Riu Guanacaste

Came with my 14 year old daughter for a mommy and me vacation . Our vacation was great. Location was perfect. Service wasn't great. [Details]

Our experience was being among there soulful community, gracefully inviting to share haven((!)) [Details]

Overall, we were very pleased with the hotel. The staff were helpful and went out of their way with anything we needed.
The area around the hotel was perfect for taking long walks, and the beach
was the same. Hotel is older, but clean. Bathrooms do need an update.
The water had pebbles, and the water was a little rough, but the hotel had three pools, which is where most of the people spent their day. [Details]

The resort was beautiful, the staff were amazingly helpful and the food and drinks were great. [Details]

Overall our experience at this hotel was great. It was around a 45 mins bus ride from the airport. The rooms are a bit dated but kept clean. The staff are hardworking and always trying their best to please you. The beach was ok but half the time the waters were too rough to go into. The pools were great and so was the waterslide park that was open every other day.
We mainly dined at the main restaurant which seemed to have enough variety and the food was being replaced quite often. There are shops on the hotel premises, in case you forget to bring any essentials but be prepared to pay quite a bit for anything you need. [Details]

Very nice hotel with fantastic view and lots to do! [Details]

Pool was very dirty, asked to speak to manager, but he was missing in action.
Staff were awesome so kind and helpful.
Rooms were clean, beds were good.
Only 2 a la carte restaurants were open per day, so unless you wanted to dine a 6pm you can never get a table.
Hotel was very busy at the weekend and on Sunday lunchtime they ran out of food, remember there is only one buffet open. [Details]

Great experience, super clean, well maintained, there were different restaurants to choose from or the main buffet. The beach was nice. Night events were well done. Overall a great experience. [Details]

I had a fabulous experience with my stay here all the staff were friendly and very easy to communicate with considering my Spanish is almost nil. [Details]

I have no real complaints about this resort. The beach was not my favorite, however, It was great to walk along. The resort itself, easy access to everything, the food was plenty and absolutely great! Clean hotel and really great staff (always friendly, and very respectful). The rooms were nice and comfortable. Take the time to talk to the staff and you will learn plenty about Costa Rica. Pura Vita!!! [Details]

Spent two weeks at the all inclusive hotel in Feb 2020. [Details]

The hotel is "tired"....needs updating. A lot of the floor tiles through-out the main areas are cracked. One of the elevators was not always working. The housekeeping was lacking in that fresh towels were not provided/replaced when the room was cleaned (5 out of 7 days). Also, had to ask for toilet tissue and Kleenex. The buffet dining room food selection was boring and never varied (breakfast were ok - but lunch and dinners were not good). Overall this hotel does NOT deserve to have a 4 star rating. Reception and wait staff were pleasant and helpful. [Details]

The staff, waiters were not very nice, when you go for the buffet, they make you get your own drink and refill yourself, there is no all-inclusive. Did not like the food at all, didn't have a lot of variety. The beach and pools were good. The cleaning staff was good. But my experience there with the room, my first night there, I had to switch 3 different rooms, until I got a room that everything was working and clean. Not many of the staff spoke English so it was difficult to communicate with them. I would never go back to that location again, this was my first Riu and my last. I would never recommend this resort. [Details]

Our first trip to Costa Rico and it was fantastic.
We have traveled to most of the Caribbean and have to say this is one of the best places we have travelled to.
The Riu Guanacaste was spectacular, it's big but even though it was sold out and full, we never waited for anything. No line ups, no fighting for sun loungers,or waiting more than a minute for a drink.
The place was spotless and the staff could not do enough for us. Only negatives in the whole week , were they need air or fans in the elevators and a group of ignorant tourists who insisted on vaping in the pool.
We found the security was exceptional and the non smoking was very refreshing.
We were a group of 6 and there was something for each of us, the shows were very professional, the attractions were close and reasonable inexpensive and the wildlife were plentiful.
Will certainly be looking here again ,when our next vacation is due. [Details]

I was not pleased with my experience. This was a 5 star hotel, that felt like a 3 star.

The first night that I was there, the key didnt work and I was locked out of my room. I had no access to my medication until the next day which made me really sick.

I spend the whole day on Wednesday May 22nd in the hospital. Good thing I got travelers insurance, or it would have costed me almost $600 Canadian.

There was not much selection in the food for people who only eat chicken and vegetables.

There was no kettle in the room to make tea whenever it was needed.

The 24 hour snack bar had stale sandwiches that were gone by 12am and the only snack apart from that was Nachos that didnt last long either.

There was only one bartender and it was very busy most of the time. Sometimes you would wait almost 10min for one drink.

I've been to 3.5/4 stars that make burgers, fries and pizzas all night.

The A/C in my room barely worked, it kept chipping in and out.

The location of the RIU is no where near the local towns, so there's not much to see if you want to walk.

