Riu Guanacaste: Wonderful Resort

The Resort was very well Landscaped and groomed and the proximity to the Beach was perfect. A couple of issues is the restaurant and reservation methods did not make sense, couldn't get into a couple of them need to re think the process. Secondly, the entertainment was great, however, needs to be a little more interactive in the later hours, example more dancing etc.... Overall it was a very nice resort, rooms were spacious and always cleaned and the food was terrific.

Riu Guanacaste: Few things need to be done at this resort before it looses guests

Hi, To whom it may concern, I would like to share some feedback to Riu Guanacaste. We went there from Dec. 19th to Dec. 26th, 2018 Very clean, Very beautiful, Amazing landscape! I love the respect everybody showed towards the spread and freely Iguanas every where. Entertainment: Very Boring!!! I travelled to many other resorts and night life is very important too. It felt more like a retirement home more than a Resort with is supposed to be full of life! shows and then everyb [... read more]ody to bed. We went to the Discoteca, and it was dead! no one goes to it. At 10:00 pm people was already leaving to bed. The choice of music was terrible. We managed to listen to two different musician bands on the 24th and 25th. They were playing romantic Latin songs (like I am dying for you), and they did not have any energy at all. Your crowd is American, why don't you combine big American rock hits, with spicy Latin music like the one they play at the Discoteca!? I also would use the Lobby area in order to attract more people. They did it only on the 24th with a saxophone musician dressed up as Santa. They had a fountain of Prosseco on the 24th of December. When I accepted the glass of Prosseco, I asked to be by itself, the lady said she wasn't allowed to serve it alone, but with a sweet juice in it. Why? I guess the resort was afraid it wouldn't be enough. Well, you might be surprised about it, not everybody likes Proseco neither Champaigne. They had soon many bottles that the following day they started to serve them bold with no juice inside. I had to leave the full glass in a corner unfortunately, because it was extremely sweet and took the real flavour to it. After paying so much money to spend our Christmas together as a family I was denied a single glass of Prosseco. Internet connection; It was failling few times, and my phone lasted for two complete days without Internet. I, by accident pressed the wrong button and unlock the airplane mode and now I have a big bill to pay due to the Hotel issue for those two days of not working. At the reception they told me that I wasn't the only one asking for it and that they were having issues with it. The Casino; We spent close to $300 American US dollars. Went two days consecutively. One after the next. We did not receive any of those coupons you have to attract customers to the Casino door. Only when we were leaving the place after spending that considerable amount. At the door on the second day, we got 4 tickets since we were 4 people. NO ONE mentioned it before, not the reception when arriving, not at the entrance of the Casino, neither the floor manager who was standing right beside us while playing. We were laughing laud. So loud pretending we were wining that the floor manager and other employees got very close to the machines we were using since we were putting so much enthusiasm for very little money. So everybody noticed out presence and during all that time NO ONE offered us the famous coupons, but when we were leaving the establishment. We managed to talk in person to the Manager of the Casino, we explained to him about the incident. He could have suggested at least something; what about if I give you $40 in cash to be used inside the casino, would you like to play them? and maybe through that it would have kept us for a much longer time! I said to him that in all the resorts we have gone in the past few years we have never seen such a thing. I told him we were extremely disappointed about it, but no results from your side. The Restaurant a la cart system was very questionable. I choose the resorts based on how many a la cart restaurants they offer. For the first 4 days we try to reserve a table but the answer was always the same. It is full and there are many reservations ahead of you. We saw many tables empty! we kept looking at those tables and they were empty for a long time! meaning that the people that was supposed to come and use it did not show at all in some cases. We managed to get into Tucan Restaurant, and we witness some real unfair situations after doing an entire one hour and 20 minutes to enter to the place. Reservations as soon as you get to the resort would be more civilized and respectful towards the customer. I had a very old couple making line infant of us. Who, that is pretty brutal! So as we all know Costa Rica is known for their eco tourism. We booked few trips. We were leaving at 7:30 am. Happened that your reservations for the Christmas day, were supposed to be done from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. I went to reception and mentioned it to the person in charge at the moment, he said there was nothing to do since it was only 7:00 am and the people in charge were still not there. That is brutal too! So we bring money to the country. We follow every rule you imposed but there is not a way of having a simple list before the tourist goes in their trip to have their names written down before they live the resort for the entire day coming back at 6:30 pm. Pools: I did not go inside the pools since they were pretty dirty. Specially in the bar area. Not enough chairs under the inclement sun. It would be amazing to have more covered spaces even if it is away from the pool. In the beach, not enough chairs again and missing a bit more beach grape plants or palm trees for the shade. We noticed that there were turtles hatching days, no one was promoting it. Not enough activities to exploit within the same centre. Even talking and explaining about the active volcanos around, or the volcanic beaches, Iguanas or Turtles would be extremely exciting. Climbing coconuts and offering it to the crowd with a straw for $1! Costa Rican Music at the beach, set up an entire dinner stage by the beach could be another restaurant a la cart that you could offer. Food: A bit plain. Always the same. Repeatedly times in 8 days our eyes and paladar had to experience the same. We try the Asian fusion and it was very disappointing. We left the two plates full of food and had to leave. To be honest it was bad. Spa and Wellness centre: I tried to use the steam room, I couldn't because I had to reserve it. Shouldn't it be available all day long so it can be used? The fragrance was extremely strong. A lot of people get sick due to the strong smells. Riu Guanacaste is one of those. Please make it more natural and less strong. Other than that I was glad to see many machines available and they were all in use. So it is telling you that working out is getting popular for a significant crowd of people. Insisting through signs in cleaning the machines after using them would be important and necessary. From the rooms to the facilities, put signs with arrows to where it leads you to. The pool, the lobby, the hatching turtles, the climbing what ever... Our cleaning lady Xinia was lovely! I hope this suggestions will be helpful. It is definitely a beautiful resort. Other than that, Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Deborah Krzypow (49 years), Roy Cado (50 years), Elisa Mendez (21 years), Chelsie Ean (21 years).

