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About
4.0
#1 of 3 hotels in Sardinal
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
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Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica garners compliments for its amenities, including diverse pools and food choices, and its cleanliness is widely praised. However, guests have called out the need for modernization and report disturbances from construction noise.
While the service is generally commended for its staff's attentiveness, the hotel's value is questioned due to concerns with room conditions and additional costs. The atmosphere offers a mix of festive activities and outdated elements, and despite the scenic beachfront location, some find it too isolated for off-site adventures.
Location
Secluded
Atmosphere
Lively
Rooms
Dated
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Meticulous
Noise level
Noisy
Service
Attentive
Amenities
Satisfactory
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I am a single mother who was travelling with my children aged 9 and 12 in Dec 2022. Since I was travelling solo I wanted to ensure that the place I chose was safe and the Palace did not disappoint! I would definitely go back and recommend
Food - we all really enjoyed the food here. The buffets were HUGE and there is no way you couldn't find something enjoyable to eat - lots of selection and it was all cooked properly. We also tried the Italian and the Steak house and had no issues getting into either. Both were great and no complaints. At lunch time each day they had a different special snack bar beside the pool that was yummy. No one got sick (Whoo hoo)
Resort - clean and well maintained!! Not far from the airport which was a huge bonus
Room - no complaints! It was large, clean and the fridge was stocked daily. Coffee machine and liquor was supplied. Our view was of the garden area which was nice as you could see wildlife. Towels were always refreshed.
Staff - all were friendly and made our stay so enjoyable!! When we checked in our room had 1 King bed vs 2 queens and when I went to the front desk the issue was corrected immediately even though I wasnt worried about it.
Beach - its a public beach so yes, there are locals on it. All were friendly! We had no issues with the vendors either and a polite "no thank you" was all you had to say and they wouldnt ask again. Lots of chairs and shade as well.
Bring down bananas and grapes to feed the monkeys that are to the left of the beach. Tip - they are picky about their food options and dont like strawberries lol.
Waterpark - we loved having this option! so much fun and its right on property.
Excursions - we booked an all day private tour with Wilton (first tent on the beach that you come to). It was a very long day but we had a fabulous time with our guide. We never felt un safe and would recommend. We also did the zip lining that was close by and it was perfect for my childrens ages.
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Date of stay: December 2022
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RIU Hotels and Resorts, Owner at Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica
Responded Jun 7, 2023
Dear tracybug, We appreciate your kind words. We are glad that you have enjoyed the services provided and to know that we lived up to your expectations. We look forward to welcoming you again soon. Best regards, Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica Online Reputation Manager
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This was our first time to Costa Rica, went with 3 couples, mid 50's age group. All of us have been to many all inclusives before so we are pretty seasoned travellers. If you have stayed at a Riu palace before, which we all have, it is what you would typically expect. The riu palace always has a fabulous buffet for breakfast ,lunch and dinner and so did this one! We ate at all the a la cartes, the steakhouse had a beautiful view and it was in the lunch place by the beach but the steaks were very tough and probably our least favourite. The best was the gourmet Krystal and the Japanese. If you want to eat at any of these you need to get in the lineup by 5;45 and put your name on the list when the lady opens the door. By 6;00 they start calling room numbers and fill up the restaurant. We came one night at 6;30 and both were not longer taking numbers as they had enough to fill the restaurant twice. Once you know the system its what you need to do to eat there. The pool area is beautiful with tons of chairs at all times of the day. The service at the pool and throughout the resort was top notch. A shout out to Luis from the entertainment crew who remembered our names for the week, even though we were participants in the activities. The entertainment crew always has stuff going on to keep people occupied if you like. One thing to know about the beach is that the beaches in costa rica are public so there are chairs to sit on and I believe they serve you but no little huts for shade. Not many people at all sitting by the beach. However if you like walking the beach, it is a great walk on firm sand. The rooms are a little tired, but it seems like they just build stuff cheaper and stuff breaks down quicker. However our room was cleaned good everyday and water was delivered. If you need to bring water on an excursion or even in your beach bag, bring a couple of insulated water bottles along as they only have the big 2 litre bottles in your room . Also handy for filling up at the airport filling stations as well, as water is $5US once you get through security. Went on a fabulous day trip, the rainforest/coffee plantation one through sunwing. It was a long day but well worth the trip. If there is one thing they need to change soon is the purple chairs and coverings in the lobby bar area, they are very dirty and look like a cheap bar. We did not go to the casino or night club, but the nightly shows and music were not bad. They had a big white party one night over at the other riu which was interesting. The riu is probably one of the the most popular places to stay based on the amount of people on our flight that went there and we wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. It was a fantastic week!