For this to be a 5 star vacation at the RIU, I was very disappointed! [Details]

We enjoyed a rest in this beautiful setting where "the inhabitants" of the jungle came out to meet us.The hotel was "fully booked" but we didn't feel
over run by people. A very spacious pool system and beach. [Details]

not impressed with comfort in the resort transportation very expensive the small town near resort for shopping is no good overall food is ok the beach is nice and the staff at beach are helpful to bring beach furniture anywhere in the resort the waiter or waitress will serve you drinks. very hot and humid temperature hovering around 35 c to 37 c with no ac around in some of the hotel areas went to casino and see staff playing on the slot machines [Details]

Staff are friendly and helpful.We have been served with the utmost respect and staff always willing to assist. The peddlers on the beach are well behaved and not too pushy to sell their wears. We have travelled to many southern destinations and are knowledgeable and expect that peddlers could become annoying. The food was plentiful and great choices.Very clean establishment. Good value for money. [Details]

We felt that the restaurant staff were incredibly friendly and worked very hard. The front desk staff not so much. It took over an hour to get our room switched from two single beds to a king sized bed, and the switch had to happen the following day. The music was too loud. The evening entertainment could be at half the volume level and it would allow others to be able to carry on a conversation without having to shout at each other, or for some to actually get some sleep. [Details]

- Grand buildings, manicured gardens, large pool area
- Poor beach – steep, stony
- No sunsets because the beach faces north and the sun sets behind some hills to the left
- Rooms are very small, with poor bedding. The pillows are the worst I've experienced in over 25 years of almost weekly travels. The A/C could barely keep up
- The staff are very friendly, but the front desk has not yet learned customer service. (Or, rather, they told us that they were rule-bound and not empowered to make decisions in favour of customers.) Trying to get a king-sized bed rather than two side-by-side single beds was a major battle. And, they would not allow my local Costa Rican business partner to enter the property for even a one hour business meeting in the lobby; we had to go off-site.
Unfortunately, we will not go back.

By the way, we also stayed at Margaritaville Resort at Playa Flamingo. It is much smaller with fewer on-site food options, but it has a better beach, better proximity to local restaurants, better proximity to surfing, rooms that were 3x the size, and simply more human. We'd go back there. [Details]

My husband, 10 month old daughter and I just returned from a 7 day vacation at the Riu Guanacaste. While off to a rocky start (due to bad weather in Toronto), we finally made it to paradise at 2am! Costa Rica was a great choice for our first vacation. It felt very safe, even leaving the resort for an excursion. Our research told us people love babies in Costa Rica, which was proven true at this resort. Staff made a big deal over my daughter which she thoroughly enjoyed and made us feel at ease. Overall, our experience was quite wonderful!! [Details]

The RIU family has a beautiful member to it's family of resorts...this being our second location of choice, again we were not disappointed! The grounds are immaculate and lush, the facilities are spotless and any request we asked for was quickly and happily executed. The food was very good with an extensive selection. It's a family friendly destination and there is a cute RIUland pool and play area strictly for the wee ones. My husband came down with a 24 hr bug and the staff prepared him a glass of tonic water, salt and lemon juice to help balance his electrolytes to speed his recovery, which it did!
It was a relaxing and enjoyable week away to celebrate his 70th birthday...ya gotta go!! [Details]

The hotel is beautiful!
The country and people are amazing!
The only complaint would be the bathroom.
The bathtubs are very dangerous and need to be be updated for easier access.
One of the group I travelled with hurt herself getting in or out of the bathtub.
Older or handicapped individuals would not be able to access these at all. [Details]

This was my 2nd time to Costa Rica but 1st time staying at the Riu. Our room was nice and faced the sanctuary next door which resulted with seeing the monkeys right from our balcony, which was awesome. The selection at the buffet was plenty and very good. We ate at the al la cartes and thought they were just OK, you cannot make a reservation, but have to go down and wait in line anywhere between 6-8 pm to get a table. The entertainment was good, pools are great, I am more of a beach person than pool but on this trip I stayed at the pool because the beach is black sand and the water isn't the beautiful turquois I prefer. Vendors on the beach but they are respectful if you say 'no thank you'. Overall it was a great vacation and I would recommend this hotel. [Details]

It was a great hotel. Room was clean and big. Hotel staff were friendly. Food was great! Beach isn't the greatest I did know that but still disappointing. Would help if they had a bar, Food washrooms near the beach for people to use. [Details]

Loved the layout of the hotel, and the accessibility of wifi. My only complaint for this hotel would be the small pillows and the firmness of the bed. Otherwise a fantastic hotel.

The staff were amazing. Beach vendors were great as well. Not pushy at all. [Details]

Overall the hotel was wonderful. We had a couple of issues with our shower and toilet but the maintenance staff fixed within an hour each time. The staff at the hotel were all friendly and worked hard to ensure all guests had an pleasant stay (excepting the spa staff). Beach was uncrowded and lots of room around the pool. The buffet was great - lots of options, well presented and delicious. The hotel itself was clean and well maintained. Maid staff did a great job every day. Very nice - we enjoyed our stay very much. Thank you. [Details]

We enjoyed a great week here with beautiful weather. It was relaxing, clean and we felt safe and well-taken care of. [Details]

Thoroughly enjoyed our time at Riu Guanacaste! All the staff were friendly, helpful, and worked hard to make our time there pleasant. [Details]

We had a wonderful experience at the Riu Guanacaste. It lives up to the 5 star experience. The staff make your stay. We were served the most by Christian in the buffet who went out of his way to make our stay perfect. [Details]