Riu Guanacaste - All Inclusive

The property is absolutely beautiful. But the hotel is rundown and desperately needs renovation. When we arrived, our room was incredibly hot. They had to send maintenance to try to fix it. It got a little better, but, it never really cooled down. We had to keep all of the curtains closed so the time when we were there -we felt like we were living in a cave. If we didn’t, the room would heat up too much. We paid to upgrade to an oceanfront room. And you could barely see the corner of the ocean over the top of the trees. So… It wasn’t really worth it. The bedspreads were stained, the fixtures in the bathroom were old and rusted. The chairs on the balcony were cheap plastic and cracked. Even the beach chairs were broken and a mess. The food was OK. Nothing spectacular… if you’re on a very tight budget and don’t care about the facilities, then I would say this hotel is OK. But I would never go back again. They rent waverunners on the beach, and the guys working the rentals are driving them around when they don’t have anybody to take out, so it wasn’t that relaxing on the beach because all you could hear is the motor of the wave runners going back-and-forth. Was very disappointing if you wanted some quiet beach time. It was like constant leaf blowers.It was my first experience at an RIU all inclusive. And I will never be going to another one again. I gave it three stars instead of two because the grounds were gorgeous, the pool was nice although even the tiles in the pool needed to be replaced, and the people working there were friendly.

⭐️ 0/5 — Stunning scenery, everything else was a disaster I almost never write negative reviews, but this trip was so consistently awful that future travelers deserve a heads-up. If you enjoy standing in lines and eating barely edible food, this is the place for you. Otherwise, keep looking. Check-in: We waited 45 minutes in the heat just to reach the desk, only to be told our room “wasn’t ready” and we’d need to come back and wait in the same line again. When I asked, I was told this is normal every day. That was true — the lobby was packed from 1–5 pm daily with people trying to check in or get basic help. Rooms: The room was visually nice but came with no shampoo or conditioner, just hand soap. My room overlooked a courtyard where they blasted loud music every night until 11 pm, making it impossible to sleep. Pools: Pools themselves were lovely, but there were kids everywhere, even at the “adult” swim-up bar. Zero enforcement. Food: The food was the worst part. I genuinely didn’t know it was possible to ruin rice, but here we are. Everything is a buffet, even the “nice” restaurant, which is only open for 2.5 hours and has a line forming an hour before opening. Cold, bland, undercooked food across the board. I basically survived on white bread and pineapple for days. Beach & Activities: The scenery is undeniably gorgeous, but the water is rough, murky, and absolutely not swimmable unless you’re strong. There was also a noticeable smell of sewage at times. We booked a sunset catamaran tour, and while the view was nice, staff promised they would help my mother on and off the boat — that didn’t happen. Other guests had to step in, and she ended up falling and cutting her leg. The next day she couldn’t safely get on the snorkel boat due to how rough it was. Any other excursions were 1–2 hours away by bus, requiring a 10–12 hour commitment, so realistically you’re stuck at the hotel with very little to do but drink. (Drinks were the only consistently good thing here.) Bottom line: 10/10 do not recommend. Choose another area if you want real activities, swimming, surfing, jungle tours, or anything besides standing in line and being disappointed by buffets. The scenery is beautiful, but everything else made this a miserable trip.

My family and I were excited to visit the newly opened RIU Guanacaste resort, but our experience was extremely disappointing and uncomfortable from start to finish. Room Issues On arrival, our first rooms (3085 & 3086) had a water leak from the bathroom ceiling vent and large ants near the minibar. We were moved to 3099 & 3100, where the door lock was damaged, hot water didn’t work for two days, and ants kept returning even after multiple housekeeping visits. Both my husband and daughter ended up with large red bites on their arms and legs. Discrimination by Staff The worst part was the treatment by certain bartenders. Two employees—Sharon (beach bar) and Aaron (American Country Bar)—laughed, spoke in Spanish, and ignored us simply because we didn’t speak Spanish fluently. I stood waiting while they served multiple other guests ahead of me. When I reported Sharon’s behavior, she somehow learned about it almost immediately and later walked past me with a very intimidating look, which made me feel unsafe. The front-desk manager, Jefferson, admitted she “must have put two and two together.” We were offered a steakhouse reservation as an apology, but it didn’t erase how humiliated and uncomfortable I felt. Not an Isolated Incident We also met two other Black families—one from Canada and another from Florida—who said they experienced the same discrimination from staff. It’s heartbreaking that a resort representing a global brand like RIU would allow this kind of treatment. Final Thoughts We came with patience, knowing the resort was only open a couple of weeks and might have early issues. But instead of improving, things got worse. Between the poor maintenance, cold showers, ant bites, and discriminatory service, our family vacation became a stressful experience. I sincerely hope RIU Guanacaste and RIU Corporate review how guests of color and non-Spanish-speaking visitors are treated. Until major changes are made, I cannot recommend this resort and would caution future guests to reconsider.

