Riu Palace Costa Rica - All Inclusive

We stayed at the Riu Palace with 2 other couples in April 2013. The resort itself is very beautiful, lots of space, lots of room at the pool and we never had to get up super early to reserve loungers. The pool(s) are very large and they had a decent mix of people and things to do. If you are there on a Saturday, be sure to go down and have the BBQ lunch by the pool, it was excellent! The food was decent, there was nothing overly special about any of the "specialty" restaurants though. The buffets were standard, but the quality of the food was higher than other all-inclusives I've been too (ask for milk with your morning coffee or tea and they serve it to you warm!). I wish that they served more "costa-rican" style food though. The rooms were very nice, clean and very modern. A little too modern for a hotel I think, but still overall nice, my only complaint is that toiletries weren't regularly filled and we had to ask for a couple of things a few times. Hotel staff was excellent no complaints. Skip the tour guides through the hotel and go down to the beach to find Cesar or Ariel and book with Costa Rica Best Trips. We had Alex as our tour guide, and had a private bus for 6 of us. It was spectacular, Alex truly made our excursions top notch with his knowledge of the area and of Costa Rica in general. He loves taking photographs, and with a friends dSLR, he went out of his way to take amazing shots of us as we were doing different things.

Great hotel for the price! Food was good and staff was very friendly. The only 2 complaints that I have is that they need bathrooms closer to the swim up bar and some of the front desk staff did not speak very good English and did not know certain information about the hotel. Overall it was a great hotel and Costa Rica is a great place to vacation!

My wife and I have been in numerous RIUs over the years and the experience is always consistently excellent. A few comments on this hotel: The pool setup is quite different from the other RIUs we've been at. Instead of having the customary large pool, they have 5 smaller pools. The upside is that this gives the staff more flexibility for activities and such, but the down side is you can't always swim up to the bar from anywhere in the pool area without walking on the very hot tiles. Speaking of hot, I would love to talk to the guy who decided to make the tabletops in the swim-up area out of the same black quartz that's in the rooms. Enough nit-picking, all in all a great time.

Stayed 5 nights, had great time. One minor toilet problem, they took care of it right a way, offered a different room with better view, we declined, they send in a bottle of champagne as a nice gesture ! what else do you need ?

From the minute we walked into the RIU Palace the customer service was excellent!!! Cannot complain about the rooms....the comfort and the cleanliness about the resort. The Food was great, except for the Krystal Restaurant, and the drinks were all premium, which we liked. The only downfall is that its on the Pacific side so the ocean is not clear blue and the beach was just ok, plus the resort if fairly new so the plants/flowers/trees are not grown in yet so its not as pretty as the RIU next door. I did like the feature at the RIU palace that you can utilize both RIU's that were side by side. Also, the rainforest is about 2 hours away so its a long day of traveling to see the sights!!! However, all and all we had a wonderful...relaxing time!!

I would go back to this hotel. The staff was very friendly and attentive towards your needs. When I arrived the room was not cleaned. very quickly a maid was sent up to clean. The hotel is still new and does need more amenities on the hotel grounds. The beach looks exactly like the pictures online. The beach is small extremely hot and has murky ocean water due to the Pacific side the hotel is on. The pools are better! It was not very pretty to look at due to its dry season in April and was extremely hot. Bring lots of sunblock you will need it. The food was great and drinks were as well. I would return to this hotel when they have made more improvements. Souvenirs were very expensive no matter if you stayed on the resort or went into town. Bring lots of money. BTW! Costa Rica does not tell you until you leave that you will have to pay $29 to leave the country. so beware!!

The pros: Food is excellent! Service is excellent! Ladislau on the the beach offers the best service! Rooms are clean and very comfortable. Nightly entertainment was enjoyable. Cons: Black beach is extremely hot!!!! Must wear thick flip flops and run to the water. There really needs to be several walkway/paths to the beach. Were not impressed with the american restaurant at all. Preferred steakhouse, japanese, and italian by far!! Steakhouse had the best food, but we were ignored by the gentlemen seating guests that night. Would have reported his rudeness to the front desk, but everything else was perfect. We would definitely return!!!

I have traveled extensively all over the world for the past 20 years and this hotel hands-down is one of the nicest and most beautiful. Loved this hote!l Staff went above and beyond to help with all my needs. The hotel was extremely clean! Everyone was very friendly. Just a short walk to the beach, the pool was a blast with a swim up bar and activities.The supervisor at the bar was Edwin, who was very professional, and always happy to see me. Luis, one of the bartenders was the same way. There was always something… to do if you wanted activities or plenty of chairs to read or nap by the pool. Be sure to get massage on the beach! . Will definitely go back! This is a beautiful place. Be sure to look for the monkeys!! You can see them in the trees right next to the grounds. The food at the buffet was good. They also have Japanese rest, steak house and Italian. I personally like the buffet best. There's something for everyone. Everyone was truly nice and welcoming, made me feel as if I was home. I would go back again. Great for all ages... The hotel was great, from the staff to the people who were visiting. I went alone for seven days and never felt as if I was alone. Everyone was truly nice and welcoming, made me feel as if I was home. I would go back again. Great for all ages...

Once you manage to find your way to the resort (we'd rented a car and street signs don't seem to be a big deal here), you'll be thrilled. The hotel is fairly new and it's beautiful. Our room was immaculate and there were fresh petals on the bed every night. The staff are very friendly and helpful. We didn't have any difficulties getting into any of the restaurants that require reservations and the food was great. Plenty of chairs on the beach and willing staff to take. your drink orders. It was pretty windy a couple of the days we were there and the waves were choppy, so we couldn't partake of some of the free water activities like snorkeling or go on the sunset tour. The casino ATM ran out of cash and it doesn't get refilled daily. The next closest one is about 20 miles away in Coco. We really enjoyed our Valentine's Day anniversary at the Palace and will probably go again.

The hotel was very clean and has a very safe environment. The location is isolated from the other tourist attractions; therefore you do not get bothered by vendors trying to pedal items. Pool area has plenty of lawn chairs so you don't have to reserve your chair early in the morning. The food was definitely better than previous trips I have taken in Mexico. The transportation to the excursions we took were directly from our hotel to the destination. We did not have to pick up other tourists from there resort, like you have to in Playa de Carmen.