We found paradise!

RIU Palace is a beautiful resort. "Five Star" in everyway the way! Fantastic food, great service and spotless clean. Truly one of the most beautiful places we have been in our travels. Weather was fantastic and people were friendly. Smiles everywhere we went. Special recognition to NICOLE our sweet server at the pool. Always a smile and fantastic service!

Excellent resort all around.

Staff excellent. Over the top decor for Valentines day . Lovely. Always clean and food plentiful with great variety. Shows were entertaining with lots of variety. Never a grumpy staff member. Like family.

Nice Resort but not 5 star

The hotel was very nice, very clean. The beach was good but not a long walking beach and the hotel is in a very remote area and there are not any towns close by. the dining room staff need more training, service was very inconsistent. The staff were for the most part very friendly. This is a very hot country and very expensive.

Very good resort

Very clean and well maintained room and grounds. The floors in the halls, rooms and walkways outside were washed every day. The pools and pool areas were also well maintained every day. The food was very good in the restaurants, especially in the buffets - loved themes. The entertainment was also very good..

Great resort

Transportation to and from airport was good. Check in was very fast and efficient. Grounds were beautiful, rooms were very nice - bathtub in the middle was strange but they were clean, well supplied and comfortable. Food at the buffets were very good - Thursday buffet had loads of lobster - delicious. Several pools ranging quiet to active - no issue getting chairs. Drinks were good - service as well - better when tipping. Entertainment was good. Beach was nice to walk but not an area to swim. Mo [... read more]nkeys are close by and we had a blast at The Monkey Bar just a short walk down the beach. Location is quite remote and most excursions were an hour or more away. Beautiful country, weather fabulous (early Dec 2015) excellent time and would definitely return to Riu.

Family friendly resort

The pools and the beach were fantastic. The room was ok for a Riu Palace. The whole family was very disappointed by the food and wine at the resort but the pools and beach made up for it. Lots to do off the resort. We recommend zip lining and the ATV jungle adventure.

Great vacation

Met all expectations...and then some! Second time there, and will go back again. Based on typical weather patterns, should plan to attend outside of rainy season...I.e., go December --> March. Free entertainment in late afternoon includes watching hundreds of monkeys cavort in trees about half mile down the beach. Massive new Zip Line will start 5 minutes away by Christmas

Great place to Stay

Could not have ask for a better vacation. Hotel clean, great food, great beach warm ocean and wild monkeys to feed. All of our excursions were top notch Airport was 45 min away easy in and out Trip Central agent was wonderful in getting everything done for us will be contacting her later this year for a return trip, thanks

Luxury and seevice at its best

Gorgeous hotel! Amazing gardens and pools! The service was top of the line. And the food is to die for! My only complaints are, the washrooms are very far from the beach or any pool. The disco at night you had to pay for your beverages, but the music and people and staff were amazing. An incredible place and experience! Would go again in a heartbeat!

Great resort

Clean,great food and service. Staff appreciated tips but I never felt it was expected or required. Beach was not like Cuba or Punta Cana but you could enjoy the ocean . Liked that they had a band playing before and after the shows.

Beautiful resort!

Excellent Service, friendly staff, hardworking bartenders, delicious food, attention to detail at the a la carte restaurants, great evening entertainment, lots of activities to keep you busy all day, beautiful well manicured property, and the pools were amazing!

Amazing resort

The Riu Palace in Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful resorts I have ever seen with amazing upkeep of the grounds and set up of the different pools to accommodate your every need and activities. The beach is well kept, cleaned often even though the sand is dark. I liked the awning for shade as it was hot. Beautiful decorated rooms with massive beds. There was certainly no shortage of foods and drinks throughout the whole complex. The people were beautiful and really made my holiday.

A good Resort

Cleanness : Every where (rooms, lobby, restaurants) were clean. The food specially in the buffet was very good. The entertainment group were fantastic. The customer Service was very good. The manager Maria was very serious and professional in her work , very friendly and I liked the way she was managing.

Azaming Place & Experience!

The whole experience was amazing..... the rooms where very nice and couldn't have been cleaner, the staff was amazing top to bottom and very friendly, the food it was all great with lots of variety so something for everyone. There was always something to do if you wanted or just relaxing by the ocean or pools was perfect. We had a blast and would fully recommend the RIU! It was first class!!

Fantastic Resort

The RIU Palace in Costa Rica, lived up to our high expectations and then some. My daughter and I travelled there April 27 to May 4, 2015. This was our first time at a RIU and we have travelled a lot so we have a lot to high quality resorts to use to compare against. This resort was beautiful and well managed. When we arrived staff waiting for us not at front desk but in lobby with room packages already prepared and ready to go, just give your name, get bracket and finish welcome cocktail and off [... read more] to the room. Rooms were well appointed, modern and clean. We had jungle view and sights and sound great (I.e., mountains, jungle, birds and holler monkeys). The pools and grounds to the beach were beautiful and well maintained. Lots of shade trees at the beach if you are not a sun worshipper, and the service for drink at the pool and while lounging on the beach were excellent, many thanks to waiter serving the beach! The beach was wonderful, not white sand but blackish volcanic, very hot not in shade, but if walking by water awesome. Was very secluded and pristine. Some say a lot of rock but we did find it overly so. Special shout out the Edgar at front desk he was very helpful and extremely friendly, thanks Edgar! The food at the buffet and restaurants was excellent, lots of variety, served hot and tasty. We really enjoyed the steak and the gourmet restaurants! The servers at all restaurants were extremely friendly and responsive. The coffee is amazing, just thought I would throw that one in. There is WiFi throughout hotel and even on the beach, but in our room it cut out sometime and I found myself sitting on the balcony were reception was fine, so no big deal and got to enjoy holler monkeys more too. We took the boat cruise in Paolo Verde National Park and saw lots of wildlife, tour guide was very informative, but we found out later that lunch was supposed to be provide and it was not? Lastly you got to try the homemade cookies in the lounge :) very yummy. RIU Palace top marks, Costa Rica is definitely a destination you have to experience and this resort will make it all the more better for you. This country has made my possibilities for retirement plans for sure. Wishing I was soaking the sun on the beach at RIU Palace right now! I gotta get me a RIU membership now I think...

Great resort. So so beach

Great resort. Food was very good. The people working at the resort were fantastic. no bathroom by the pools which was strange.Not an adults only, but not a kid friendly resort. After the show was over, not much to do at night Overall very good

Excellent resort!

Beautiful resort, large clean suites, dining is spectacular - especially the lunch BBQ at the pool! Lobster, sushi, guacamole made daily. Everything you could possibly want - even Canadian Club! Only downside is the beach. Black sand gets too hot in 100 degree weather. Pools are awesome and fun times at the swim up bar!

Riupalacecostarica

Rooms not good too much walking not a value no shade manager great, bar staff great, resort not appealing !!!! food culd be better !!! Resort is not wat Yu expect . Riu beside it was beautiful with lots going on . BBQ was good at the pool , swim up pool smelt of urine washrooms were far away shuld be closer They need to have a shuttle service . The shows at night were fantastic very excellent .

Disapointment

The rooms were not clean. Items that were to be there were not. the rest of the resort was well looked after. The bar staff was excellent. The front desk was excellent. The rest of the resort halls,romms and walk way were all dirty

Very enjoyable stay.

The hotel was very clean....staff was cleaning the lobby, the grounds and even the walk ways daily. The staff was friendly the food the great except I did find the Asian restaurant was not very good compared to the other places to eat. Had no issues get chairs at the pool or beach durning the day. I would gladly return for another vacation.