Riu Palace Costa Rica - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

10639 reviews

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  We loved it

  On arrival when we were walking to our rooms we thought it was a hospital or prison but once in room we were impressed. Comfortable beds lots of space and a free mini bar. Food was excellent in buffet but the system to use the other restaurants is madness. Queue at 6 and hope for the best. We didn’t bother Be warned the road to hotel is appalling it’s about 15 mins of hell. Costa Rica was safe friendly and wonderful

  Apr 29, 2025
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  Great location for the value.

  We loved the property! Clean, beautiful grounds, wonderful pools, comfortable beds - the staff weren’t overly friendly and the restaurant situation is nuts! No reservations accepted and people line-up over an hour ahead of time to get put on a wait list. The spa was wonderful and the massage therapists were fantastic!

  Apr 26, 2025
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  Week with friends

  We spent 1 week at the hotel. Amazing grounds, good service but the building is in need of repairs, which we understand will take place now. Problems with the A/C, resolved by changing room. A la carte restaurants are also buffet style, a little weird. The staff is great!

  Apr 26, 2025
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  Family vacation

  Great family vacation. Zoo was great for the grandkids ages 18 months 3 years 6 Years and even the 14 year old had fun. The excursions were close by.

  Apr 26, 2025
• 

  Good value and service

  So I have to say overall we had a great stay here. The food is good and there is so much of it! The grounds are well kept and the staff are all friendly and work incredibly hard. We've been to Costa Rica twice, I have to mention that being here doesn't feel like the Costa Rica I know and love with rainforest and wildlife everywhere. This could be a resort anywhere in the world. We had travelled around and finished off our trip with 4 nights here to relax before flying home. I was very surprised not to find any wildlife at the resort considering all the animals we'd encountered elsewhere. I know there are monkeys at the monkey bar. Just be aware you will need to travel far from the hotel to see the authentic Costa Rica. One major problem we encountered at the hotel was the check in. It took nearly an hour. I had already checked in online and the following day saw a sign that said 'go to the front if you've checked in online ' however it was impossible to know this before or see this sign when we arrived because of all the people. There were no staff free to ask. This should have been communicated better. Our room wasn't ready so we had to return at 3pm to collect the key and despite being told we wouldn't have to queue again, we did. All the desks were busy so its impossible to ask anyone. There definitely needs to be staff helping guests navigate this on arrival as it would improve the experience and the chaos was a horrible start to our stay here. Check in aside, we were very happy with our room and everything else. Yes the resort is older and some things need updating. Towels, bathroom etc. But its fine. We had a family room on the second floor in the older section. No complaints. Good minibar, clean, big room, great A/C and WIFI etc.We always had the afternoon sun on the balcony. The main pool and sunbeds also looking tired but if you walk over to the newer side of the resort, everything is new and fresh. We preferred the pools there, they were quieter and the bar was much quicker to get served than the main pool bar. My kids enjoyed the ice cream and cakes at 'candy' on the new side. The kids also enjoyed the waterpark but be aware the water is deeper than 1.2m even though the min height to ride is 1.2m. The water under the ' toilet bowl ' slide is very deep. There was always a queue of people waiting to get in at 10am but usually quiet in the afternoon. We always ate at the Liberia buffet as easier with the kids and there is so much choice. Mexican food, pizza, pasta, so much fish and meat, salads, sushi etc. Always a big selection. Its really excessive, just so much food. I am vegan and the rest of my family vegetarian. There was always plenty to eat. My only problem was lack of labels on the food. Sometimes it was really difficult to figure out what we could eat but even so we always had a plate full. I never felt hungry. We ate so much. It does get busy of course, just like any big all inclusive. The staff work incredibly hard, they are always busy. Overall I found this hotel to be good value. We don't usually go to these types of big busy resorts but we enjoyed our stay and have only praise for all the staff who work incredibly hard to keep everyone happy.

  Apr 25, 2025