Wonderful holiday!

The Riu Palace was a great place to stay for a relaxing holiday. Drinks delivered pool-side, a nice selection of tasty, fresh food well-prepared, hotel staff very service oriented. The grounds were beautiful, the pools great, the pool side activities just right, evening entertainment was entertaining, beach was super! Not too crowded - there were maybe 25 people at the beach at its most crowded. There are several pools, each seemingly for a slightly different crowd - there was the one with all t [... read more]he boisterous young people having lots of fun in the pool, and the one we liked which was more for swimming and sunning in the lounges built right into the water, and aquafit every day at 11.30. Always easy to find well-located lounge chairs to lie in pool-side. The staff come around frequently to get your drink order and deliver it right to where you're lying in the sun! whether at the beach or at the pool. Poor guys, having to traverse all that in blazing sun all day! There is as much to do there as you want - you can keep yourself really busy with day trips, snorkeling and other going-out-on-the-water type excursions. Or you can take it nice and easy! There were lots of day trips available, we only went on the Congo Trail ziplining outing, which was very nice. There are a couple of other ziplining outings but they are 2 and 3 hours away by bus. We did not want to spend 4 to 6 hours in a bus to do a day trip. A few people we spoke with flew into San Jose first to do some of those rainforest, volcano, whitewater rafting and other activities, and then spent 5 nights at the Palace to relax after all that strenuous activity. Flying into Liberia you don't run the risk of the airport being closed due to volcanic eruption which is what seems to happen at San Jose from time to time (it happened around the day we were flying out, March 21). I felt really comfortable at the Riu Palace and would highly recommend it. The staff, the service, the location, activities, etc were all great. Just realized I haven't mentioned the room - very nice as well. The hotel is more or less U-shaped, with the lobby at the bottom of the U and the rooms on each arm of the U. Each room has a balcony that looks out either on the gardens, so outward facing, or the courtyard, which is more or less facing onto the inside of the U, which is where all the evening entertainment is staged so at night it is quite noisy. We had a room that faced outward into the wilderness, so it was nice and quiet. Nice balcony and great to sit there in the evening with a glass of wine. The beds were very comfortable, curtains room-darkening, shower and bathroom all clean and modern and fresh. There was also a Jacuzzi-type bath tub between the rest of the bathroom and the beds etc. You can draw a curtain for privacy if you want it. Wifi everywhere.

Very Nice Hotel with a couple of Issues

The Good: Very nice hotel, great services, pools are nice, great staff, food was excellent, our 2 kids (9, 7) had a great time, no fighting for pool chair, turtle tracks on the beach and monkeys a short walk away. We had a "courtyard View" room which also had a nice view of the ocean which was a pleasent suprise. The Bad: the beach in front of the hotel was rocky but if you walked a short distance, the rocks were less and the water was beautiful. The Ugly: there are 4 pools and only 1 toilet i [... read more]n a restaurant next to the last pool. Also, there is no toilet in the main buffet restaurant; you have to walk a fair distance to find one. Given this place is only a couple of years old, it's shocking at the lack of toilets.

Beautiful place.

Beautiful place. Friendly staff. Quiet and relaxing. The pool was amazing. This side had a more matured crowd. Not too many kids as compared to the other building. It's not white sand beaches like the Caribbean.

Great resort

Overall enjoyable for a RIU. Room was a bit small for a "suite ". Food was very good. Facility was kept very clean. Entertainment was a bit cheesy on a few occasions but dancing was good. Live bands were very good. The beach is not what we expected. Disappointing when we compare to other places like Jamaica, Turks, Dominican, Bahamas etc. Excursions are a must as the country has much to see and do. Locals are very tourist friendly.

Wonderful resort

The resort was beautiful, spotlessly clean and very well looked after. The staff were extremely pleasant and helpful. Our room looked out into the forest where we watched and listened to the monkeys and the tropical birds such as parrots. Internet connections in the room was sometimes spotty and the resort was about a 45 minute drive from the airport. The entertainment each night was very enjoyable although a bit amateurish. We really enjoyed our time there and will definitely return.

Very nice place

flowers, pools, food and the service were all amazing ! A good selection of restaurants to chose from for each supper. Dress code was reasonable for both male and female .Rooms were very clean and the 24 hour snack stop was a good thing to have. Only negative things that I would say is that I wished there were washrooms closer to the pool area and more benches around the resort to stop and rest ! Overall, I would rate a 10

Amazing Vacation

This was an amazing trip. The room, beach, pool, bars, restaurants, and people were all perfect! A excellent choice for all looking to travel to Costa Rica. The weather was 30-35 degrees and we couldn't have asked for a better trip.

Amazing resort

Everything was first class, food, drinks, entertainment & staff. Booked a snorkelling trip on the Hibiscus. Best trip ever! Saw dolphins & whales. Rooms were very clean. Good variety of food every day in all of the restaurants. Staff went out of their way to be helpful.

