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Riu Palace Costa Rica Vacations

4.4 - 5177 Reviews
Liberia, Costa Rica
Escape to the stunning shores of Matapalo Beach in Guanacaste, Costa Rica and enjoy a stay at the luxurious Riu Palace Costa Rica hotel. This spectacular 24 hour all inclusive resort features RIU’s new trendy design concept with modern and contemporary decor. Admire the classic palatial exterior and the swanky interiors that fuse sophistication, elegance, and style, and be pampered with exceptional service. Savour sumptuous cuisine at the resort’s bountiful buffet and a la carte restaurants and enjoy a tasty treat at the patisserie and ice cream parlour. Active travelers can revel in a variety of land and water sports offered at the resort or enjoy a workout in the fully equipped gym. For some extra indulgence, enjoy pampering treatments at the world class Renova Spa. Children can also enjoy their own entertainment program, which offers fun-filled supervised games and activities. When the sun goes down, enjoy fabulous evening entertainment including live music, dazzling performances, and exciting shows or dance the night away at the Pacha Disco. As part of the Palace Collection, guests can also take advantage of superior features such as 24 hour room service, unlimited premium brand drinks, champagne breakfast daily, poolside waiter beverage service, and more for the ultimate in luxury. When staying at the Riu Palace Costa Rica, be sure to venture off the resort to experience the full splendour of this fascinating country. Explore lush jungles and national parks, encounter the vibrant and exotic flora and fauna, and enjoy an abundance of adventures. The Riu Palace Costa Rica offers a beautiful and elegant setting and a perfect base to explore all the wonders of Costa Rica.

Location: Beachfront in Guanacanaste; 33 km from airport

  • 3 Meals daily plus 24 hour snacks
  • All drinks 24hr (domestic beer and cocktails, select international brands)
  • Gym
  • Sauna
  • Volleyball
  • Table Tennis
  • Tennis
  • 1 introductory scuba diving lesson in the pool
  • Non-motorized watersports
  • Daily activities
  • Evening entertainment
  • Nightclub: Complimentary entrance, drinks are not included.

  • 538 Rooms
  • 4 Pools and 1 children's pool
  • Splash World waterpark
  • Spa ($)
  • 5 Restaurants, including: 1 Buffet and 4 a la Carte
  • 1 Patisserie & ice cream parlor
  • 7 Bars
  • Shops
  • Free WiFi 
  • 5 Conference Rooms ($)
  • 24 Hour Front Desk
  • Casino ($)
  • Tennis Court
  • Water Sports
  • Gym
  • Sauna
  • Jacuzzi

All Rooms include:

  • Air Conditioning
  • Ceiling Fan
  • Hair Dryer
  • Satellite TV 
  • Turn Down Service
  • Iron & Ironing board
  • Liquor Dispenser
  • Coffee Maker
  • Radio alarm clock
  • 110 Volt
  • Mini bar (restocked daily)
  • Hydro-massage tub
  • In-room safe
  • Living area with sofa or sofa bed
  • Free WiFi 

Junior Suite Garden View

  • 1 King or 2 Double beds
  • Full bathroom
  • Hydro-massage tub
  • Balcony or terrace
  • Maximum Number of Adults 3; Maximum Occupancy 4

Junior Suite Courtyard View

  • 1 King or 2 Double beds
  • Full bathroom
  • Hydro-massage tub
  • Balcony or terrace
  • Maximum Number of Adults 3; Maximum Occupancy 4

Junior Suite Ocean View

  • 1 King or 2 Double beds
  • Full bathroom
  • Hydro-massage tub
  • Balcony or terrace
  • Maximum Number of Adults 3; Maximum Occupancy 4

Suite Ocean View

  • 1 King bed
  • Full bathroom
  • Hydro-massage tub
  • Bidet
  • Balcony or terrace with private whirlpool
  • Maximum Number of Adults 2; Maximum Occupancy 2

Two Bedroom Family Suite

  • 2 bedrooms, one with 1 king and one with 2 doubles
  • 2 Full bathrooms
  • Hydro-massage tub
  • Bidet
  • Balcony or terrace
  • Maximum Number of Adults 4; Maximum Occupancy 5

Free Wedding - Packages are available. Inquire for details.

