Riu Guanacaste: Gorgeous and lush grounds

The grounds are unbelievable - lush and full of life. From birds to iguanas to monkeys - you’ll see it all. The food is great considering it’s all buffet. Checkin was exhausting - hotel staff did not guide us to our room and when we finally found our room, the sheets were not to our standards. They were washed but had some stains on them. Housekeeping stepped it up for the remainder of our stay (thank goodness!) All in all, we would recommend based on the price and the overall experience. [... read more] One major thing to note - the music is loud! If you’re looking for a quiet getaway, not the place, but if you want a party, you’ll love it.

Riu Guanacaste: Pro's and Con's of Rui Guanacaste

Pro's- the common families were great. They cleaned the floors all.the time, the a la.carte.restaurants were nice, and plenty of lounge chairs to which you didn't need to reserve any. The entertainment staff were great. Lots of activities during the day, including a.foam party, and the evening activities were pretty good. Con's- the rooms were a little outdated. In our room our safe didn't work and our toilet needed repairs. Overall, I would recommend this hotel to others, especial [... read more]ly if they like wild life. Monkeys on trees, iguanas everywhere, and we were lucky to see the release of the baby turtles.

CC Beach Front Papagayo: Very comfortable and relaxing resort

We stayed here in January 2024. The staff are very friendly and accommodating. The food was very good with many options daily. We stayed in the Master Suite which was very spacious and comfortable with a huge wrap around deck overlooking the ocean and salt water pool. There is public access to the beach right next to the resort, so you will see many locals on the beach, especially on weekends. We would definitely return.

Riu Guanacaste: Jan.3-Jan. 17

My wife Paula and I enjoyed our stay. The grounds were beautiful, the food was great, the ocean was incredible. Helpful, friendly staff. Costa Rica, what a beautiful country. Palo Verde, Rincon de la Vieja, catamaran outing... . Doug and Paula J. ( Canada )

Azura Beach Resort Samara: Beautiful resort

We stayed at the Azura Beach Resort in early December, 2023. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The resort is small but has everything we wanted in a winter getaway spot. Well laid out rooms, delicious food , beautiful pool, scenery and outstanding customer service.

Riu Guanacaste: Updating badly needed, hotel servers not terribly friendly or helpful

We did not receive room service to make our beds 2nd night before we left, had asked if we could extend our check out by an hour or two but the answer was a flat NO due to overbooking the manager Joseph told me. I had asked for a mask as I might have caught a cold from the flight coming down to CR due to a woman sitting right behind me at 7C who was hacking all the time so I had asked the air hostess to offer her a mask and she declined to wear it. I think ppl who are coughing or potentially car [... read more]rying cold virus should be wearing a mask on the plane, not by choice. The hotel told me that they haven’t had masks for the past 2 years. But I found out a family was flown home as they had caught COVID while staying at Riu. When I got home on Sunday morning I tested my self with the rapid antigen test for Covid - guess what?! I tested positive! I tested again, it was positive again!! So I’ve been testing at home and I was wearing a mask when I flew home as well as moved myself to the back of the bus from 6C seat. I definitely would have enjoyed my vacation more if I didn’t come down with the Covid symptoms on the 5th after an arrived in Guanacaste. The bathroom had no venting so the only way to dry the bath area was through keeping the door open. Shower head was weak and outdated. Food was quite greasy but the fresh fruits were amazingly delicious.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Good

Our thoughts on the hotel Riu Palace: the grounds were well kept that being the grass trees flower beds etc etc. As for the pools they needed to be cleaned more often. Daily debris leaves bugs and often sand & rocks. The washrooms at Papago/Steak House was kept clean (but it better be given its the only washroom around the pool area outside of the one back in the lobby or your individual rooms). Dining areas clean prompt service. However, we feel the individuals handling the food should be wea [... read more]ring gloves, often we saw them touching the food with there bare hands. One time my husband ordered pasta and the cook took the plain pasta with her hands and placed it in the pan to be served. Entertainment by the pool was good. Entertainment in the evening was good.

Riu Guanacaste: Very good

The hotel and grounds very well kept. Wish I was given a map of the resort or given instructions in my room to book the resort on line. The property was very big. I had the resort on line but not sure how to find things. Maybe the Sunwing rep should have help a class. Had to call the desk to help me set up my safe in room. No instructions. The food in the restaurants either didn’t have labels or some were wrong especially the salad dressing. No labels at all. The beef in buffet so tough I could [... read more]n’t even cut it. The restaurant tables were always clean immediately. Service at bars was excellent.

