Riu Palace Costa Rica - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

10698 reviews

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  Average all inclusive

  We have been to several all inclusives and many RIU resorts. I don’t think Costa Rica is the place to go for AI however we wanted to end our trip with a relaxing no fuss stay. Check-in: 3.5/5 slow check in and big lines. No welcome drink or towel. Staff don’t know what is in room ie) sofa bed. Also don’t know anything about amenities ie) when Waterpark open. Buildings and reception: 5/5 beautiful and fully refurbished. Extremely clean. Lots of walking and huge resort. Rooms: 4/5 recently renovated. Very modern. Double sink and great shower pressure. No conditioner or shampoo. Raggedly old towels. Bugs in the room! Complained a few times but no resolution. Beds too soft but that’s personal preference Food: 2/4 this is where the resort falls down. We had the most amazing food in everywhere else in CR but Riu was not good. First off, no reservation system - everything is first come first serve which is very stressful for a vacation vibe. All restos are buffets with nothing that is made to order. Can’t get coffee tea in the resto outside of breakfast. Food is repetitive, not fresh and overcooked with high school cafeteria vibes. Notables: ice cream at Candy and veggie burger at American restaurant. Pools 5/5: warm pools very clean, great pool bar drinks and animation team and music. Best Waterpark! Beach: 4/5 clean and warm water. Volcanic sands. Go to the left for amazing massages by Two Sisters massage. Beach vendors harmless and friendly. I’d not go back to this Riu.

  Dec 28, 2025
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  Disappointing Experience – Would Not Recommend

  The resort is beautiful on the outside, but unfortunately that’s where the positives end. The staff was unfriendly and unhelpful. It felt very clear that service was catered mainly to Spanish-speaking guests and white guests, while Black/African American guests were largely ignored. Staff would not come to our table to ask if we needed anything, yet we watched them immediately attend to others. Our hotel room had a strong sewage/poop smell. I called multiple times to report it, but no real solution was offered—no room change, no maintenance visit. We were repeatedly told that “the whole resort smells like that,” which was simply not true. Other guests confirmed their rooms did not smell. The odor was so bad that it woke me up late at night, made me nauseous, and caused me to vomit. We were forced to sleep with the balcony doors wide open, and I even purchased room spray from the market for $11, which did not help. The food was another disappointment. Everything was very under-seasoned, and meat options were extremely limited—mostly pork, very little chicken, and no breakfast meat options without pork. Not everyone eats pork, and there were very few alternatives. Overall, this experience was rough and stressful. The only positive was the water slides and pools—my son really enjoyed those. I truly wish we had stayed somewhere else. This resort is definitely not worth the money, and I would not recommend it.

  Dec 28, 2025
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  Horrible check in service and room

  Extremely bad check in staff. Very rude and straight up lies. They told us to choose a particular building offering beach view. Gave us extreme back facing room. Also told us we don’t care, go complain to whoever you like we don’t care. One of them is was a manager. Also mind you we are RUi class members.

  Dec 25, 2025
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  Rude and aggressive

  We went to the Riu Guanacaste to try to BUY guest passes for the day. We were told to come in the morning to see if they were available. When we arrived we were waived in by a security guard then walked to the front desk to buy the passes. As we were discussing the pass options and cost, another security guard interrupted and demanded that we leave immediately. When we asked why, we were told we had snuck in and had to leave and someone would call us from the front of the property, but we could not wait in the lobby to book. I explained this was impossible since we drove in and the gate doesn’t allow for cars to just come in. They kept just insisting we leave- so we did. We were then followed out and were treated like criminals because we tried to spend over 1k for guest passes. Imagine that…. Eventually the security guard at the front gate was so rude and purposely unhelpful as we waited for a call that we left because the whole experience was so terrible. In the end, security screwed up and accidentally let us in and then made up a lie that is obviously untrue to cover themselves. I won’t ever go back.

  Dec 24, 2025
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  Mixed feelings

  We went as a family. My husband and I came here several years ago and brought our kids and grandkids for a special vacation. This is not the same friendly resort we came to years ago. Housekeeping was incredible. We tend to spend more time at the ocean than the pool. Location of the resort is awesome since you can see monkeys, birds, butterflies and iguanas without leaving the resort. You can snorkel and fish off shore. The food was average this time. Having food allergies I definitely had an issue since the signs with the symbols did not match the dishes. However once we were introduced to the chef on the third day she took such good care of my daughter and me at dinner. So grateful! But the one night my son did find mussel shells in the mash potatoes which could be an issue for someone with a seafood allergy. We noticed preferential service especially at the outside bars. I usually tip on a regular basis but gave up when we were constantly ignored. Even many of the entertainment people were off standish. The grandkids loved the waterpark. I was surprised to see people vaping in the halls and by the stage and no one said anything. We paid for 3 different types of rooms yet all of our rooms looked the same. As much as it has so much to offer I will not return.

  Dec 24, 2025