Riu Guanacaste - All Inclusive

This was one of the worst all-inclusive hotel experiences we’ve ever had. Despite being advertised as a brand-new resort, everything felt old, worn down, and poorly maintained. Our room had a strong, unpleasant odor and showed significant signs of wear and tear. The food was another major letdown — bland, repetitive, and of very poor quality. There were no specialty dining options available, and the main restaurant was chaotic. The staff appeared disinterested and untrained; service was slow and inattentive. One of the key amenities, the water park, was located at a completely different property. Getting there involved a long walk — nearly a mile — and required crossing another hotel. Incredibly, no towels were provided at the water park, so we had to carry everything ourselves. Overall, this hotel fell far below expectations and did not meet the basic standards of an all-inclusive resort. I strongly recommend looking elsewhere

I really enjoyed this hotel as a solo female traveler I was put in a lovely room that was spacious and great views I’m a vegetarian and I had some great meals in the buffet room I didn’t used the specialized restaurants as I was on my own The weather was not that great but I managed a little boat trip that I booked through the hotel The pool area was nice but it did worry me that people drank all day at the pool bar and you never saw them leave the pool to use the bathroom Hope the pool cleaners have good cleaning fluid 😀 Well done to Rui and the staff for keeping the grounds pretty

I stayed at a Hotel Riu Guanacaste from May 14th 2025 – May 19th 2025 and unfortunately, the experience was deeply disappointing. Upon arrival, I was placed on a floor far from my friends, and only after I raised safety concerns and being told no room was near my friends. After begging them to please see about some type of accommodation as I was a female traveling alone in a different country and suddenly a room was available right next to my friend and I was moved closer—suggesting they could’ve accommodated me all along but simply didn’t bother. One of our group members found bed bugs in her room—something the staff didn’t even flinch at. No apology, no urgency—they just moved her to another room, nowhere near the rest of us. The restaurants were consistently overbooked. The buffet was full of flies, the food was lukewarm at best, and hygiene seemed like an afterthought. One night, a friend bit into something she thought was glass. Staff later claimed it was salt, but instead of showing concern, they were dismissive and defensive. At a resort of this price point, that kind of response is unacceptable. My own experience with the room was absurd. On the first night alone, I was locked out and had to walk all the way to the lobby—three separate times in the dark—before anyone came to “fix” the door. This problem continued for three nights in a row. Because staff couldn’t access my room either, it was only cleaned once during my entire stay. I tried requesting pillows and clean towels via the RIU app, which would mark them as “delivered”—but nothing ever came. You couldn’t even use the room phone to call the front desk unless you already had the number, which wasn’t provided anywhere. When I finally got a Wi-Fi access code from the front desk, it didn’t work either. The second morning, the hot water stopped working completely. No warning, no explanation—just dozens of guests realizing they were out of luck. The same went for the resort’s so-called “white party”—canceled with zero notice. Guests got dressed up and showed up, only to be met with… nothing. It was just quietly scrapped like it never existed. The spa was another mess. Services were oversold and poorly managed, with appointments being shuffled or outright dropped. The staff there, like much of the resort, felt robotic and indifferent—like they were just going through the motions. The beach, while beautiful, wasn’t relaxing. You’re immediately swarmed by aggressive vendors the moment you step onto the sand. I understand locals trying to make a living, but the hotel makes no effort to manage the experience for guests. Worst of all, I contracted E. coli on my last night at the resort. I was violently sick for weeks after returning home, requiring two doctor visits and ongoing treatment. Getting food poisoning is one thing—contracting a serious bacterial infection due to unsanitary conditions is another level of failure entirely. For a resort brand that markets itself as all-inclusi