We just got home from six nights at the Riu Guanacaste and it was a wonderful trip. We spent the majority of our day at the beach playing- snorkeling, playing in the waves and walking down to feed the monkeys. We have three kids ages 7, 10 and 12 and here are some things that were helpful for us for our time at the Riu Food: We hated that you couldn’t make reservations for the restaurants and we weren’t going to stand in line an hour before they opened so we basically only ate at the buffet. We much preferred the buffet Papagayo that’s in the new section. The service was better, food wasn’t picked over as much and had a calmer ambiance to it. We tried to get a time for the other restaurants but even getting there at 6:05 right after they opened; we couldn’t get a time to come back until after 8. And having three children, we didn’t want to eat that late. The restaurants also did not have a children’s menu and didn’t really have any options for our kids Pepe’s is the little pool food grab and go in the new area and they had chicken nuggets, hot dogs, fries and nachos/tacos from 12-6. My kids loved the nuggets and we would get those for a midday snack just about every day. The candy ice cream shop was yummy and had more ice cream choices than the buffets had to offer. They also close a few minutes before 6. Pool: We honestly didn’t spend a ton of time at the pool. The entire pool is practically one depth of just a little over 4 feet. My 10 year old could barely touch and my 7 year old couldn’t touch at all. They are strong swimmers but it was super annoying for them and not that enjoyable. They do have permanent chairs in a couple sections around the edges and that small area is just a couple of feet deep but not a big enough area to really play in. Around the bar it is more of a party crowd and we avoided that area. Towels: You get cards at check in for beach towels. If you don’t turn all of them at check out you get charged $20/card. In order to get a new beach/pool towel you have to turn a towel in. The towel stands are only open from 8-6 so if you have an early excursion or want to swim after 6, make sure to get fresh towels before they close at 6 pm. We did do an after dinner swim and that was a lot of dun fun. Stars were so bright and only a couple of people were in the pool. Beach: We LOVED the beach and spent the majority of our time there. The waves can get kind of big, especially during high tide in the afternoon so we were always in the water with the kids. We brought our own snorkeling sets and in the mornings they would go farther out in the water and snorkel. We even saw a sting Ray one day! You can also “rent” snorkel sets from scuba caribe at the resort for free too. Bring sandals bc the sand is HOT. The sand is black and will stain swimsuits. I wish I would have brought darker colored swimsuits for my kids and not white lol ‍♀️ Monkey trail: Go down past the palace and go see the monkeys! This was a highlight of

RIU Guanacaste is a beautiful resort on the surface, but my experience — especially as a bride planning a destination wedding — was extremely disappointing. After being asked to arrive two days early to finalize wedding details, the planner I had been working with was unavailable, and I was largely ignored by staff. I received conflicting information before my arrival (such as being told I could bring extra decorations or make changes to the wedding package), only to be told the opposite once I got there. No one had contacted me to go over final details by the morning of the wedding, which caused unnecessary stress on a day that should have been joyful. The onsite coordinator, Jordi, even threatened multiple times to cancel our wedding, despite the thousands we had spent and the group of guests we brought with us. On top of the wedding issues, the rooms themselves need serious attention. While the grounds and views are gorgeous, the rooms felt damp and musty. I returned home with all of my clothes smelling like mildew, which was really disappointing after what was supposed to be a celebratory trip. I wouldn’t recommend RIU Guanacaste for a destination wedding. The setting may be beautiful, but the lack of professionalism, poor communication, and room quality make it hard to justify.

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