Location
GuanacasteProperty Information
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Resort 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 04Jul24 - 23Dec26
- Early Departure Penalty: 2 Nights Applies: Sunday - Saturday 24Dec25 - 30Apr26
Customer Ratings & Reviews
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating
10326 reviews
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Jan 02, 2025Excellent experience
Great location with a lot of activities. Excellent staff and services. Facilities are kind of old though.
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Jan 02, 2025Hit and Miss... would hesitate to return
For starters, we had an amazing time in Costa Rica. saw a lot and experienced a lot. ticked lots of boxes. now for actual hotel. in 2 words - hit and miss POSITIVES: - our housekeeper was amazing, room was kept pristine, clean, friendly person. we did of course tip her, as she deserved it. waters were restocked every 2 days as promised, towels kept clean, floors were wet-cleaned. - we loved massive ceiling fan in our room, worked wonders much better than Aircon (which didnt work, but its ok as we had the fan) - bar staff were all great, hard working, with biggest smiles and super helpful and friendly! - food - breakfast omelets were to die for! all in all in buffet restaurants food choices were ok, we never had a situation that we didnt find something which we wanted. - poolside - never had a problem with finding sun loungers - plenty of those, well positioned. i liked that there were 2 not connected pools. as we didnt fancy parties and contests which happened in one of the pools, second pool was great for us to chill - drinks were great, i first found them bit watered down but figured out to ask for double shot of whatever was in a drink. nobody had a problem with that. however.... NEGATIVES: - reception staff had I DONT CARE attitude throughout our stay. were very abrupt and almost annoyed at our simplest requests. we were shoved a map of the place and told to figure stuff out ourselves where everything is. we managed eventually but i didnt feel welcome at all. first evening was terrible as we were shattered after 11 hours flight and 3 hours transfer (due to an accident - ok not hotel fault here). we were given a piece of paper with Wifi details, when attempted to log in, it said that there are too many devises on this login and we need to change password??? when i called the reception to ask, i was told "i have no idea you will have to come down here and show me". yes after20 hours of travelling this is exactly what i wanted to do. next day when we asked, and shown that password indeed needed changing from generic to our personal - question WHY couldn't they just mention it when giving us a login paper??? - hotel is massive, huge, overwhelming. we didn't realize how huge it would be, although nothing wrong as such i would not return to this hotel just for this reason. everything felt very overwhelming. - we were housed on the 5th floor, lifts barely worked, on our departure day all lifts were broken we had to drag our heavy bags all the way down by stairs. - although i mentioned that we found food OK, it was shambles trying to get in to one of themed restaurants. for you to get in at all you have to start queueing at 5pm??? why not be civilized and let people book a table? you are supposed to be 5 star resort. we were treated like 3 stars. to add to that - when we unknowingly just wondered in to one of them on first night (again, reception didn't explain about these restaurants, i vaguely knew about them from another negative reviews), we were not told: Sorry we are full. we were just pushed out of the door and told to go out. no option to maybe come back later, no explanation nothing. we gave up on them in the end.
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Jan 02, 2025
A very nice place!
First visit to Costa Rica and loved it. Extremally clean and safe country with lots to offer. We chose the budget Guanacaste hotel, instead of the more expensive palace and did not regret anything. In the hotel e were accommodated in a room facing the Diamatre Park so we were waking up to a wonderful jungle noise (sadly sometimes disturbed by a noise of leaf blower at 6AM from the park). We were able so see the monkeys and lots of birds from our balcony. The hotel is well maintained with lots of greenery and some animals visiting the site. Staff very nice - down to Earth and very polite. In general people of Costa Rica are very nice and friendly - from the hotel staff to tur guides and people we meet at the beach in town or during excursions. Simply- Pura Vida attitude <3. Special thanks to Moises from the bar and travel rep Rodrigo. Nice black sand beach. We managed to walk/ climb to the yellow sand Playa Blanca which was amazing. Food and drinks - good. We mostly dinned at the main buffet - good selection of food, however the food did not have labels or the labels were mixed up. I am not a picky eater and i will try everything, but found some of the food extremely hot which was not mentioned on the labels. Also for people with food allergy this buffet is not recommended due to lack of information. Some areas to improve: - food needs proper labels and description. - lots of sunbeds on the beach are broken. Please remove them as they are not in use- only look ugly and will cause potential injuries. On a side - some people form Europe need to do their researches before coming to Costa Rica- mainly of what to expect. Some complained about the hotel and compared Costa Rica to Dom Rep and Jamaica. This is not a Caribbean party Island! In overall great hotel, will definitely come back to Costa Rica. If come back to Guanacaste will definitely stay in Riu. Thank you
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Dec 31, 2024
RIU Guanacaste
Our recent stay at RIU Guanacaste was overall a pleasant experience with a few minor areas for improvement. Transportation The transportation arranged by the hotel was excellent and picked us up directly from the airport. Although the road to the hotel was a bit rough—a reflection of the country’s developing infrastructure—the journey was smooth and hassle-free. Check-In & Staff Upon arrival, the check-in process felt a bit overwhelming due to the sheer number of people present. The staff were friendly but understandably seemed a bit overrun during this busy time. However, their welcoming attitude was appreciated. Rooms The rooms were well-suited for a family of five. We stayed in the newer section of the hotel, which is across from the main building and offers a more updated feel. The layout included two double beds and a pull-out couch—adequate, although queen beds would have been more comfortable. The AC was set to a minimum of 23°C, which was satisfactory. The pillows were fine, though not exceptional. One odd incident occurred when we requested an extra blanket for one of our kids: room service entered our room while we were asleep, which was startling and could definitely be improved upon for guest comfort and privacy. Food & Dining The food was decent, though somewhat repetitive across the various dining options. While some restaurants required waiting during peak times, it wasn’t a significant inconvenience for us. Unless you have very young children or elderly family members, a short wait is manageable, and no one goes hungry with the variety available. Overall Experience Despite a few minor hiccups, RIU Guanacaste offered a comfortable and enjoyable stay. The family-friendly accommodations, decent food, and great transportation make it a solid choice for those visiting the area. With a few adjustments, such as refining check-in procedures and room service protocols, the experience could be even better.
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Dec 29, 2024
wonderful place to stay
Had a great time at Riu Guanacaste. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Food was great. . The only part I didn't like was waiting in line for the restraints. The buffet was easy to get in and the food was great. Room was clean and made up daily.