Not bad, but not amazing.

The resort it beautiful and clean. Unfortunately it rained non stop for 5 out of the 7 days we were there, so we tried to make the best of it. Our room was great, room was clean, fridge was always stocked and amazing WIFI systems throughout the resort. However, food was great but I felt like I was eating the same thing everyday, a la cart restaurants were always busy as they do not make reservations it's first come first serve. Having small children made it difficult to line up at 5:45 to ge [... read more]t in for a 7pm dinner. I would say 95% of the hotel staff do not speak much English so it was difficult to communication your needs and wants. There were also a lot of bugs and mosquitos, so lots of repellent is needed night and day. We enjoyed waking up to the monkeys in the mornings, even though we didn't see them you could still here them in the morning and a lot at night. The pool area was great, had something for everyone and liked that it wasn't too deep. The beach is something to be desired, I didn't enjoy it as I prefer white sand and clear blue water. just something about walking into the ocean and not being able to see your feet as you walk in. but my children enjoyed feeding the fish if you take a few slices of bread and throw it in beautiful and colorful fish will emerge, a great experience for the kids. The nightly show was great as well, got the children involved and then the entertainment was well put together. We missed Michael Jackson though, our sunwing rep said that we would see a famous Michael Jackson show and to our disappointment it never happened LOL next time I guess. overall my experience was good, would I go back to this resort, I don't think so but I would visit Costa Rica again.

Great family resort

Just spent a week at the Riu Guanacaste and had a fabulous time. We had adjoining rooms which worked out great for us. Balcony was a good size. Bathroom finishes were a little dated but the room was large and clean. The staff were very attentive and polite. The grounds are beautiful! A little walk along the trees by the beach is teaming with wildlife...crabs, iguanas, lizards, birds and monkeys. A great place for families to spend time together and reconnect!

Warm, Friendly Resort

The beach was really nice and clean. I especially liked how close everything is, the rooms are close to the beach and dining areas. The staff is warm and welcoming, the hotel is beautiful and the excursion was amazing!

Love this resort even more the second time around

This resort is amazing! So clean. The garden is beautiful the scenery is gorgeous and the people were so friendly. I went with my mom who uses a Walker to get around and the staff took the time to help her when needed. I would definitely go back a third time. Maybe to get married

Wonderful stay at Riu Guanacaste!

Riu Guanacaste is surrounded by beautiful mountains and lush forest. The beach is breath taking. All the area of the hotel is extremely clean and well kept. The grounds are amazing and well manicured. Dinning areas are also well looked after. Very tasty food and good selection of fruit and vegetable. Service in the dinning rooms are excellent. The staff in all the areas are friendly, courteous, eager to help with a smile. The negative is the pillows are uncomfortable and the bath ro [... read more]om is bit worn. We had a wonderful time at this Hotel. We enjoyed our stay very much.

Would not go back

I was truly disappointed in the resort and in sunwing We booked more than four months out asked for a room close to the elevators as I just had surgery and was put on the fourth floor room 4019 facing the trees so no view and half way between both elevators Grounds where kept up beautifully Rooms where clean but nothing over the top Food well I can say was just ok There was no place to get a snack inbetween meals Any music that was played was always so loud and there was very little day [... read more]time entertainment and the night entertainment was way below par As for sunwing we where more than 60 out and the price than started dropping and they would not even consider price match or room up grade when all was said and done one week before we left the price was more than $ 500.00 down each person This was not one of my best vacations with rui and sunwing

Not a 5 star at all

Everything about this resort was average or below. Food you could live on it but that was all. There was 3 or 4 hotel staff that was really good..the rest of them never smiled or said really anything. The entertainment staff was non existent and the nightly show where pathetic. I have stayed at 3 other Rui and enjoyed them very much. I was looking so forward to Costa Rica and this hotel never even came close to a 4 star. I will probably never go to another Rui because of this hotel

Great Small Resort

Overall great resort for couples and families. Friendly staff, good food and overall a positive vibe all around. If you’re looking for a large resort with tons of bars then go to another resort. I liked this one a lot because everything is within walking distance. Restaurants are open at 6 pm everyday and you aren't able to reserve a table you have to wait outside. I recommend getting in like about 5:30-5:40 for a slot. Lots of Iguanas around the pool area but there harmless. I highly recom [... read more]mend doing the buena vista excursion. Worth every penny. Its a full day. One of the best things I really liked about this resort is the fact that they are environmentally friendly. Not many resorts attempt it but they pull it off really well. No straws, reuse towels, re useable cups, and signs that attempt to get the guest to turn off the lights when the room is vacant. I will give this resort an overall great rating because of this factor alone.

