We just returned yesterday. Spent a week at the Riu, from Nov 9th through the 16th. We went with a group of 6, all in our early to mid-40's, from Ohio. We are experienced travelers, having been to several all-inclusives in both Riviera Maya and Puerto Vallarta. This Riu, was by FAR, the best all-inclusive resort we've ever visited.

The property is impeccable. Meticulously maintained. The pool is beautiful. Waterfalls, infinity walls, lush landscape. Just beautiful. Beach is gorgeous. Unique trees right in the middle of the beach provide a beautiful view and shade if you want it. The sand is black, darker than what you might be used to. Adds to the uniqueness in my opinion. Water is typical of pacific side water. Not as clear and blue as Caribbean side, but we didn't care.

SERVICE: Absolutely OUTSTANDING. Could barely finish half my water at dinner and it would be refilled. Empty plates sat less than a minute and they were cleared. The people are 10x more friendly than Mexico. Constantly want to make you happy.

ROOMS: Ours was always scrubbed clean daily. Beds are hard. That could be good or bad depending on your preference. I got used to it. Pillows are a bit "flat." We asked for extra and they were brought up immediately. AC was cold.

FOOD: I am a picky eater. And I don't understand how anyone can give the food here a negative review. There were tons of choices. They change some stuff each day. But a lot of the same stuff is there everyday. The food isn't fantastic, but well above average. You will never find "fantastic amazing" food at an all inclusive resort. Same thing with the booze. The typical vacation type frozen drinks will be weak in comparison to a bar. But that's the nature of the all inclusive. I gained 3 pounds in a week. Went back for seconds or thirds more often than I should have. If you can't find something good to eat, you can't be pleased.

In terms of the specialty restaurants: Italian place, we thought was ok. Steak house was also ok. I had the BBQ ribs which were good. Rest of us that had steak said it was ok. In the states, here, I'd compare it to a steak you'd get at a Golden Corral, or Ponderosa type place. Its not a high quality type steak you'd find in a "steak house" in the USA. The "Gourmet" restaurant was also ok. Japanese place, we all also liked. Lots of choices. Its all just more variety when you have had enough general buffet.

BEACH MASSAGE: Go see the ladies that do beach massages. Elia (I think) and her daughter Ana Lucia do the most fantastic job. And its CHEAP! Best massage ever, for $35 for an hour. We went 3 times over the week. Their huts are located off to the far right as you look at the ocean.

ENTERTAINMENT: The staff try hard and overall do a good job. There's lots of activities that take place during the day. Ping pong, beach and pool volleyball, goofy games poolside, etc. Their nightly shows are a bit "cheesy," but you sit there and enjoy the night with friends and drinks, so we didn't really care.

"OFF CAMPUS": We took the shuttle to El Coco. Lots of cool beach bars there, where you can get "real" drinks. Had an amazing Pina Colada for $3. You can do some local shopping there as well. We also did the tour of the Buena Vista resort/Rincon Volcano area. It was fun. Zip lining, crazy waterslide, hot springs, horseback riding. It was about 1 1/2 hour ride one way from the resort.

Last tip: The ride from the airport to the resort is about 45 mins or so. Most of that ride is on the private road that was built to the resort (which is in the middle of nowhere - very isolated.) Anyway, this private road is very hilly and winds around a lot. We had empty stomachs coming off the long plane rides and a few of us got real nauseous. Eat something on your last plane leg so you have food in your stomach before the trip.

Overall, can't say enough about this place, and the country in general. Way better than Mexico. I'm sure we'll be going back.

Okay, here's the deal...

THE ROOM
The room was clean (housekeeping was on top of it), very comfortable, and a good size. The bed was huge. The molding was impressive and there was plenty of room on the balcony. Nice double vanity and shower, etc. The built in safe was a plus. It smelled a like the prior occupants were smokers so maybe they have non-smoker rooms available. You might have to ask them to re-stock the fridge. And when they say all inclusive, that doesn't mean WiFi. It's free in the lobby for 90 minutes each 24 hour period (and the free kind doesn't allow downloads). If you need to, you can $10/hour, $15/day, or $70/week.

FOOD & DRINK
The food was good, not excellent, but very good nonetheless. And they had a great breakfast spread. Tucan had a tasty filet mignon (they could use some music to lighten up the atmosphere a little). If you want to eat at one of the restaurants, make sure you get to the reservation booth nice and early. Wine and beer selection was just that, wine or beer - no options. Unbeknownst to us, top shelf liquor was available if you asked for it. Bacardi, Jose Cuervo, etc. It was kept behind cabinets under the bar. Who knew?

GENERAL HOTEL
The high ceilings and moldings were impressive. The staff were very friendly. On the last day, like most days at other RIUs I have been to, they even came around the beach and asked if we wanted drinks. Gym was decent but jacuzzi and steam bath weren't terribly warm, they could have been about 20 degrees warmer. Pool's "jacuzzi had nice jet placement", a few ladies remarked. Landscaping was tight. No need for a travel adapter as rooms fit US plugs.

MISC.
Bring cash. Dollars are king down here and ATM doesn't like all debit cards for some reason (and it's only available in the casino from 6:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m.); you'll want to make sure you have tips for your guides. That is, if you do any excursions. We went White Water Rafting downt the Tenoria (Swiss Travlel), ATV/Canopy (Luis Solutions - on the beach), and rented a 4-Runner (Alamo) for a day trip to Tamarindo. If you do that, there's a short cut that will take you via a mountain road and multiple beaches. If you go that way, you WILL need a 4x4. Seriously. I would highly recommend each trip and we were pleased with each vendor, including Luis who, is not an "approved vendor" of the hotel. The rafting wasn't too crazy, except one 12' drop and subsequent cliff jump into a pool that apparently had a boulder that could have caused problems had we jumped any more to the left. ATV/Canopy was intense and not for the faint of heart. Alamo had a much better deal than Thrifty (located in the lobby) and in general, you can negotiate the price of just about anything down there. Massage on the beach with Elena and Carolina were fantastic - also not approved by the hotel.

8 people trip from NY going to Costa Rica seemed like a good idea.ok country is beautiful and there is plenty to see just stay away from riu!!!!!!!!!
limited food,available only on certain times(nothing after 9 pm and before 6am)
alcohol .....don't even get me started ...i stopped drinking at all to avoid it
we tipped like crazy(coming from NY you don't get anywhere if you don't tip) and it got us nowhere!!! locals are unappreciative

My husband and I researched tons of honeymoon options before deciding on the Riu Guanacaste. Turned out, we had an amazing time! At first, we worried about few negative reviews we found, but we had an absolute blast with the great staff (as busy as they were), awesome view (garden/ocean), and convenient unlimited alcohol (in room and elsewhere) and food (buffet and reservation).

We also met amazing people (couples and groups) that we were able to share drinks/meals and reservations for dinner, shows and tours with.

My husband and I made sure we got massages on the beach every day that we were there. We went to Hania and Jannette (first white cabana in front of the Palace) every day of the week we were there. Relaxing (with the sounds of the ocean), beneficial (with their professional touch) and we loved their hospitality.

We would absolutely recommend staying at the Riu Guanacaste, and with such a great experience we plan on staying at another Riu the next country we go.

Pura vida todos los dias! Que tienen muchas buenas dias!