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Date of stay: January 2020
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:If you want quiet at night, don't stay on the side by the theatre.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RiuHotelsandResorts, Online Reputation Manager at Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica
Responded Feb 6, 2020
Dear 881JoyceV, Thank you for sharing your outstanding experience with us! We are delighted to understand that you had a wonderful time during your stay at our Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica! We appreciate your kind words and compliments! It was a pleasure to take great care of you! We have also taken notes of your few suggestions and will share them all with our Management team so that they can take actions accordingly! We hope to host you again in one of our worldwide hotels in the future! Greetings, Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica Online Reputation Manager
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We stayed at the Riu Palace for a week in Feb 2020, with two other couples. This was a winter getaway to get out of the Ottawa cold and get some heat and sun. The hotel, staff, location, grounds, and bars were fantastic. The restaurants were great, though not all of us always enjoyed what we ordered, but overall the food was good to very good. The location, nestled in a bay with a brown sand beach, treed hills all around, warm sea water, and iguanas and monkeys in the area, is fantastic. There is always someone around willing to help, always someone cleaning and tiding up, maintaining the grounds, etc. Rooms were nice, very clean and spacious. One of our couples felt that their room had a musty smell, and after the staff put in a dehumidifier to help, they then moved them to another room which was perfect. The lobby bar staff and pool bar staff were awesome. We have seen the reviews where people complain about stupid stuff like pillows, and my wife did bring her own, but there was no need, the pillows were fine and if you want an extra, it’s either in the closet or one phone call away. We also used CR Eco Journeys for a river boat trip and turtle watching, and they were great, highly recommend them - give Arianna a call !
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RiuHotelsandResorts, Online Reputation Manager at Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica
Responded Feb 26, 2020
Dear Milan, Thank you so much for the compliments! It is truly amazing to hear that you have enjoyed your recent stay and we are pleased to hear you were fully satisfied with all areas. Your recommendation and feedback means a lot to us and we hope to have the pleasure of seeing you again soon! With our best wishes we remain, Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica Online Reputation Manager
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This hotel is in a lovely location fronting the beach with beautiful manicured lawned surroundings. We stayed for 2 weeks and enjoyed our time here providing you are prepared to overlook some niggly issues. We found all the staff to be very efficient and helpful and could not fault housekeeping. The rooms are okay but I would not say 5 star they lack TLC with chipped furniture tops so could do with a refurb. Beds however are very comfortable and lovely large shower area with plenty of room for all your wash items etc. There is a separate jacuzzi bath which we didnt use.There is a coffee machine but no kettle so tea drinkers have to wait until they get to restaurant as using coffee machine for hot water is not efficient. The grounds to this place are amazing and the pools are very impressive at first glance. Once you settle in to using pools you will note that every pool has got an enormous amount of tiles missing and guests are collecting tiles from off pool floor or pool beds and placing at side of pool daily. This looks to be a long standing problem and possibly a health issue as you will notice blackening of grout in many areas of pool. Food is plentiful but the themed restaurants have no booking system as such and you have to turn up very early to get a place. Some restaurants have very limited choice. We are not keen on buffets and prefer a restaurant for evening meal however we had to use buffet restaurant mostly as choice was far superior. You can bounce lobster off the plate in The Papagaya restaurant so give that a miss. If you're booking trips the reps at Hotel are very good and helpful so get them a drink from the bar as it's free and they are not allowed unless given to them so be nice. Drinks are free flowing and readily available all day and night and no problem being served around pool waiters are hard working and plentiful. There are also optics in bedroom for further drinks if you want drinks in your room and ice machines in walkways. Anyone looking for a massage go to beach turn left and walk to car park and shout out for Serena and her daughters. Absolutely amazing full body plus facial for an hour 35 dollars so give a tip as best massage I have ever had and I booked four and my hubby booked 3.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RiuHotelsandResorts, Online Reputation Manager at Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica
