Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica (All-Inclusive), is located in Guanacaste, Costa Rica on the edge of the beach of Matapalo.
This hotel, fully prepared to provide the best service to its customers, has four swimming pools (one with a wet bar), jacuzzi, gym, sauna and a wellness center "Renova Spa" with different treatments and massages. Everything you need for maximum comfort during your stay.
The quality of the cuisine offered at the different restaurants of the hotel is exceptional thanks to our chefs, who prepare a variety of dishes, from classic to the most exotic. You'll want to to try each of our menus and, thanks to the All Inclusive service, you will be able to enjoy the buffet restaurant or the four different theme restaurants of the hotel.
Being on a privileged environment, the hotel offers a variety of activities on the beautiful beaches such as diving or fishing in the Pacific waters, ecotourism in the volcanic areas, and during the day several programs of entertainment for all ages, whether in family or friends. The hotel has a gym, table tennis, volleyball, tennis court, windsurf, sailing, snorkeling equipment, kayaks and other water activities. If your favorite sport is golf, the Four Seasons Golf Club has fantastic views over the sea.
Guanacaste is less tropical, humid and lush than the rest of the country. Its plains and dry forests sometimes remind you of African savanna landscapes. Inland you can see the savanna, local cowboys on their horses while driving their flocks, which are authentic figures of popular culture of this destination. From the hotel, you can do several excursions, such as the visit of the National Park Rincon de la Vieja, the Safari Park or the capital of Guanacaste: Liberia.
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 Policies - 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
10300 reviews
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Dec 24, 2024FAMILY FRIENDLY LIFETIME MEMORIES
First off, don't let a few of the negative reviews discourage you from booking and making amazing family memories that will last a lifetime. I have been here multiple times over the last 11 years and although the hotel has not been aesthetically updated during this time, the grounds are kept meticulously and cleanliness is clearly a top priority and exceeded my expectations. The first time that I visited this hotel was when my husband and I got married here with 40 of our closest friends and family joining us in October of 2013. My husband and I loved our experience so much, we couldn't wait to return and came again in November of 2015 when I was pregnant with our first. We returned again in February of 2020 with our then 3 children and again in February 2023 with our growing family of now 4 children. In February of 2024 we decided to try the Palace out for comparison and at the request of our children, ate just about every meal next door at the Liberia buffet at Riu Guanacaste. WE all felt that the Liberia Buffet had a significantly larger selection of food compared to the buffet at the Palace. If you are considering the Palace, they do have a lovely coffee shop and their chocolate croissants are out of this world and not the same as the chocolate croissants at the RIU Guanacaste but other than that, the food quality is the equivalent and there was always something for my picky eaters to enjoy. ALL of the staff are so kind and always smiling and truly enjoy their jobs and it shows. My children fell in love with our waitress Vivianna in 2023 and screamed with excitement when we saw her again in 2024. I was absolutely shocked when she called me by name after spotting us a year after we had first met. The staff go out of their way to make your stay special and unforgettable from the house keeping making swans and different beautiful arrangements on the beds daily, to the waitstaff adding flowers to the table we frequently sat at and remembering what we all liked to drink and bringing it as soon as they saw them coming, to the entertainers getting the kids on stage for activities resulting in endless laughs and joy. The staff truly show attention to detail to make for a magnificent memorable experience. As a frequent RIU guest, I offer a few tips to make your experience enjoyable. Bring your own pillow. I prefer my down pillow from home and if you like a soft pillow you will be much more comfortable if you just bring your own. The a/c in the rooms gets plenty cold, especially If you have a husband who likes the room cold. I always bring my heated throw blanket so I don't freeze at night with the a/c cranked. Bring sunscreen lotion and not the spray and bring more than you think you will need. The sun is HOT here and if you run out, sunscreen is so expensive if needed to purchase from the hotel store. The lovely people on the beach have nice sun shirts for sale. Jose in the Liberia Buffet makes the BEST omelets. Download the app so you know about the different events and activities that only happen on certain days and certain times. Bring life jackets/puddle jumpers for your kids that don't know how to swim. UV long sleeve swim shirts and sun hats that have the large visor and flap to cover their neck. I have young kids so we always bring a few collapsing sand buckets and shovels and small trucks. Battery operated fan for the stroller and white noise machine /nightlight for the room. Take a family photo every evening on the beach with the amazing sunset and lots of videos of your family. I promise you will cherish these memories forever and so will your kids!