Honeymoon Bonus - Surprise welcome gift in your room, King-size bed, Late check-out, and Complimentary upgrade to next available room class. Request at time of booking. Proof of marriage required. Subject to availability and subject to change.

Early Booking Bonus - This hotel may offer early booking bonuses at certain times of the year. If early booking bonuses apply to your vacation, prices shown online have already been adjusted accordingly. Please inquire for complete details.

Some restaurants may be open for certain meals only and limited visits may apply. Reservations required and dress code in effect for a la carte restaurants. Time restrictions may apply for water sports.

Child pricing may only be available with select tour operators and valid for select dates and durations. Child pricing rules are subject to change without notice. Please contact one of our vacation specialists if you require assistance with child pricing.

Photo identification and/or credit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges.

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy. Rollaway beds and cribs (infant beds) may be available and should be requested at the time of booking; fees may apply.

Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in. Special requests cannot be guaranteed and may incur additional charges upon check-in to fulfil.

Hotels do not condone unruly behavior, parties in rooms, excessive noise or any other actions that violate the hotels terms of use. Guests may be removed from the property at their own expense in the event of any disturbance or complaint from other guests or hotel staff. Escapes.ca cannot be held responsible for any guests who may be removed from the hotel due to a violation of rules.

What's Included

Vacation package bookings include the following:

  • Round-trip flights
  • Hotel accommodations
  • Airport transfers (see exceptions below)
  • Departure taxes (see exceptions below)
  • Tourist cards (see exceptions below)
  • Hotel taxes

All-inclusive resorts typically include the following options. Please see each specific hotels all-inclusive details for what is included, as it may vary from the list below.

  • All meals
  • Drinks (typically soft drinks and domestic beer, wine and spirits)
  • Daily activities
  • Nightly entertainment
  • Non-motorized water sports
Items not included:
  • Baggage fees (if applicable, see Supplier's terms on reservation page for details)
  • Resort and Environmental fees (if applicable) must be paid directly to the hotel
  • Travel insurance (mandatory if traveling to Cuba)
  • Airport transfers for packages to USA
  • Airport transfers for packages to Europe
  • Items of a personal nature
NOTE:
  • If traveling to the Dominican Republic with Sunwing or Signature Vacations, tourist cards ($10USD) and departure taxes ($20USD) are not included.
  • As of November 9, 2019 Los Cabos has implemented a non-mandatory tourist tax of $18:50 per person payable upon entry into Los Cabos.


Avg. °CJFMAMJJASOND
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Low202122232323232322
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Rain (mm)1251819824714820336231710211
4.4 Google Rating
Based on 5177 Reviews

Negatives:
Mini fridge didn’t work for 2.5 days of our 4 day stay. Couldn’t access cold water easily in our rooms. Eventually was fixed after we left a poor score in the app.
Buffet food quality isn’t comparable to the sit down restaurants.

Positives:
Love the app; made things super easy to find what was happening.
Room was cleaned well each day.
Shows were fantastic
Highly recommend the Kahoot! Games.
Food was really nice in most of the restaurants. Def aim to be there early to the restaurants so you can catch the entertainment.

This is definitely not a 5 star resort. The rooms are very run down and not worth the $1500+ I paid. The pools closed at 6pm and there really wasn’t a lot of entertainment for adults other than the Disco. This forced the guests to call it a night early or venture away from the resort. The customer service from the servers and bartenders was excellent but I wouldn’t waste my money going to RIU Palace in Costa Rica. The room service options were not that great and the lobster from the steakhouse was the worst I’ve ever had.

My family and I stayed at riu Palace, we have always been clients of this chain, before we visited riu Guanacaste but it was incredible how much that hotel lowered the quality, from the attention, the terrible cleanliness of the hotel, the very limited food, you are going to the pool and it is a terrible mess with an exaggerated number of people, because of all this we decided to visit riu palace and the experience improved a lot obviously the cost went up a lot, but this week we returned to the Riu Palace and they are going the same way as the riu Guanacaste , the hotel has failed in many things, the rooms are completely old and neglected, before they filled the refrigerator with quality drinks, now if anything they give you 2 beers, the TV is obsolete and the cable service is terrible if only 8 channels, we paid for a room in theory one of the best with a sea view and it turned out that there is no sea view, the room service is terrible, the pool before you came and it was with cold water and super clean in this vocation the pool ducts Dirty, full of dirt, and the boiling water was terrible, it couldn't even be hot, in the bars they increasingly lower the quality of the liquor they use, in short it was our last time we visited this place since for what you pay Here you can visit much better places with very exclusive attention, such as Planet Hollywood or Dream Las Mareas.