Responded Apr 20, 2020
Dear Budpop, Thank you deeply for sharing your experience at our hotel! First of all, we are delighted you enjoyed your stay in general and thank you for your kind words in regards to our excellent staff services! On the other hand, we regret that you found our restaurant reservation system inconvenient, since we do it from previous comments and suggestions received from other clients. We will be sure to share your thoughts to our General Management so that it can be taken into account when deciding which system we will be kept in the near future. We are looking forward to attend you again soon and make your experience a more positive one! Stay safe meanwhile, Kindest regards, Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica Online Reputation Manager
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Pros: The location of this resort is really convenient from the airport. Grounds are surrounded by lush views. Food was generally very good. Krystal was our favorite with a great menu selection. Breakfast buffet had a huge variety of options and tons of fresh fruit. Staff was extremely friendly! Never felt that “we want your tips” type feeling that often happen at other all inclusives.
Cons: Room was dated (and SO stinky upon arrival. It was like they used some type of really harsh cleaning chemicals and then closed the room up for days with no ventilation). Bed was very uncomfortable. Towel cards (give to attendant, get towel) and wristbands seemed unnecessary at this price point.
This was a nice trip overall but I can’t say we’d be anxious to come back or to recommend to a friend.
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Date of stay: December 2019Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RiuHotelsandResorts, Online Reputation Manager at Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica
Responded Mar 4, 2020
Dear KO30, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us and with the travel community! We are happy to learn that overall you had a good time during your stay at our Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica! We appreciate your kind words and compliments towards most of our products and services. However, we lament that you found some inconveniences that made your stay less enjoyable which we apologize for! We have taken notes of these concerns and suggestions and will share them with our Management team so that they can take them into consideration! It was our pleasure to take care of you and we look forward to welcoming you back very soon in one of our worldwide hotels! King regards, Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica Online Reputation Manager
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Our tour rep met us at the airport (Libiria), with a full size air conditioned and very comfortable bus. He gave us most off his orientation lecture during the 40 minute ride to the hotel which cut down his speal the following day. Pulling up to the hotel after dark is always an interesting experience, but the hotel is beautiful and the lobby spacious and opulent. Check in was the smoothest we've ever encountered and we had our room keys and paperwork within 2 minutes and were eating supper. My wife and I love to cruise, because we know the food is great, but on food alone, I would highly recommend this place. There are 4 specialty restaurants which are great, bu the buffet here is fantastic. I'm a foodie and I was impressed with the variety and quality. Breakfast is awesome and you can get anything! Ok, ok, the coffee in the buffet wasn't great, but there's a machine in the club 24 (open 24 hrs/day) that makes fantastic cappuccinos, espressos, americanos and latte's you can take down to the breakfast buffet and sip with your mimosa! The pools are huge and the grounds are kept beautifully. Like a cruise ship, there is always someone cleaning, dusting or painting so the place is kept up perfectly. The rooms are spacious and comfy, but make sure you put your card in the slot so the lights come on; you don't want to fall into the Jacuzzi which is right in the middle of the room. We could've invited a few friends over for a shower it's so large and I like the fact the curtains are designed so that you can pull them well enough to keep out all the light in the morning. I recorded a Howler monkey (audio) while sipping our coffee on our patio. There's lots to do and I highly recommend this hotel. OH, I almost forgot: if you're beach people, the beach is dark to black sand and the beach is not like a Caribbean beach, but if you do choose to sit on chairs under the trees on the beach, waiters will bring you drinks from the bar and the ocean is lovely. Don't waste space taking your own snorkel stuff as the area isn't great for that. go on an excursion and use their gear. DO go zip lining and I highly recommend going to Buena Vista for the day. Great place, we will go back.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:Rooms on the back side are quieter. Unless you're on the upper floors, you won't see the...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RiuHotelsandResorts, Online Reputation Manager at Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica
