Riu Guanacaste - All Inclusive

“Beautiful Family Vacation Spot”

This resort was an amazing spot. It was beautiful, clean, friendly staff, and had great entertainment! I would return to this same resort anytime!

“Bad food”

The food absolutely atrocious. The Tucan was supposed to be gourmet high end and was more like low budget trash. No one finished their food. We sent it back after taking a samples of everything and it was a no go. The buffest has strange dry sausage and spam as choices no avocado bacon of any kin... more

The food absolutely atrocious. The Tucan was supposed to be gourmet high end and was more like low budget trash. No one finished their food. We sent it back after taking a samples of everything and it was a no go. The buffest has strange dry sausage and spam as choices no avocado bacon of any kind not a mangos in sight. I kid you not I also found a wood bark scorpion and my room will post the photo below. Staff was friendly and spoke English very well. The rude young lady at checkin/out who doesn't let you finished talking or explaining its annoying can't recall her name I was so annoyed I blanked out. I would advise you check out early and get a ticket to eat lunch or breakfast before your flight. Because as I was leaving they decided to do a separate check out line on the other side of the lobby and people missed there shuttles. We also got cheated on an excursion with Tui Tours that was supposed to includes snorkeling they ran out of snorkeling gear for more than half the booked passengers. I will say the staff/crew was nice and it was the best food traditional food we had. The bathtub situation is a health hazard I slipped twice and you have to climb over a concrete wall try not slip on the floor I did twice. NOT safe. They did not give us the rooms we asked for.

less

“For the price I guess it was ok , you have to remember it is not adults only”

For family’s with kids great for the price I would stay again with my kids and the food was buffet style with 3 restaurants just average..

“Solid 3 star all inclusive resort”

Just finished a week’s stay at RIU Guanacaste. Here is my list of pros, cons and FYIs. Hope this helps someone. PROS: - Grounds are very beautiful and well cared for - pool is nice - the main building is pretty with beautifully painted frescoes and details - I thought the rooms were nice. Inc... more

Just finished a week’s stay at RIU Guanacaste. Here is my list of pros, cons and FYIs. Hope this helps someone. PROS: - Grounds are very beautiful and well cared for - pool is nice - the main building is pretty with beautifully painted frescoes and details - I thought the rooms were nice. Included a good sized balcony, mini bar with fridge (which they keep stocked with pop and beer), and big closet with lots of hangers. The bed was a little firm for me, but I still slept fine. There is a little sitting area which was nice, and a good sized 8 drawer dresser. - there is a good coffee place right outside the resort and to the right. It is good but spendy. Place is very small but worth it. - if you don’t want to have kids splashing or playing around you go to the swim up bar. Kids are not allowed there. - the sand sticks to everything - but housekeeping does an amazing job of cleaning it up!!! - foam party was fun! - felt safe leaving our things at a chair out of sight from the pool. No one messed with our stuff. - pool floats were allowed. - check in went quickly for me. CONS: - there are a LOT of tiled areas. Be careful. It is crazy slippery when wet. I fell twice. - the elevators broke down at least once a day, every day. It was very frustrating!! - the water temp/pressure was very inconsistent. I had to take a cold shower to get the sand off because I couldn’t get any warm water at all. - the drive from the airport to the resort was longer than I thought - 45 minutes or so. Mostly because a good part of the trip is over very bumpy and poorly maintained roads. If you get car sick either sit up front to keep your eyes on the road (and maybe take Dramamine). - my driver to get back to the airport was 30 minutes late. I was starting to freak out a little when he finally showed up. The resort had no way to get hold of the transfer company. - alcohol is awful. I had a coke and whiskey and the whiskey was so bad I couldn’t drink it. - coffee options are very limited in the resort and they only have milk for creamer. I hated it. - food is mediocre (my friends thought it was horrendous). But I always found something I liked. I highly recommend the chicken when they bbq at the pool for lunch. It was amazing! - I never saw them clean the pool. And people are in there all day drinking. Yuck. - there is a very high step up to get into the bathtub and the tub is VERY slippery. One of the women in our group fell in the tub. The “oh $h!t” handles are there for a reason. Use them. - I had to take a very early shuttle to the airport. All lights were off in every area but staircases. It was creepy and did not feel safe. I can’t believe they didn’t have lighting. - there is no food or drink service on the beach (I think there is at the palace tho) - limited power outlets. Bring a cable with more outlets and usb options. That was a great save for me! - there was a hair dryer in the room and it did the job. - they provide large bottles of water to hydrate. - entertainment is awful. Over the top and cringy for the most part. And at the foam party (which was kid friendly) they had dancers around the pool in what looked like stripper outfits. I was very surprised by this. - there is no lost and found that I know of. I accidentally left some very expensive sun protection at the pool(it rolled out of my bag) and when I went back the next day it was gone. 😢 - we did a snorkeling trip - the view was murky and someone in our party said it was the worst they have ever seen. I had never been before, and it wasn’t easy to see but I did see a huge turtle so that was good. I wish we could have gone to a much better area where it was more clear. RECOMMENDATIONS / FYI’s - do NOT underestimate the importance of bug spray. And put it all over at least twice a day. We were stung and bitten despite this. But not as much as people without. - don’t overpack. We spent all day in swimsuits so I needed less clothing then I thought I would. If you are a woman, it is a good idea to bring a cover up. - absolutely bring watershoes. But make sure they don’t rub the back of your heel. Sand got in mine and no matter how much I rinsed them the sand rubbed my heel raw. - you have to “check in” for your transfer back to the hotel 2 days before you leave. - your transfer back - they recommend you catch the shuttle 4 hours ahead of time - the drive to the airport is about an hour of that. - if you drink, buy alcohol at the duty free store on the way to the pick up area. Prices are decent. - you have to pay in full when you arrive. - pickup for transfer to resort is thru the doors to the outside of the airport, after the baggage claim. Look for “nexus”. - beach is very hot, and the sand isn’t smooth. It is VERY HARD to rinse out of clothes and shoes. Use the showers at the beach and pool and much as possible (although it still won’t all come off). - DO NOT lose your towel or towel card. You will be charged. - there are some nice shops to the right outside of the resort walls. But they are SPENDY. I was so shocked to see dresses for $95-115. Too spendy for me. - get a massage on the beach. It is way less expensive and very relaxing. But slather yourself in bug spray first. You can also ask them to spray the ground around the massage table. Note that the massage is in an open air setting so you will hear people and vehicles around you. But the spa at the resort is ridiculously expensive so it is worth it. We paid $45 for an hour. If you want a relaxing massage only, make sure to tell them that. - Stay hydrated!!!! Drink the large bottles of water and bring “liquid iv” or something to help with hydration - they give out regular keys instead of cards. - pay attention to the time of the restaurants opening and closing. - bring bug bite treatment. They itch like crazy! - definitely bring after sun care. - when you go snorkeling bring a long sleeve spf shirt. I bought one on the beach for $12 before snorkeling and I was glad I did because 2 people got stung by little jelly fish (minor discomfort) - if you have sore joints or knee/hip issues, you don’t have to walk on the beach (which is slopped). There is a nice flat path up above the beach that will take you to the monkeys (turn left and keep walking). - while you don’t have to too, I recommend that you do tip for good service.

less