First, they sold me a room with a sea view that was completely false, it was impossible to get into the pool, it was too hot even if it was 6:00 pm, plus the surrounding area looked green with dirt, the poor quality liquor was the cheapest you would see in a decanter what you would never drink at home, here is the only thing that is prescribed, the reception they removed the air conditioning now it looks like a bus station everyone sweating like hell waiting for the room. Without a doubt, only the staff with their excellent attitude is what keeps it alive, it's a shame that they are only dedicated to making money. My last visit.

Pesismo service. If I'm a permanent gringo, they give me better treatment! I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT

Second time here 1 day drinks appear to be a lot better

PLEASE READ: Generally, it's not a bad choice. We had an okay time. The drinks are good, the staff is pleasant. My review may be biased, I frequent luxury resort. This was advertised as luxury, but it was utterly disappointing in that aspect. I think its a good value if you're staying for an extended period of time and spending most of your time out of the resort doing excursions like I did.

Cons:

WALKING: be prepared to walk. Theres a bit of walking. its not bad, but keep it in mind.

WATER: Our room did not have bottled water upon arrival. I called reception/room service THREE TIMES before they told me they cant bring up water bottles because that isn't part of room service... huh??? We ended up having to buy overpriced water bottles at a store near the hotel. On day 3 we figured out where we could get water bottles for free (the cafe on level 1).

BEACH: The beach isn't private and it's separate from the resort so you have to walk a bit. Be prepared to be harassed by the locals trying to sell items (i respect the hustle, get your money!!!!).

FOOD: By far the worst food I've had a resort. Its not bad... but it is the worst I've had. The lobster at the steak house was the best dish I had during my 9 day stay.

ROOM: Our room felt VERY outdated. The open bathroom concept is weird, but you get used to it. The Tv didn't support airplay and when i tried to sign into my netflix it said there was no internet connection but the TV was clearly connected to the internet. Weird.

WIFI: if you arent tech savy, getting into the wifi may be a bit of a hassle. Not impossible by any means, but a hassle. Despite that, great internet connection with no dead zones, even on the beach.

SERVICE: The staff is wonderfully pleasant, but service could be better overall.

ENTERTAINMENT: the shows at the theater were great BUT the disco on the grounds was absolutely dead AND the drinks at the disco are not included so you have to buy them. I spent 32 bucks on 2 drinks, and they weren't even good.

PROS:

The grounds are well kept. The common areas are beautiful. The resort is generally very clean. The mountainous views were breathtaking. We had a great view from our room.

THE POOL: not enough seating during the day, so get ready to get up early to reserve a spot. But unlike all the other resorts, they do not have a closing time. Guests were allowed to be in the pool after hours. Taking a dip after dinner was one of the best parts of the resort.

Amstar reps: The amstar reps at this location were the best! They were reachable by whatsapp even after we had paid for our excursions. Great customer service! Thank you!

Bartenders: The bartenders by the theater were super attentive, and would refill me before I finished my drink. Thank you!!!!!!!

The white party: Every Friday they have a big party and they merge the two resorts on the grounds. We went to the white party and we had a great time!

Shops: The shops are not inside the resort, but they are on the grounds. It's a walk away, but you can find virtually anything you could need. I did a lot of souvenir and coffee shopping. The clothes are really nice too!

Gym: the gym was in good condition, very clean, with plenty of equipment and good AC. its not in the resort so you have to walk to it.

water park: they have a water park on the ground. You have to walk to it as it is not in the resort. i did not have the chance to go, but seemed pretty cool!!

Overall, I had an okay time. Again I may be biased because it was not what I am used to, but it was still okay. I would recommend it to people who are on a budget or those who don't get caught up on details. I wouldn't stay here again, but I am sure other people could enjoy it. A 5/10 in my books.