Riu Santa Fe: A Riutiful Holiday!!

Buffets better than a la carte. Beautiful setting. Shortage of bartenders and no drink service around entertainment or pool. Only one beer available. Rooms need upgrading..villa 7 quite musty and contents showed mildew. Staff fairly friendly. Great variety of entertainment and activities.

Riu Palace Paradise Island: Very good resort

This resort was really good... The breakfast, jerk chicken lunch and a La cartes were amazing. All the workers were really friendly especially LG and keno they were really helpful and friendly. Would recommend this resort

Riu Palace Baja California: Amazing

Had fabulous stay with outstanding service. Will highly recommend for adults. Breathtaking scenery and easy access to everything. Staff extremely friendly. For being so new was near flawless stay. Was a tonne of fun

Riu Republica: So much fun!

Riu República was great for my first time at an all inclusive resort. The food was good, the staff were very friendly and we had a great time overall. We did some kayaking as well, and that was great.

Riu Santa Fe: Good experience

Resort was much larger then expected, with many huge pools and great staff. Food was a bit lacklustre for a vegetarian trying to find wheat free options. Entertainment was great. We couldn’t swim in the ocean at the resort, but if you walk down the beach towards the town there are lots of places to swim. I’d also recommend taking a few trips into town, it’s about a 30 min walk down the beach. The town is super welcoming and has some great restaurants and shopping.

Riu Republica: Great experience

Overall staying at the Riu República was a great experience! The resort is huge, lots of space for laying in the sun or shade, multiple pools with various levels of activity/music. There is always something to keep you busy and entertained (waterslides, shows, gym, disco), although heavily-geared towards a younger audience. Beach is gorgeous with lots of lounge chairs. The medical staff at the resort are also amazing! I had a bit of a health scare while on vacation and the doctor and her as [... read more]sistant were incredible. I was quickly assessed and when it was determined that I needed to be referred, they managed to get me a same day appointment and arranged for a safe taxi to take me to the specialist clinic 2 hours away. I really appreciated the way they handled everything.

Riu Emerald Bay: Expectations over exceeded

This hotel was our beautiful home for our first family vacation of four. We had two kids 3 and 1 and couldn’t have had a better experience. Staff was great , food was excellent, drinks were cold , and the sun was hot. The ocean is amazing to be in, as well as the pools. We had the best time , and would consider going back to this same resort in the future.

Riu Emerald Bay: Great resort

I have been to Riu Emerald Bay several times.I enjoy my stay there very much as I only go to rest and get some sun.My husband enjoys this resort because he has mobility issues and there are table and chairs everywhere and he feels comfortable walking around.This time I was a little disappointed because there were a lot of towels being taken off some lounge chairs so you had to watch your stuff.The resort was also filled with Mexican families so if that bothers you ,this is not the place for you. [... read more]The food is very good and the servers are very friendly and the price of the trip was decent.

