Ratings based on 1,041 Verified Reviews
4.2 Room cleanliness
4.4 Service & staff
4.2 Room comfort
3.9 Hotel condition
Expedia Verified Reviews
by A verified traveler
Posted 4 Jun 2024
Beautiful
by A verified traveler
Posted 4 Jun 2024
Great resort. The pools are awesome, Dining is top tier, and the accessibility to excursions is A1. My only complaint is that there is no ATM at the resort, and the closest one is about 30 mins away driving.
by A verified traveler
Posted 2 Jun 2024
Beautiful property and pool area on the beach. Rooms could use some updating. Staff were wonderful. Overall did not enjoy the dining options.
by A verified traveler
Posted 2 Jun 2024
We stayed at the Riu Palace in 2011 and loved it so much that we revisited this week and brought our older teenage kids and the resort looks like they haven’t done any updates since.
We have stayed in all kinds of all inclusive resorts over the past 20 years so I feel like I’m not out of line with this review.
Check in -
Lobby was dim and dark with no one there to greet us (no welcome drinks)
Front desk made zero small talk or pleasantries. No one helped with bags. We were just sent on our way with no explanation of the resort, where to eat, how to make reservations, layout, etc
We got 2 rooms. Our key didn’t work for one room. After walking all the way back to lobby and back to room, key still didn’t work.
After getting in room, we discovered a poorly lit, dim gloomy room. No shower door, rusted sinks with ants.
Tv was so outdated that picture was fuzzy and sometimes channels came in and sometimes not. Didnt say anything until we discovered we had zero hot water.
Finally brought to front desks attention but there were no other rooms available.
Luckily our kids room had hot water so we showered in there.
Food was just ok.
Pools are gorgeous and swim up bar was great.
Service was absolutely amazing. From the sweet hostess every morning at breakfast to each server/bartender. Juan, Allessandro, and Jonny to name a few! We all 4 loved the spa and our massages.
I just think you have to spend much more for a really great resort. Kuddos to the amazing staff though !
by A verified traveler
Posted 2 Jun 2024
by A verified traveler
Posted 1 Jun 2024
by A verified traveler
Posted 31 May 2024
by A verified traveler
Posted 31 May 2024
First, we got there. We were supposed to have a king size room. They gave us two double beds and then when they was gonna upgrade it, they wanted us to check out and then check back in which was crazy the bugs there was uncontrollable they never tried to control them, you have to go into the building to go to the bathroom. And the restaurants was limited.
Comment from Hotel Management
3 Jun 2024 by Online Reputation Manager , Hotel Management
Dear yavonne M,Thank you for sharing your experience with us!It's truly saddening to hear you weren't completely satisfied with your recent experience, as our goal has always been to exceed our guest's expectations as we deliver quality service to make your stay memorable. Rest assured that we will share all your impressions with our management team for a proper follow up as we hope you allow us the chance to host you again soon for a more positive experience.Have a great day,Hotel Riu Palace Costa RicaOnline Reputation Manager
by A verified traveler
Posted 30 May 2024
The pool area and the location were beautiful. That's where we spent most of our time. The staff were friendly and transportation to other places outside of the resort (dining, excursions, site seeing, etc.) was extremely convenient. We loved the overall area. The two primary downsides (and the reasons I wouldn't go back) were that the rooms were not very clean, and they had a pretty horrendous smell to them (we traveled with three couples and all of our rooms had this smell). Additionally, there was very little effort made to keep flies out of the dining area. For example, when the main buffet is open the large entrance and exit doors remain wide open. Flies swarmed over the food. I'd love to return to this resort for the location and friendly staff, but some major work needs to be done with this property's cleanliness as well as some structural updates. This is especially true at this price point.
Comment from Hotel Management
31 May 2024 by Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica, Hotel Management
Dear Ethan,We really appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback with us.We are disheartened to read that your stay did not exceed expectations and that you were unable to feel entirely relaxed during your time with us.Our staff is constantly working to keep our property clean and well maintained. This includes the cleaning of the pool and all our facilities on a daily basis. We are sorry that you left our resort thinking otherwise.Nonetheless, the departments in charge will be notified.We will do what we can within our power to work on these issues, therefore, we will share your impressions to our team and we hope we have the opportunity of welcoming you back in the future to impress you.Best Regards,Hotel Riu Palace Costa RicaOnline Reputation Manager
by A verified traveler
Posted 30 May 2024
RIU is the Best place to stay and enjoy all your special occasions. This is our 35 th Anniversary and we got the best suite upgraded with the best view.
All the facilities at RIU are awesome awesome awesome and awesome. We love Riu. Will visit again the 3 rd time in another country .