Try the french toast croissant at breakfast!

I wish I could rate this place higher. My experience was decent until I found out the gold necklace I got for my birthday while being there was stolen out of my suitcase IN MY ROOM By the staff. Because the necklace was new and I didn’t want to lose it in the ocean/pools kept it in the room in my bag with my clothes only to find it missing. When I reached out to the staff about it they just said they’d look around and got back to me basically saying “sorry, it’s not here”. I can’t really describe what it feels like to know someone would go through your belongings and steal from you.

I would also like to add that though this Riu palace markets itself as ‘adult only’…it is not. Our entire stay was filled with babies/kids/teens running, screaming, splashing. Which would be fine normally but we specifically booked a resort for adults to keep the noise level down and did not have that experience at all. The other Riu palaces I’ve been to honor that and I have really enjoyed them so I was shocked to see this Riu not care about honoring this.

Will definitely advise friends/others to go elsewhere if they’re wanting to relax.

Nice hotel, great yards and swimming pools. Beach is ok, water not rough and is clean. No umbrellas on the beach but hotel has attendant to bring you lounge chairs. You can find shades under the trees on the beach. Since all beaches are public in Costa Rica vendors are always present but aren't pushy. 4, 5 restaurants are on premises plus a buffet which had good foods and big varieties of it and very impressive decorations for Valentines day. They also head foods, snacks and desert impressively decorated for the occasion. AC was not up to snuff, room didn't feel as cold as thermostat indicated, but we didn't feel hot either. Some public areas did not feel air conditioned and felt hot at times. Service was great. And like most all inclusive places alcohol wasn't potent.

Excellent rooms, great variety of food and very good drinks.

Had the best vacation of my life with my dad. The staff are so nice, hardworking, personable and help you with anything you need. The resort sits on a beautiful beach with scenic mountain ranges surrounding. The restaurants on site are excellent, I recommend the Japanese steakhouse, French and seafood/steak places. Just make sure you go to these places at open or you might not get a seat the whole night. The Sunning reps are really professional and helpful at helping you book excursions. I loved going to Tamarindo to surf and eat on the beach. We had booked this through the resort and made it a lot easier. I also recommend doing the Arenal volcano tour and zip lining, horseback riding and water slide as well. Costa Rica is such a beautiful place and Riu palace exceeds expectations. You also get full access to the hotel Guanacaste beside if you book at the palace too, will be back for sure.

Resort location, food and service are all 5 star. The rooms - Courtyard Suites are not. Good beds but terrible pillows. Unfortunately we found a cockroach in our room on the first night

Very pretty place, HOT and A/C IS REGULATED so rooms very hot. Food is good with a big variety.
Very nice time

Rooms are very nice and updated. The AC was broken the week we stayed so I can’t comment on how cool the rooms are. But considering we had no AC it wasn’t terrible. There are tons of pools! But they LACK CLOSE WASHROOMS! This leads to people using the pool which is very noticeable, since the closest washroom is a walk to the papagayo restaurant. The bartenders at the pool at very friendly and always know what your drinking and how to make it! Drinks always tasted good, never did the overcompensate with very sting drinks. I would definitely come back, possibly even move to CR.

