Riu Palace Costa Rica - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

10741 reviews

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  Take the trip

  Had such a great trip! The resort is huge, nearly the size if a small city. If you forget something they have shops to get it. The waterslides are so much fun! If you are planning on going to a restaurant it is first come first serve, so plan ahead. We chose to stick to the buffet so that we could stay on our own schedule. The rooms are super clean. The housekeeping did a great job, however we did have to ask for extra towels. They fill up the beverages every other day so if you need something more often make sure to submit a request. All of the staff was really friendly overall and answered our questions. The entertainment is top notch, as always with RIU. This was, however, our first (and last) experience at a resort with kids. We really wanted to stay in Costa Rica and RIU did not offer an adult only resort. We knew ahead of time that it allowed children,however, I would not recommend going to this resort if you want to avoid kids. There are a lot of adult options, for example, the disco after 11 PM and the tours. We also did not see kids on the beach and there are two adult pools. But they have quiet hours after 11 PM and RIU party was pretty odd because children were allowed until 11 PM. These are just my personal preferences though and not anything the resort did. I loved my stay, it was full of beautiful sunsets and amazing memories! Take the trip!

  Feb 07, 2026
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  Riu Guanacaste – honest review (good & bad)

  The resort looks nice, but that’s about it. Staff were mostly unfriendly (except bartenders). On day one we left $5 for housekeeping—money was taken and the room wasn’t cleaned at all (no bed made, no towels, no trash, no fridge refill). When they finally came, after we had to go let the front desk know what had took place, they took our extra key card. After that, we kept the do-not-disturb sign on because we didn’t trust anyone in the room. Service was frustrating—any included item required tracking someone down and usually came with attitude. Cleanliness was far below the other two RIUs we’ve stayed at. There are also long gaps where food isn’t available. We missed our prepaid airport transfer because our key card stopped working and we had to run back to the desk to get in our room for our bags. The shuttle (NEXUS) left without trying to wait, and we had to pay a lot for a new ride. The fire alarm also went off with zero explanation. The good: Locals on the beach are friendly and not pushy, evening shows are great, tide pools are beautiful, and the coffee was good. We did a tour with 2 Amigos Adventures to Rincón de la Vieja (booked on the beach, not through the hotel) and it was amazing. We chose RIU because our past experiences were great, but this one was a big disappointment. We’re in our early 30s and travel a lot—if this is the standard now, we’ll be choosing a different chain next time.

  Feb 06, 2026
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  Nice pools, clean rooms and grounds, but noisy restaurants.

  Good value, good food, but restaurants are in dire need of sound-deadening materials. The free water was a bonus in the fridge, especially as the signage in the bathroom described the clean-looking water as not-potable. As we checked out, we discovered our pair of scissors was missing from our bathroom (we didn't think it was necessary to place THAT in the safe).

  Feb 04, 2026
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  Clean, well maintained, and reasonably priced.

  The resort was very clean and very safe. The walls were noise proof (but not so the glass patio doors). The food was slightly above average, but the dining experience were degraded by the loud and noisy atmosphere (no sound-deadening materials used). Plus the 45-60 minute wait to be seated at the steakhouse was not worthy of the time investment. My 12 ounce ribeye steak was thin and a bit chewy. The potato wedges and Caesar salad were great however. We tried another night and the ribs were again just a bit chewy. Perhaps it is unfair to judge against corn-fed beef here in the states? Evening BINGO was free and fun, albeit brief. The grounds were kept clean and well-trimmed. Just as you enter the beach you will find Erick (a vendor not affiliated with the hotel). He gave us a good deal on an early morning birding tour into the rainforest.

  Feb 04, 2026
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  Not planning on ever returning or recommending to others

  We selected this location for our 1 1/2 yr old grandson to enjoy. The splash pad was only open our first day. The food was horrible. Expect to have to walk a lot to get to and from your room to the pools, which was a lot for the great grandparents that also came on the trip. We booked a catamaran ride that would be safe for the little, 5 mon. along expected mother, and 80+ yr olds, we purchased a sail from 1-5pm ride. The lady expressed how we will have no lunch served and to eat before. We walked aways down the beach to the ship. Unknown to us, the excursion was also sold in 2 other resorts. We started with about 50 people. Some of the people said how excited they were for the sunset cruise. We didn't want that one, because it was very long and knew that the little one especially won't make it. We took off and after just getting around the cove, we started heading into a beach area. There we picked up the band along with 25-30 more people. We then found that, yes, this was the long excursion but was also the one we purchased; they put them together. Needless to say, it was not good. Also, the staff, minus the Mexican restaurant, were so slow and clueless at what was going on; no refills on drinks or water, closed pool, etc. I know that the resort is huge, but we only had our room cleaned once in the 6 day stay because the hours we would be gone they didn't get to the room; however the app worked great to get more towels. They didn't care. So on a positive, the deck off our room was amazing, large and faced the jungle, so we had monkey's in the trees most mornings. The beds were fantastic, and long enough, given some of us were on the tall side. Checking in and out was so easy. Otherwise, I would not recommend and am not planning on returning.

  Feb 02, 2026