Occidental Papagayo: very good

We had a nice stay at this resort . Rooms were clean, but be advised make sure to lock all doors as the racoons will get in and destroy the room looking for food. Pools were great swim up bar was the best. Food well its pretty good but a bit on the the ricey side. Steaks at the italian were awsome. The snack bar was my favorite. The beach is fun, rent a ski jet from Roberto or go on the tour for 2 hours was a blast. Tours are cheaper and better if you get of of Roberto or Norice down at the be [... read more]ach, yellow shits great guys and Morice is the best tour guide you will get. Lets not forget about Gladys she does a great massage . All in all a great place for a holiday.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Nice resort

The grounds and area are beautiful, the rooms are very dated, have a smell and aren’t cleaned very well. The first level suites with outdoor hot tubs were nicer than the suites and standard rooms. There was a horrible sewer smell every evening between 2-5am, so keep your patio door closed. It’s very isolated from everything except the zip line park, which is fun. All the other tours to waterfalls and volcanoes are up to 3 hours away. Snorkelling and catamaran tours were fun.

Riu Guanacaste: Pura Vida Amigo’s

Many of the reviews out there are generally accurate about this place. So I will keep mine short and sweet. The resort was simply wonderful. What a great getaway from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in a big urban centre. This resort is set within a carefully preserved natural environment. Large/old trees, wildlife (land and sea) and friendly locals whose motto is “pura vida” truly enhance the serenity of this beautiful property. The Costa Rican’s may have figured things out better tha [... read more]n most. Go here, you will not regret it.

Riu Guanacaste: Costa Rica vacation

Riu Guanacaste is a great all inclusive vacation resort Positives: Great food selection and varied choices, drink selection and portions are more than generous. Waiters and service staff are courteous and accommodating. Negatives: Pool is not big enough to accommodate the number of guests in the facility. Beach area could use a bit more TLC.

Occidental Tamarindo: Not as advertised

Food was okay and room was decent. Beach was more rock than sand. No dive shop on site. Beach had lots of chairs but used more by locals than guest. Great place for surfers. 2nd trip to CR. First time was to Rio Guanacaste. If I ever go back I'll go there.

Occidental Tamarindo: Beautiful property but***

I love that this was a beach front property and you can catch the sunrise/sunset. Most of the staff were friendly, I find some of them to be either very shy or afraid of people. My room had it's challenges from a leaking sink to a shower glass that covers nothing, so I had to stand very close to the wall not to flood the room. There was entertainment but I was too tired at the end of the day to stay up for that, yes I am an early riser. The food was alright, I didn't starve thanks to all the fre [... read more]sh fruits but otherwise the buffet was average. Same thing was served at dinner with a different sauce. I am a a moderate picky eater, but I always found something to eat. It was impossible to get a napkin even after going over to ask, they would continue to put napkins on the table where no one was sitting. Made no sense to me. The A la carte is impossible to book, you have to be at the restaurant between 3-6 to make a reservation. Went 3 times and just gave up as there was no one ever at the restaurant. Alejandro made a great omelette in the mornings so I was fed at least one good meal a day. Drinks were good, I am not a big drinker. Gustavo made a great mojito. This is definitely not a 4 star resort, I met others who have been there before and they were very disappointed with this trip. There seems to be no proper system in place to manage the guests. The only way I would recommend this place is if they price is cheap, otherwise go somewhere else. One last note, please have your room key when you check out. I had left mine in the room and had to go back to get it cause they wanted to charge me for a stupid key card. Yes, the know how to ruin the end of your trip. :(

Riu Guanacaste: Costa Rica all-inclusive

Resort: Had a great time with my adult family. Weather was superb, resort is very clean inside, safe, staff with one exception were very friendly and responsive. Plenty of amenities, good food & drink offerings. The Gourmet ala carte was excellent, and our Waiter Daniel was superb in all aspects. The Italian ala carte not so much (average food and unfriendly Hostess). Room fridge was restocked with ample bottles of water daily. 2 of the 3 room toilets had to be repaired several times as the tank [... read more] flushing system was old and not reliable. Room decor was dated but the beds were comfortable. High energy around the central pool. Area washrooms were cleaned constantly and impeccable. Pool deck and deck lounge chairs were not cleaned daily and this was disappointing. Overall resort rating is a "B / B+". Sunwing: Both flights were delayed. We booked with Sunwing vacations which used a Swoop plane with WestJet crews. The extra leg room my son paid more for was not provided on the flight to Costa Rica. The duty free service on the Sunwing website was not offered by the WestJet crew on the return flight, with no explanation as to why, thus no duty free alcohol was purchased as intended by all 5 in our party (the airport duty free did not sell the products that the Sunwing website said would be available). The WestJet flight crew were friendly. The Sunwing staff in Costa Rica were excellent. The tripcentral travel agent Kevin D. was also excellent. Overall rating is a "C+".