My wife and I booked a room at RIU Palace for our honeymoon/my birthday weekend and to say we were disappointed is a gross understatement. From start to finish this was the worst experience we have ever had at any hotel, at any price point, let alone a “5 star” resort.
There is no valet, staff do not greet you or offer to help with your bags. They have no bellhop service and make you carry your luggage to your rooms yourself. The front desk staff then informed us that one, or possibly several of the restaurants may be closed because it’s “slow season”. Upon arriving to our room we found it was filthy, in disrepair, and the entire “ocean view” was obstructed by a large palm tree. We may have been willing to overlook this, however, at around 7pm they began blasting music from the stage in the middle of the courtyard directly across from our balcony. The music was so loud even with the doors shut we couldn’t even hear the TV. This continued until after 10pm at which point we asked to switch rooms to a location farther away from the stage with an actual view of the ocean, as advertised.
The second room was even dirtier and in worse condition. Every linen had stains, even the curtains. Walls and furniture were very obviously repainted many, many times with low quality house paint to hide damage/filth. This was confirmed by seeing several maintenance carts in the hallways each morning full of paint buckets and rollers- the entire resort felt like it was being run by a slum lord. The mini fridge in our room did not work, so we asked for a replacement. The replacement also did not work. The air conditioning vents were filled with mold and I ended up becoming very sick after sleeping in the room and developing an upper respiratory infection. The pillows were old, deflated and dirty and when we requested fresh ones from the front desk we were told “they’ll probably be the same as what you already have” - the replacements were just as bad. One of the two sinks was clogged, and the other only gave scalding hot water. Several fixtures including electrical outlets next to the sink were incorrectly installed and left exposed wiring. The shower leaked into the bedroom and caused a large puddle to form every time we showered. The couch was absolutely disgusting covered in stains and had tears in the fabric. The ice bucket was full of dirt and the tongs were covered in some sort of gross crust, and they wanted us to make drinks with them.
We tried to spend as little time in our room as possible in an attempt to salvage the experience.

Outside of the rooms the hotel itself was dirty, run down and poorly maintained. Elevators had exposed wires hanging from the ceiling. Common spaces were messy. Staff regularly left dirty dishes and cups for hours if not overnight surrounding the pool areas. Drink quality varied greatly from bar to bar- the same drink ordered at a different bar would taste completely different. The food quality was sub-par even for an all inclusive. The beach was full of vendors and “guides” harassing guests and the resort does nothing to prevent it. We stayed off the beach after the first visit.
Aside from their nightly live music shows, which were lackluster at best, they offer no ways to entertain yourself once the pools shut down for the evening. No sports bar. No game room. Nothing. Just more poorly made drinks.
It seemed as though every opportunity they had to cut corners, they took it. I don’t know how this resort ever achieved “5 star” status but it’s an absolute joke that they continue to claim it. Not a single aspect of this place deserves a 5 star rating. We were so disappointed we actually ended up leaving a day early (on my birthday) and drove to another hotel in the middle of the night because the air conditioning was making us both so sick.

I cannot caution against booking at this hotel any stronger. Do not stay here. This was the single most miserable resort experience either of us have had in 30+ years of traveling the world. RIU Resorts could not pay me to stay there again if they tried.

After reading enough of the reviews, I can see now that almost every other guest has the same response each time from management, “Give us another chance to make it better!” BUT it’s obvious NO ONE is doing anything about the current problems everyone is complaining about while here.” Omg food poisoning is unacceptable—which either means no gloves are being used and/or obviously someone isn’t washing their hands (ugh) and/or food is getting bacteria from the heat & not properly maintained at temperatures necessary!, Who wants to go on vacation just to spend a week with mold and bugs in your rooms, doors popping open to who knows who, keys not working at all, run down facilities, no variety in food—just enormous amounts instead of quality over quantity; & more than one guest complaining of stealing from their personal belongings is 1 too many!! And having to walk such distances to the bathroom from the pool and not having enough chairs that people need to go out at 6 am to reserve them under canopy —this is no where near 5 stars!! omg This hotel needs to shut down and do a total redo—not build an additional extension to an already existing horror 😳. I feel sorry for the staff that do work hard and try to please but obviously no one’s doing anything about the problems at all from management down so why waste your money?? One goes to Costa Rica for the beauty I imagine. This co only interested in guests $ & not improving a near total broken down system!

Great place to stay. You are far from the airport and Liberia but right by the ocean and in the dry rain forest area.

The hotel does not meet the 5 star level. The best thing about the hotel is the food, which is organized as it should be. The food is delicious and even at peak times you can always find a seat in the restaurant.
There are very few sun loungers by the pool and this does not correspond to the level of a five-star hotel - the administration does not care where you will relax. Room cleaning takes a long time; there are no bathrobes and slippers in the rooms. There are no accompanying staff upon arrival - you need to look for your room yourself and carry your suitcases. Pool cleaning is carried out during the day, when the pools themselves are very busy. The animation is very weak - there is practically none. The hotel staff smiles, but this does not raise the hotel's prestige. I think that the level and price do not meet the requirements of hotels of this level. I’m not happy with my vacation and I wouldn’t book this hotel chain for the second time.

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