A 4 star

The hotel was beautifully kept. Walls were being painted and grounds we being landscaped daily. Food was amazing. Cant beat guacamole at every meal. The A La Cartes were above expectations but I was not impressed by their daily 6:00 reservation system. I hated waiting in line each night when I could be napping or getting ready for the evening. We went to the casino. Go to the cashier first to get 10 dollars free when you spend 10 dollars at the slots. Bonus. We liked the variety of tours they of [... read more]fered. Although it would have been nice to have bicycles to use to go to the nearby town. The pool was amazing and the drinks were so good. I was happy with my choice. The beach needs more huts a closer toilet and a bar. We didnt spend enough time there as the amenities weren't available.

Wonderful resort - would return

This was a wonderful resort, surrounded by beautiful scenery and wildlife. The food was great, the staff were amazing and always happy to help. Rooms were comfortable and cleaned every day. We would certainly return.

Amazing resort!

This hotel is amazing all round. The pool is very big and never too crowded. It has a lot of different features including a large swim up bar with in-water seating. The food is absolutely amazing! There is a lot of variety and it's all fresh and delicious, plus there is always somewhere open to eat. The service staff are always happy and will do anything for you. The beach is huge and it is never crowded. There is shade under the trees. There's also an area off to the right where you can snorkel [... read more] among the rocks and see lots of great things. There are locals on the beach that sell things, but I actually find the tour operators on the beach to be awesome. They are trust-worthy and will give you great rates. The resort grounds are always clean and highly maintained. Gardeners are out all day long making sure everything is trimmed and the paths are clean of debris. Staff are friendly and helpful. The rooms are standard rooms you would get at any resort. My only negative comment would be that the beds are very hard, but I think most resorts have that issue. I recommend this resort to everyone. This is my second time going and I will go again.

Very Disappointed

This hotel has obvious management problems. It took 3 trips to the front desk to get someone to come and fix the lights. Bathroom light did not work, bedroom light did not work, after 2 days they fixed the lights. Due to the noise from the live entertainment below our suite we moved to the other side of the hotel. Quiet room, however, the toilet did not work. I opened the lid to find that the chain connecting the flapper was broken and only had a 4 inch piece of chain left which they had used [... read more] thread to tie to the plunger. They came and fixed it with guess what...thread. Obviously maintenance has no spare parts. Restaurants with seating for about 100 persons would only let in 25 at a time. We were told to come back in 2 hours. All the restaurants on site did the same - only sat limited number of diners and quite obviously were understaffed. No bell boy service. Somebody needs to initiate some better management procedures and policies.

Never again!

First, the flight was delayed. The wings needed to be deiced and this was reasonable then they said we needed to refuel due to weight and head winds and that we would have to fly to Windsor from Montreal to do this. We did not arrive till supper time instead of lunch time and we lost the first day of our vacation. The Sunwing air plane did not carry sufficient food for the entire plane and ran out about 2/3 of the way back. With Elite Plus we were supposed to have separate boarding and luggage [... read more] drop off, although there was a elite plus baggage counter it was never staffed both in Canada and in Costa Rica. We flew out of Montreal and that was a mistake. If I were a Francophone I would be suing Sunwing. The stewards spoke French and if you asked for something in English you were either ignored or answered in French. Again on the way home the plane was delayed due to ice rain, (not Sunwings' fault) but their staff at our hotel in Costa Rica were unable to tell us when the plane was expected to arrive in Canada and were condescending when asked, answering they had no idea 'sweetheart' and they were not responsible 'My dear". To add insult to injury, they flight was long Sunwing sales pitch, food, duty free, Sunwing destinations, blankets, and ear phones. The inflight movie was reruns of Big Bang Theory, Sheldon and other TV sitcoms. If I wanted to watch reruns I could have stayed home. This Riu Guanacaste is the worst hotel I have ever stayed in. First room was located directly above the stage area for the nightly entertainment and the lights in the bathroom and on one side of the bed did not work. Took two days to have the lights fixed which meant showering in near darkness. We also requested a move to a different room which also took two days to accomplish. We were told to come to the desk between 11am and noon to exchange keys and a bell boy with a cart would help us move. This is a huge hotel and requires help to move. We went down to the desk as ask and were told to come back in at 12:30. Again we went down to the desk and we told that the room should be ready at 1:30. After 3 trips to the front desk, a 10 minute journey from our 5th floor room to the front desk in 100+ temperature, we decided to call the front desk to ask if it was ready and were told they would not tell us on the phone but that we would have to come down in person to find out. Still the room was not ready and a final trip to the front desk at 3pm got us the keys to the new room. There was no help with the move, we were expected to move all our luggage from on side of the "U" shaped building to the other ourselves. The new room was quiet but the toilet would not flush. The chain for the flush was tied together with thread and the thread had broken. They did fix this the same day with more thread and the only way to flush the toilet for the remainder of the trip was to lift the back of the toilet lid that the chain was connected to. Dinner was another problem. You could not make a reservation but again had to line up in 100 degree, not air conditioned, temperatures at 5:30 p.m. and wait for the restaurant to open at 6:15 p.m. They only let 25 people into the restaurant even if the restaurant held 200 people. We asked why we could not be seated at the empty tables and were told company policy was that only 25 people could be seated, the rest left empty for the next twenty five and were told that the soonest we could get a table way 7:45 p.m. and would be given a beeper. The hostess was rude and told us that if we wanted dinner that we would just have to come back. I asked about a buffet and she said that there was none. I went to main desk who told us there was a buffet and gave us directions to it. The second night we decided to wait it out and when to the Steak House, waited until 7:30 when our beeper went off and went to dinner. The menu if preset in all restaurants, the only choice in the main course, in the Steak house it is fish, chicken or steak. We ordered the rib eye but what we got was a sandwich steak that was 3/4 fat and grizzle. We never lined up for dinner again. We ate at the buffet every night. The food was terrible, fatty meat, over done fish and underdone chicken and turkey. We lived on pasta and french fries. I would not go back there if it was free.