Riu Santa Fe: Solid 4.5 *is

We are a fam of 4. We stayed for 11 days. We were a bit unsure how ot will all be given the past reviews, but here is the summary (and we travel a lot!) Good: easy check in, hotel is clean, grounds are maintained daily, happy staff, the pools are great too- there is a quieter area if u wish to sit and relax...but if you want a bit more lounder and entairtaining area, head down towards the beach. There are 3 pools there- one for singles, amd 2 for eberuone else! We stayed in Building 3- central [... read more]. Good. If you are family- request building 3 or 4 or 5. If you are single, request 6, 7, 8 ,9. Single life- is awesome..they have pool parties almost daily at a separate pool/area. Seems lots of fun. Beach lovers: still worth going! I was turned iff when I read that you can't swim in the ocean as its too deep/strong undertoe...however, all that IS TRUE, BUT the view on the beach IS THR BEST VIEW EVER! bring your drinks/food on the beach and enjoy it. Sooo beautiful. Food: was great! I am a medium picky eater and I can say it was great at the main California buffet. We went there for breakfast and dinner- really zero complaints....from fish, pork, steaks, chicken to rice, pasta, veggies, potatoes to deserts and crapes! Breakfast was equally good! Lunch buffet (La torata) was Alright. Some days they had awesome selection and other days was just good. No one got sick ..and we were there for 11 days! Drinks were great. The bad: 1. I would just ask the hotel to try to book singles away from building 3 and 4 and 5, as it was a bit annoying to hear drunk yound adults coming to their room (next to mine) at 3am. 2) would be nice that they play music ALL THE TIME at the pools near beach and habe the 3rd pool bar opened All the time 3) kinda weird that the restaurant Mariachi band would say "we only play for tips"... have never experienced that before...usually they play and hope they would get a tip...but these guys would not play unless u gave them a tip first. 4) last annoying thing was the hotel does NOT give you condishioner nor body was (just shampoo). Ladies- you know-how hair gets without conditioner lol. You had to ask, and they would bring you ONE. And also what does not make it better than 4.5 is that the rooms are cleaned daily but not mirrors nor the comforters... oh and 5) you have got to cook hot dogs more on the beach grill! :) Overall, definitely would recommend you go And excursions- would be great as well....the glass boat was AWESOME...not so much for the glass boat part but for seeing the beauty around it, the sea lions, the caves...etc

Riu Negril: Riu Negril

This hotel is a great family hotel. The animation team is the best I’ve experienced out of any country. They go out of their way to encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and enjoy your trip. Everything in the property is close together with very few stairs, so it is great for people in wheel chairs or those who are mobility challenged.

Riu Palace Costa Mujeres: Women’s trip

We got into cancun’s airport, left easily, got on to the bus that left fairly quickly. 50 minutes to get to the hotel. First impression was good. Lobby smells nice. Originally asked for two beds, got one, issue was resolved when we got to the room. Property is alright. Boxy looking but still nice. Have a few pools, beach is crazy close and very nice. No seaweed and chairs were easy to get. As a palace stayer, you’re welcome to go over to Dunamar and hang out, eat breakfast and lu [... read more]nch. They told us no to the dinner and we didn’t try. Dunamar felt like the more fun little sister of palace. If you’re looking for a completely relaxing trip, this is a nice place to go. There are barely any activities. No music during the day so bring your own if you want to hear any. Bars are nice, booze is good. The people that came with me said they couldn’t feel any of the alcohol unless they drank wine. I am not of that opinion. Lol. Food is good. You’ll have enough to eat. We weren’t a fan of any of the dinner restaurants. It was almost like they are trying too hard and screwed it up. People we talked to who were also vacationing said the same thing. We all agreed the Italian was the only one that was worth going to. You’ll see when you try it because everyone wants to at least try. Buffet was great, tasty stuff. Repetitive but alright. Switch it up and go to dunamar. Their selection is a bit different than ours so at least you’ll get variety. Quality of food was good both places. Rooms were clean and cleaned daily, pretty basic stuff. Pillows were sub par. Small and lacking. They have a cafe/bar that’s pretty central so folks hang there. They have all kinds of drinks and the coffee was good as were the lattes, capuchinos and espressos. We did the water slides at dunamar and boy are they steep, but fun. They’ve got a sports bar over at dunamar too. Gotta pay 5 bucks usd to play pool. We tried as it rained one day. What happened to all inclusive? Shows are alright. Elegance one was nice. We walked over to dunamar for shows as they were more lively. Check out the Vegas one. Was really cool. All in all, I likely won’t come back here but am not sad I came. I think it’s because it’s so new, it was kinda boring. Maybe in a couple of years after they become established, I might try.