RIU Palace Costa Rica - Awesome holiday

My husband and I have been considering Costa Rica for a vacation for quite some time, and I am now wondering what took us so long! Our flight through Sunwing and Package through Nexus / Signature was seamless and enjoyable. The country is beautiful; the food was outstanding; the rooms at the RIU Palace were immaculate; and the service was second to none. As part of our vacation, we signed up for two excursions: (1) Africa Safari - Good and (2) Borinquen Safari (Natural Spring / spa / zipline, e [... read more]tc.) - Awesome! We took a shuttle to Coco Beach which was a cool outing for the day. The beach was picturesque and the little shopping town had local made souvenirs, but much much more (clothing, banks, pharmacies, etc.). Out of all the locations we have been to, this has been our best vacation ever, and we're already planning for our return next year. We want to say a special thank you to Gilbert and Orion from Nexus for the being the ultimate tour hosts. They were extremely helpful and demonstrated the importance and appreciation of the tourists who visit Costa Rica. Also, a special thanks to Karol Chareza at Trip Central for taking such good care of us in booking our holiday and being so knowledgeable in answering any questions we had about our vacation and the resort. We highly recommend RIU Palace Costa Rica for a vacation spot! The recent publication on a survey that was done stating that Costa Rican people are the happiest in the world stands true - and now we know why!

Spend the extra $200!

Do yourself a favour and spend the extra $200 to upgrade from the resort next door! The +$200 will include: - free wi-fi throughout resort - older, quieter crowd...if that's what you prefer - better food - less busy resort, never was a problem to find a spot by the pool, never had to wait long to get a drink/be served, mostly had an elevator to yourself - AND coffee bar! :))) (José was great and always served you with a smile! He also remembered your orders.) So splurge UNLESS you're with a l [... read more]arger group/family and you want to save some money OR you're looking for that social atmosphere. I found that the majority of people at the Palace kept to themselves and weren't that friendly/social/outgoing. I think my ONE major beef was that the washrooms were just a bit far from the pool area. Closest ones were at the buffet restaurant near beach and there were only 4 stalls for the women. At one point, 2 of the washrooms were out of commission, either dirty/not flushing properly, so there was a wait. Since this is the washroom situation, I can only imagine that people, especially if they were drinking, were probably going in the pool! If you're a beach person, you may be disappointed. Look through the pics to know what you're getting into. Beach is volcanic sand, so it's dark and VERY HOT! Other than the trees provided, there aren't any beach umbrellas. However, I did see the resort staff still bring people drinks. TIPS: This is not the resorts' fault, but it was pitch dark by 6pm! So if you wanted to explore to beach to see the sea turtles laying their eggs, bring a flashlight. Otherwise, there is no point in going out on the beach 'cause there is absolutely no light there. You do not need reservations for the Italian restaurant), across from the lobby. They have a small buffet, but also a la carte menu, so don't load a plate up! So if I wanted a nicer, quieter, sit down without the somewhat depressing atmosphere, I just went there for lunch/dinner! If you have a family, bring your laptop and download some movies as there isn't much English options on the channels provided. Resort staff works hard. So if they don't have a smile on their face, just smile at them and say, Hi!

Faboulous Resort

Everything was great. Food, accommodations, service. I miss the drinking water which was excellent. I would highly recommend this resort. Keep your eye out for wildlife, such as monkeys and birds, which can be seen from your hotel.

Heaven on earth

My wife and I spent a week here, early Nov., 2014. This hotel iss beautiful. The staff are very polite, friendly and helpful. The food in the buffet and a la carte restaurants was both plentiful and excellent. There is a 24h room stocked with hot snacks, pour your own beer and wine, and an easy to use espresso, cappucino, etc maker. The bars were well staffed and effucient, little or no waiting. Wine was from Chile poured right from the bottle. Rooms were spacious, clean, his n her sink and grea [... read more]t shower. Gardenview room as good as oceanview because ocean is 500m away. Pools were superb, stand up bar, lounges built right in water. There is no quiet pool when activities go on (10:30~12:30 and 2:30~4:30). Beach is clean semi hard sand easy to walk but BROWN not white. We did Nicaragua tour, long day but worth it, even the 2h border crossing with ebolla check.

Amazing

I have stayed at many resorts across the Caribbean and this was by far the best. The staff went above and beyond they were just so happy to help you with anything you might need or want. The food was great. Gina in the buffet is a sweat heart. Dennis the server on the beachfront was great. Go, relax you won't be disappointed! The animation crew work so hard to make sure you have a great vacation. The nighty shows were incredible.

Best hotel

Riu palace Costa Rica is one of the best hotel that I have been.I really happy with everything.I would go back again and recommend to everyone. I went there with my husband and 7 year old daughter to celebrated my 40' birthday .One of the best birthday ever

Beautiful resort - but a couple of issues

The resort was beautiful, well maintained and the food was great. The only downside was that there were no washrooms located around the pools. The closest washroom was in the restaurant by the last pool and had a sign do not use when wet (not that anyone listened). A pool bar and no bathroom grosses me out a bit. Also if you are planning to go to the disco, be aware that it is not all inclusive and expect to pay $7/drink.

Perfect holiday lication

A beautiful resort with great weather and wonderful people. Never better. Food was great drinks were well done and served continually. Trips to the cloud forest were long but beautiful. Love Costa Rica. We will defiantly go back to the palace

Perfect (except for the wafts of raw sewage)!

The food, service, staff, beach, excursions and facility were all perfect. If it weren't for the frequent wafts of raw sewage on the north end of the building and grounds it would have been flawless! The hotel has ample lounge chairs and beach space. No need to put towels on lounge chairs on the beach at sunrise. We were told the hotel booked to 95% of capacity. It felt like 50%.m