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Beautiful Resort

This was our first family vacation to Costa Rica and we can't wait to go back! Everything was 5 star from the food, grounds, staff, and entertainment. We had a small room issue when we arrived but the front desk people fixed it first thing in the morning (as we arrived late at night and we were exhausted). Our rooms were adjoining as we requested but in our kids room there was a king bed and a cot instead of 2 double beds. (Our 13yr old son is 5ft9 and 180lbs so a cot for the week was not go [... read more]ing to work). The front desk took us to check out 2 different sets of adjoining rooms and we were able to choose which worked better for us. We did a full day tour with Frank The Tank-Cr on Christmas Day and it was Amazing! We also visited Coco Beach on another day and it was fun too! Our only complaint is that we really missed the beach part of our vacation. We always love to spend time at the beach but because it wasn't our usual white sandy beach we only swam in it twice. The resort provides may great pools to choose from!

Occidental Papagayo: Don’t go there

Extremely hilly and shuttle only comes if you call it from room lobby or bar. No benches to sit on while awaiting shuttle. Not great as 75% of people were over 60. so basically you had to walk a lot of hills. I changed rooms 3 times. Every time the next room was worse. No hot water patio doors wouldn’t lock Safe not working Bar fridge not working. Always a long lineup of people complaining about the same thing. Sand crabs and bugs galore in room. Gross and large bugs. Raccoon got into my room o [... read more]ne night because patio door would not lock. Do I need to say anymore

Riu Guanacaste: Amazing vacation

Great hotel and staff was extremely friendly and helpful. The hotel rooms are a little dated but clean and all amenities you need, beside your not in the room often but if you are you’ll find a well stocked bar. The grounds ,pools and beach are amazing our family never had an issue getting chairs pool side or on the beach. There a lot of options for food from pool side bbq for lunch to a/c buffet or open air dinning . Flight was pretty good over all minor delays on both ends which were fe [... read more]ared from last years with Sunwing. The only issue this year was our bags took almost an hour from landing in Toronto. Customs was smooth. Would highly recommended this resort as well as trip central for your travel needs .

Occidental Papagayo: Old Resort, Poorly Run

The grounds of this resort are beautiful. There is wildlife on the grounds plenty of birds, Howler Monkeys, etc. The major problem with this resort is that it truly is poorly run. Management is non existed and if you have a problem it is never dealt with throughout the week. They blamed Trip central for our booking mistakes and would never address the problem. When we checked in there was no one in the lobby it took over an hour for us to get into our rooms. The resort is big in area and [... read more] they had placed my elderly parents far away from us which was a huge concerns. They kept blaming TripCentral for this mistake. The food was always the same and the booze is all no name if that means anything to a traveler. I speak Spanish and spoke to one of the bartenders he told me the staff changes all the time looking to get to better resorts. The staff looks tired, you see during the week all the issues they have to deal with. The sad thing is the manager Raul (From Spain) will not deal with anyone, he sends out his lower staff to deal with angry customers which during our week was consistent. Sad this resort has a lot to offer just not run well and you see it from the top down as the staff (many of them) do not care.

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Pretty good resort

Let's start with a few major positives. The SERVICE was OUTSTANDING. The staff really could not have been more attentive and friendly and did a great job. The FOOD was what I would call GOOD. The buffets for breakfast and lunch were fresh with lots and lots of variety. We did stop by the dinner buffet for a quick desert a few times and it seemed fine but we can't really comment on that as we didn't eat there for dinner. The restaurants were ok. We ate at the Italian restaurant a couple of  [... read more]times and both times there was a very heavy handed use of salt. The Japanese restaurant was pretty good. We didn't particularly care for the steakhouse it was just ok. Lastly on the sit down restaurants we weren't really a fan of the system to get a table. Service for dinners started at 6PM (great for kids but way too early for us as adults). The 'system' for getting a later seating was that you would have to wait until the restaurants would fill up with the first seating and then you put your name on a list with a beeper. It's just odd. At 6PM you would literally have to line up, wait for restaurant to fill up, put your name on a list to get into the second seating. The beeper system did work well. BAR SERVICE and drink quality everywhere was EXCELLENT. The 24 hour food area was bad. Our 4 hour delayed flight landed us at the hotel at 1:00AM and everyone needed something to eat so we tried to grab something and really it was just plain bad. On the resort overall it's pretty tired. We had two rooms between us and our adult children. Both rooms looked pretty used up. Our room as an example had a purple glass block divider between the room and the bathroom and multiple blocks were cracked. Both sinks barely drained (for sure the housekeeper should have noticed that), the safe didn't work, there was no lock on the sliding glass door and some other stuff. In fairness we didn't say anything and give them a chance to fix stuff but still I guess our expectation is that someone would be looking. Overall service and quality of food did make up for the tiredness but Riu definitely needs to plan a remodel to update this property. Do take the 10 min walk over to the off resort Monkey Bar. That was neat. Diamonte Park next door was great for ziplining and horseback riding and seeing some of the animals. We did a full day excursion combo to see a rainforest, waterfall and a cocoa/coffee plantation. That was fun but a full 2.25 hours ride there and we had major traffic back so it took over 3 hours to get back (departed 730AM and back at 630PM). Beautiful country and wonderful people.