a great experience for the money spent. We would visit again. Sidebar: Xochitl gives great massages to the left of the beach entrance and the money stays local😁

  Jan 02, 2026