Amazing Country .

We just returned from an amazing one week stay at the Rui Guanacaste !! The check in was uneventful and smooth. Certains areas reminded me of the Casablanca Movie with it's unique style and its ceiling fans .. I think it was beautiful ! Lobby at night with its fountains and lights were gorgeous! The hotel rooms are bit dated but we were not in the room alot, it was clean and maid was very attentive to needs, more pillows and more towels, there is little to no English speaking TV s [... read more]tations unless you watch CNN all day. No coffee pot in room and refrigator was stocked frequently. Food was excellant has a bit of everything pork, chicken, vegan beef etc. for all types of palate . Desert was amazing ! The staff was quite pleasant and kept up with influx of people . The beach is dark salt and pepper type of sand the activies were around the pool , the barbenders keep up the pace of the spring break with flair The enternainment was not the best but dont let let this deter you from this place. I would like to say if you have mobility issues this may be a a little difficult resort but one can manage The monkeys in the trees near our room and and extensive wild life in Costa Rica were amazing . Sunwing's representive Kim her smile and laughter was contagious and they were extremely helpful in booking our trips off the resort. No hesitation to return on both my self and husband and strongly recommend this resort and country !!!!!

Beautiful resort!

We absolutely loved this resort...very clean, spacious, loved the buffets. Wonderful, helpful staff. The only negative for us was the room. We are a family of five and the room did not accommodate us well...

Absolutely beautiful resort....The beach not so nice.

The grounds were beautiful. The employees were very professional and efficient. I did not have to wait for anything in the dining room or the restaurants. I met a lot of wonderful people while travelling alone. Unfortunately, when I was leaving, I asked for someone to come to my room to assist with my luggage. The man who came asked if I was alone and I said yes. He immediately took $20.00 from the table which I had left for the maid. I tried very hard to make him understand that what he  [... read more]had done was wrong but he just laughed and would not put the money back. He kept saying "too much". Upon checking out, I filed a complaint with the front desk and they provided disciplinary action to the man immediately. When I saw him again in the restaurant before I left, he was angry with me. When I paid that much for a vacation, it is unfortunate that this incident even took place. It left me with a very bad feeling. Otherwise, I have no complaints. It was lovely.

Not bad!

After having issues with the toilet in our room, I placed a call first thing in the morning hoping to have it fixed when we got back from our outing...it wasn't! On the other hand, the front desk had it resolved within the hour of my going down to talk to them.

Amazing Riu Guanacaste

Costa Rica is an amazing place to visit, and Riu Guanacaste is smack dab in the middle of all that you would want to see. The location of the hotel, on the Pacific coast, allows an array of day trips and activities for all interests. The hotel itself has a beautiful pool, with big palm trees all around. Howler monkeys visit the area on a daily basis, along with iguanas, making our stay here most enjoyable.

Overall Awesome Resort

The resort is situated in a beautiful location....nothing nearby other than the Palace resort next door which was great. Big resort but did not feel big. Food was good - buffet was our choice every night - lots of selection for even the pickiest eater. Rooms were kept clean. The only minor recommendation we would make is the entertainment - started off good and as the week went on not so good - last night was a Rock Show - totally confusing. Despite this we still loved it!

Wonderful Vacation!

Except for one disappointment we were extremely pleased with our stay at the Riu Guanacaste. Registration was quick and we were given a room we requested on a middle floor. Room was nicely appointed and the view lovely. The hotel grounds were lush and tidy..lots of huge swaying palm trees. The beach is large with sufficient trees to lounge in shaded areas and lengthy enough to go for nice walks. All of our meals were great with a wide variety of choices and locations to dine. Service in these [... read more] areas was very good too..staff quick to clear away dishes, reset tables and keep foods replenished. Evening entertainment was typical but still lively and fun to watch. We quite enjoyed all the wildlife in and around this resort..lots of iguanas of many colours and sizes, birds, 2 types of monkeys, sea turtles and even a sea snake! Now for the one downfall..there is only one pool. There is a pool bar. People sit there all day..which begs the question..where are they eliminating those drinks? It was a big turn off for us. Other than the pool this resort is perfect!