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Dec 24, 2024Management apparent indifference made my stay at times quite unpleasant
There are positives and negatives, but the negatives are what stands out in my memory. Especially these two: First of all, is the management aware that RACCOONS *routinely* and in large numbers enter and roam the steakhouse (and even jump on the tables) in the evening when people are having a la carte dinner? Is the management aware of the fact that racoons "bump" peoples' feet (to make the guests leave and to leave the food for raccoons?), and also can scratch/bite and they are know to carry rabies? Is the management aware of the fact that the "curtains" to block the wildlife don't go all the way down, and are, according to the staff of the steakhouse, broken and cannot be pulled all the way to the ground? If the management is not aware of that, they're incompetent. And if they have already been made aware of that but didn't do anything, the everybody should just avoid this resort. A lesson need to be taught. Second, i was surprised that in a country that's known for its "exotic fruits" and supplies the rest of the world with them, the hotel only had pineapples, papayas, guavas and watermelons. Not even a single mango or a melon or a coconut! That was absolutely unexpected and very disappointing for me. Having gotten that off my chest, here's the rest of it: Not a 5-star resort. If you pay for a 5-star, you will feel cheated. I booked during the Black Friday promo, around $100pp based on double occupancy, like for a 3-star AI resort, and i feel like I got my moneys' worth. However, many things are in disrepair. The elevator in my "wing" of the building was not just out of service, it was boarded up with plywood on some long term repair/replacement plan. The water bottles (for brushing teeth, etc) were not replaced during my stay (7 nights), so i ended up goi to the front desk and getting it myself. I absolutely don't mind, but people who expect a 5-star treatment surely would. Neither did the minibar, but i didn't use most of it anyway during my stay. Food choices are excellent for a 3-star resort. A la carte restaurants may require waiting if you want the 6pm seating, but if you show up around 6:30, you will likely be able to secure a seating around 7:30. The alcohol choices, on the other hand, are the cheapest that I've seen at any resort, even a 3-star places in the DR. The beach was full of trash and broken chairs. The staff did pick up empty cups, but nobody cared for cigarette butts and other trash. Upon the arrival the management assigned me to a room where the temperature was 79-80 degrees F (26.5 degrees C). I went to the front desk, they called "maintenance" who tinkered for 2 min with the AC control panel and declared "everything is working, just give it 40 min for temperature to drop). From what he was doing I knew right away it was bs, but anyway waited an hour, and of course nothing happened. Went to front desk again, and they sent another guy. Same story, same bs, "just wait 30 min". Ended up going to the front desk for the 3rd time and demanded a new room. They eventually gave me a room with a working AC at around 7pm, but the afternoon/evening on the day of my arrival was destroyed. So, why bee-essing the customers and waste their time? Don't they know in which rooms the AC is not fully working? Are they trying to take advantage of the people who just spent 15, 20 or even more hours in traveling and are too tired to argue? I don't get it, and i don't like it. It makes me booking a RIU hotel in the future a lot less likely. With relatively little effort this RIU can be made into a really good 4-star place. As it stands now, it's a 3-star with some major, major deficiencies. With a few fixes, this could become a decent place to stay.
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Dec 21, 2024
Amazing - Will go again
Trip was amazing, was my 3rd visit to Riu, always liked going.. Only 1 suggestion is update the Riu app, the schedules never run on time
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Dec 21, 2024Birthday
Overall this resort is very good! The food to me was very good! The resort is considered great for the price! The beach is just ok. Although the view is beautiful but the sand is black therefore the water doesn’t look that clear either. But overall, I like this resort for the price we paid.
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Dec 20, 2024
Excellent Facility and Wonderful Attentive Staff
This is my 3rd visit to this resort and stayed in the new section just completed in Nov 24. Rooms were impeccable and the addition of the water park a great addition. I did attempt the long tube water slide and it’s quite a ride. 4 open slides and 4 tube slides. The BEST addition is a Gellato/Slushy/Cookie bar. It accounted for 4 of the 8 lbs I gained last week, but worth every calorie. The restaurants are superb, and we really appreciated the new policy of “first come first served” at the many ala carts restaurants. On our last visit some years ago you had to book ahead of time, and the majority of them were full… and who knows what you are going to be doing 4 days from now or want for supper. You line up for the restaurant you want (usually 30min ahead of opening) and you get either first sitting or they give you a beeper for 2nd seating. Excellent idea. My only disappointment was the Filadelphia bar which had live entertainment from 6:45-7:45 daily which was excellent, but way too short. Would have been nice if this was at least 2 hrs or there were multiple performers throughout the evening, as we always missed part of the hour at or waiting for a sitting for supper. Food is outstanding. Buffets have different selections daily to meet all tastes. Be cautious swimming in the ocean. On very wavy days in particular jelly fish are present but cant be seen. We both had very minor stings, but several guests who ventured out further in the swimming area had some nasty bites. They are not serious and treated with vinegar or alcohol, but still makes for an uncomfortable remainder of your visit. One of our most enjoyable activities was walking the very long expanse of beach every day. It is several km long and mostly sand for the first 2km. If you want to venture further, take water shoes with you to climb over the rocks. There is a very nice brown sand beach about 3km down not easily accessible and with only 2 or 3 people on it when we ventured there. Easiest to make this trek during low tide. The regular beach is black sand, but it is very nice sand. This is not Hawaii coarse granular sand and very comfortable to walk in. There were plenty of lounge chairs on the beach and around the pool area. With the 2 new pools in the new section it provided plenty of space. This really is an ALL inclusive resort. We never had to spend a dime after arriving apart from an adventure excursion we took. We plan on returning hopefully with our grand kid