Responded Feb 10, 2020
Dear Eric, We truly appreciate you taking the time to leave us your fantastic 5 star review on Tripadvisor. It delights us to know that your experience was noteworthy and it is such a joy to read your lovely words on our gastronomy. We look forward to hosting you again soon for another amazing experience! With our best wishes we remain, Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica Online Reputation Manager
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A fun experience at the Riu Palace for the New Year with our early 20something kids. Six of us went in total. Good food and friendly service. Of the a la carte restaurants, we liked the Italian the least. Buffet was quite good. We lucked out with the ocean as it was a yellow flag all week, so quite a number of people down at the beach. Nice pool area and never had to fight for chairs. The pool water is awesome for anyone who has skin sensitivites (1 in our group) as it is not heavily chlorinated like most pools. We were told they were salt water pools. One downside for those who like to watch the World Juniors hockey tournament, it's the one sport that the adjoining Riu Guanacoste Sports Bar doesn't get channels for. Dance party on the beach for the New Year's Eve, but the Neon Party at the Guanacoste on Friday night was even more fun. Took a 1/2 hour taxi ride to Playa Hermosa one night to Ginger, HIGHLY recommend this restaurant. Also booked a private day trip to Buena Vista through our Sunwing carrier with local tour operator Good Alex Tours. It cost us about $30 pp more for the day long tour, but we covered more ground & on our own time table as Alex set up a smooth running day. Highly recommend getting in touch with him for all kinds of different trips goodalextours@gmail.com Took a couple of walks down the beach to see the monkeys on the way to the Monkey Bar. Overall, these two Riu resorts, the Palace and the Guancoste are set in a beautiful area of Costa Rica.
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Date of stay: December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RiuHotelsandResorts, Online Reputation Manager at Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica
Responded Jan 23, 2020
Dear Jena, Thank you for sharing your positive review on Tripadvisor. While we are glad that you had a nice stay enjoying our gastronomy and friendly service, we are very sorry to hear that you were not able to watch the World Juniors hockey tournament during your stay. Please know that your feedback is of tremendous importance to us and we will talk about our selection of tv channels. We hope you will visit us again in the future to see how we have grown through feedback like yours. Kind regards Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica Online Reputation Manager
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Did not like the layout of the hotel. The pool bar was too small, pool was too far from beach (I like to see the beach from the pool) no beach umbrellas or Bali beds, no beach bar. Lobby bar had no music. Disco was separate from hotel and you had to pay for drinks which is ridiculous at an all inclusive resort where the only patrons are staying at the resorts! Everything was far, so many stairs and walking. Staff was friendly and courteous but superficial. Grounds were groomed but not tropical- not 1 flower, all grass and some palm trees and bushes. Restaurant food took forever and only 1 order per person- ahem- ALL inclusive! Maybe I wanted to try two dishes, should be my prerogative. I think this might be an odd part of Costa Rica, only close activity is next door to hotel. It's not really near any of the volcanos, waterfalls or other active things to do. Keep looking or stay near fun activities you are interested in doing and go to any of the many public beaches. You are so far from the beach at this resort it doesn't matter anyway.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RiuHotelsandResorts, Online Reputation Manager at Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica
Responded Jan 20, 2020
Dear Jakeyjuls87, Thank you for your time and for sharing with us your insights. It is disappointing to read that you did not enjoy your well-deserved vacation as much as you expected and that the lay-out of the Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica was not very convenient for you. Please accept our apologies for not reaching your expectations. Let us guarantee you that we have noted your concerns and we will take them into consideration. We very much appreciate your feedback and trust. We do hope you will still consider staying at some of our properties in the near future. With our best wishes we remain, Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica Online Reputation Manager
