Wish you were here?
Hotel overview
Location
GuanacasteProperty information
{{title}}
Hotel details
Hotel advisories
General policies & fine print
Check-in Policy - Deposits or credit/debit card hold authorizations are not requested at check-in. Minimum age of 18 is required for check-in, an ID/Passport will be requested upon arrival.
Convention Policy - Individuals attending a convention cannot book this property for their stay. If found attending a convention, guests may be subject to higher room rates upon arrival.
Hotel Spring Break Policy- Student Groups/Spring Breakers (either groups or individuals, regardless of age) are not allowed at any time during the year. Guests disturbing or generating complaints from other guests or hotel may be removed from the property, at their own expense. Parties in rooms are not permitted.
Transfer Policy - A price may display when children stay free, if your vacation includes transfer to your hotel.
General Information - Room taxes and service fees are included in vacation price.
Minimum night stay restrictions may apply.
Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.
- Early Departure Penalty: 1 Night Applies: Sunday - Saturday 01May25 - 23Dec26
- Early Departure Penalty: 2 Nights Applies: Sunday - Saturday 24Dec25 - 30Apr26
Ratings & reviews
TripAdvisor traveler rating
10606 reviews
-
Apr 17, 2025Good value all inclusive
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 eventhough 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 17, 2025Definitely not 5 star. Average at best!
My family and I spent 6 days at this resort. We've been to several Riu properties (Cabo San Lucas, Aruba, Cancun, etc) and this location is by far the worst. This is definitely not a 5 star resort! The front desk attendants are very nice and welcoming. But there was not staff in the front to take your bags to your room. Occasionally you will run into some staff in the food areas(buffets) that were attentive but that was far and inbetween. Often times, you had to go get your own drinks and they flat out ignored you except to pick up plates off the tables. At most resorts that I've been to, if you happen to pass staff in the hallway they would greet you. At this place, they just flat out ignore you. This location is currently under construction. I was fortunate enough to stay in the new building. The rooms there are spacious, comfortable and nicely decorated. However, everytime you flush the toilet there was this awful sewage smell that came up from the toilet. My mother and father was assigned to the old building which is very dated and they had the same issue with the sewage smell as well. As I mentioned before, we have been to several Riu properties and usually the food is great and they tend to have a great selection even at the buffets. We only were able to go to 2 of the restaurants on this property (Toscana(Italian) & Furama(Asian)) and that was only because we were able to get there 30 minutes before they opened to stand in line (you can't make reservations). The 2 restaurants that we were able to go to were pretty good and the service was great but the buffets overall were terrible. The food quality was horrible most of the time and they had no variety or themed days, just the same old unseasoned stuff day after day. For breakfast, they only had bacon one day. The rest of the days were some weird bologna and this sausage that had this strange texture and crumbles in your mouth. The hamburgers don't taste like real beef. The newer side had a pool, food court that had grab and go style food and an ice cream shop. We mainly stayed hung out at the newer pool because it was cleaner and much nicer. The taco bar in the food court was the best, it had pulled pulled pork and pulled chicken taco choices that were well seasoned. The ice cream shop was absolutely delightful. The ice cream was rich and creamy! The newer side and restaurants were the saving grace for this location and the only reason I gave a rating of 3. Hopefully, once the renovations are done and they fix the toilet sewage smell and work on the customer service issues they will be able to redeem themselves.
-
Apr 16, 2025Great time with kids
We had a great experience here. My husband and I vacation here before having the kids and had loved the property. We brought our three kids back 15 years later and the property is only improved! More features such as water slides and more restaurants. We had a wonderful time! We were even able to go zip lining at the zip line just outside the property. Very safe :) And we were able to feed the monkeys on the property just a short 10 minute walk down the beach. We paid for a boat ride with Erick and snorkeling which was the highlight of the trip! Look for Erick on the beach.
-
Apr 16, 2025Worst food quality of any resort stayed at in 15+ different countries/all-inclusive resorts
A group of 8 of us went to this resort the first week of April and we were all very excited for a relaxing and fun vacation! The number one problem with this resort is the food quality. The bad: - elevator never works - the food in the sports bar is inedible - refrigerated wraps and sandwiches that smell and taste like they've sat there for weeks - the a la carte restaurants were as bad or worse than the buffet - the general food on the resort was unacceptable - eggs always runny, bread and bagels as hard as a rock - sausages and bacon were dangerously undercooked - coffee machines ALWAYS broken - no fresh coffee prepared ahead of time -Rooms were dated - we noticed multiple stains on our sheets and pillows - The pillows they provide are like miniature kid pillows -The safe was not reliable and you'd have to enter your passcode 3+ times to get access (another couple in our group had their safe completely stop working - had to wait 1hr to get fixed) -the entertainment is worse than other resorts we've stayed at (cuba, jamaica, dominican, mexico) - the best food I ate all week was a lunch during one of the excursions at the sloth tour and the airport chicken sandwich I had in Liberia (The food quality on the resort is truly something else). -we stayed in the old section and a lot of the facilities were dated (sewer smell in bathroom) -tub was dangerously slanted inwards that you'd almost fall stepping in or out -food timing is limited too - There are no food options between 10:30am-12PM and 9:30pm+ (sports bar does not count) The good: -staff was friendly -grounds and landscaping were very well kept -beach was beautiful and vendors weren't that pushy -drinks were well made and good selection (Ask about the Pink ***** shot) -the white party, foam party, Monkey Bar, and Sloth excursion was the highlight of the whole trip The fact that you can get a perfectly fine quality meal at the Monkey Bar, excursion restaurants, and the airport in town means these people know how to create good food - They simply can't effectively manage the food for a resort this size. I think it's a logistics/skill/knowledge issue. The food is just not fresh and truly ruined the entire vacation. As a result of the food quality I would never, EVER, return to another Rio resort again.
-
Apr 16, 2025
Unique RIU experience
Unique experience in Costa Rica. Buffet is good. Pools are good. There is a newer section across the street which has a smaller buffet, pool and rooms. Rooms are a bit outdated and had to call to get a few things fixed. Roads leading to hotel is terrible. But overall good experience and would recommend it.