Riu Bambu: Loved it!

This was our first time in Punta Cana and the Riu Bambu was a great hotel to start our PC adventure. The rooms were clean, the food was plentiful and delish, the staff and service were great and the beach and pools were great. Awesome and hard-working entertainment staff too. All in all we would return to this resort.

Riu Negril: I came, I saw

The resort is small and provides easy access to all amenities such as the beach and restaurants. Unfortunately, the beach was overrun with sandflies, but still didn't prevent us from laying out all day.The nightly entertainment was a little lacklustre and left something to be desired, like fun. Showtime was over most nights by 10pm. The resort was more inclined to families and older couples, which didn't suit our age group. The staff is courteous and helpful. The room was clean and reasonably c [... read more]omfortable.

Riu Emerald Bay: Not so good resort

Out of 17 people 5 of us got sick and some are still reporting back to us that they think its starting on them. Not a good trip when within 1 day the first person starting with symptoms and had to stay in her roo. 2 days.

Riu Palace Aruba: Very nice rezort

Very clean , very good service ,staff very helpful ,food a lot of choices ,show very interesting beach party was amazing with a good intertainment and good food would be nice if beach party will be at least a few times a week.I definitely will recommended to all my friends and my family and l looking forward to came back soon.

Riu Palace Macao: Great Resort

It was excellent. The room was very comfortable. The pool was very clean went out at 930every morning and had no problem getting lounger chair. Out of all the resorts I've been to the Riu has the best food. The staff were very good . Overall I really enjoyed this resort and would not hesitate to go back.

Riu Palace Paradise Island: Fantastic! My second visit!

I liked this Riu so much I returned again this December. It is about a 3-3.5 hour flight and a 45 min from the airport so it’s great for a quick getaway. Both times I chose the Thursday - Sunday option and considering it again next year. Food and beverage - pretty great, a huge variety of items to choose from. Amazing salad bar, always meats, cheeses, fish, chicken, vegetables, pizza, pasta, paninis, bruschetta, seafood, fresh fruit, ice cream,you name it! The beverages are the best that [... read more] I’ve had at any all inclusive type resort (I’ve also traveled to Jamaica/Dominican/ Mexico/Cuba so I have experienced many). They have a martini bar and make a mean Espresso Martini! You can get lattes, espresso, or cappuccino every morning and throughout the day as there’s a coffee bar that’s open in the lobby. I’m pThe process for eating in their a la Carte restaurants is a strange one. I feel it may just be due to whatever administrative costs are associated with managing reservations but it’s firat come first serve and people line up to an hour ahead of time if you wanted to eat in the a la Carte restaurants. The first seating is at 6:30 and second at 9. This recent visit I didn’t bother to plan to wait in line and stuck with the buffet. Last time I had the Japanese restaurant and we ended up going to the buffet after anyways. They also have room service! Sun - the beach is absolutely incredible and the lifeguard will get the beach chairs for you or at least find you some. Beautiful white sand with aqua blue waves. There’s a smaller swim up bar- infinity pool outside and a larger pool. This hotel is much smaller than any of the other resorts I’ve ever stayed in and it’s hotel style with 15 floors rather than spread out 2-3 levels. Guest rooms - excellent, clean, every room has an ocean view with a balcony. The toilets seem to run all the time so if you get a room with one that does, I don’t think it’s fixable. I would just close the bathroom door at night. There isn’t much night life, no disco or night club but I did dance in the martini bar last year, this year I really took it easy and relaxed which was entirely possible. The hotel is located right next to Atlantis so you can pop littering next store and explore this great big hotel. They have great shops at the Marina but nice to come back to your adult only resort :) In my professional life I work for a 5 star Hotel brand and would still come back to this hotel a 3rd time!

Riu Santa Fe: beautiful resort

excellent food beautiful pools great food The bartender at the lobby bar Desi was amazing at mixing drinks and making people laugh one problem is the amount of walking i wish they had the carts to take you around but lots of activities and great shows Thanks to maria at Trip Central for looking after all of our needs Going back in 100 sleeps