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The staff at the Riou Palace Costa Rica are all outstanding, polite and helpful and always smiling. We arrived on my husbands birthday and the room was decorated with balloons and we had a pale of fruit delivered in the afternoon. Such a nice touch after a long haul flight. The hotel was clean but tired looking and in need of a refurbishment. The gardens were very well kept and the gardening team worked tirelessly to maintain perfection. The pools definitely need repairing as there were lots of tiles missing. As we were there during the Coronavirus there were not so many guests as each day more were being repatriated. But this meant it was easy to find a sun lounger and no queues at the restaurants.. The food was superb in all the restaurants and it was great to have Prosecco or Sauvignon Blanc. The evening entertainment was good especially some of the musicians and the dancing after the show. Costa Rica is a wonderful country working hard to protect the environment, we saw Iguanas, white faced monkeys and Howler monkeys by the hotel and were fortunate to watch baby turtles being released on the beach close to the hotel. It was sad leaving the hotel early knowing that all the staff now have no work like so many of us. Thank you to all the staff for a truly memorable holiday and I hope to one day return. Pure Vida 🙏🏻
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Date of stay: March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RiuHotelsandResorts, Online Reputation Manager at Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica
Responded Mar 30, 2020
Dear CJane2013, Thank you for staying with us and for choosing our hotel to celebrate your husband’s birthday. We are thrilled that our outstanding staff was able to make your stay special on such an important occasion and that you liked the superb selection of food served in our restaurants. We will share your comments with our leadership team and we look forward to being of service again in the near future. With our best wishes we remain, Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica Online Reputation Manager
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My GF and I stayed for 8 days (24th-2nd) and absolutely loved the vibe of this resort. The staff could not do enough for us and the activity coordinator Johan Molina made sure everyone was involved. John and Diego at Scuba Caribe were great and the reefs were gorgeous! Shout out to Esteban our concierge who made sure we didn't miss our dinner reservations or any of the shows. We stayed in room #1028 with king bed and it was great. We could actually watch the early show while we got ready for the later one. I would stay on 3rd floor if possible but it really didn't matter b/c we did not come to stay in the room except for the obvious things you would need the room for! We did go to Rincon Buena Vista Lodge which was 1.5 hours away and it was an incredible experience for an affordable price. We also rented a car for $375 which was worth it so we could make our own schedule when we ventured off the property. As for the weather, it's the beginning of the rainy season so grab the sun in the morning b/c there is a chance of rain each afternoon which is totally hit or miss around the country. I would not say it made any difference really and I would most definitely return again in the summer.
Pros: Amenities around property Cleanliness of resort Friendliness of staff Maintenance issues resolved quickly Security and Safety Krystal and Tokio restaurants Breakfast buffet was above average Pool BBQ was excellent Adult Swim Up Bar Area Activity coordination and participation Cappuccino bar Bartenders were great Room A/C was acceptable even though it was centrally controlled
Cons: Rooms need updating Jacuzzis too small not worth upgrade Bathrooms not close to the pool area Restaurant lunch buffet food was average at best Wi-Fi service around resort was not good No cell phone network service except at beach Some rooms are too close to the theater noise until 11PM Covid Country Restrictions: No Pacha club at night 9:30 curfew outside resort Bars close at 10:30 inside resort
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Date of stay: June 2021
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Rooms on Westside and upper floors were quieter. Room service is limited but is possible if you...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Sardinal area.
PRICE RANGE
C$441 - C$578 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
Costa RicaProvince of GuanacasteGulf of PapagayoSardinal
NUMBER OF ROOMS
538
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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