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Hotel Riu Guanacaste

Costa Rica, Costa Rica

4.2(9,454 reviews)

FamilyRiu

Hotel Riu Guanacaste is the big-value family all-inclusive in a country that mostly does not do big-value family all-inclusives. It opened in 2009 as RIU's first hotel in Costa Rica, and in October 2025 it reopened after a full refurbishment that redesigned all 1,041 rooms, restructured the pool area into six pools with three swim-up bars, added eight swim-up rooms with private pools, rebuilt the RIU Land kids area, and refreshed every restaurant and bar. If your mental image of this place is a dated budget resort, it is out of date.

Traveler Insights

Pros

+The whole property reopened in October 2025 after a full refurbishment, so you are not booking a tired older resort. All 1,041 rooms were redesigned and made brighter and more spacious, and every restaurant and bar was redone along with the lobby, the gardens and new shaded areas.
+That refurbishment restructured the pool area into six pools, three of them with a swim-up bar, which is a lot of water for a property at this price level and keeps the crowds from piling into one spot.
+Eight swim-up rooms with their own private pools were added in the renovation, a room type that usually costs a lot more than this resort charges.
+Splash Water World, RIU's on-site water park with slides and attractions, makes this genuinely competitive for families with kids, and the RIU Land children's area was rebuilt from scratch in the same refurbishment.
+Good value in a country that runs expensive for all-inclusives. Costa Rica has far fewer big all-inclusive resorts than Mexico or the Dominican Republic, and the ones there are tend to price well above this.
+Directly on Matapalo Beach with a genuinely wild setting around it. Guests regularly report monkeys in the trees around the grounds and visible from balconies, which is not something a Cancun hotel zone property can offer.
+More included facilities than the price suggests: the Renova Spa and wellness centre, a gym, a nightclub, a tennis court, free Wi-Fi throughout, seven bars, and 24-hour all-inclusive service with the Fun4All family entertainment programme, RIU Fit sessions, snorkeling and kayaking.
+Post-renovation dining has real range for a value resort: separate Asian, Mexican and Italian restaurants, a classic steakhouse, two buffets with live cooking stations, two Pepe's Food snack stations, two Tiki Taco stations, the Candy ice cream parlour, and a Sports Bar serving around the clock.

Cons

−Service is the recurring complaint in recent guest accounts, not the rooms or the grounds. One reviewer who had stayed at seven other Riu properties called this the worst in Central America for service and described staff as disengaged, and a guest from a late September 2026 stay documented days of unanswered calls and emails trying to recover an item left in the room.
−Food opinion is genuinely split rather than uniformly good. One guest reported that three of the four specialty restaurants were serving buffet style with much the same food as the main dining room, so treat the a la carte lineup as something to confirm on arrival rather than a guarantee.
−The beach is not the reason to come. This is Pacific-side Guanacaste with darker, coarser volcanic sand, and it will not be mistaken for the powdery white sand of Punta Cana or the Riviera Maya.
−It is genuinely out of the way. The hotel sits at Playa Matapalo in Sardinal, with Playas del Coco the nearest town of any size, so there is nothing walkable and some guests find the isolation wears on them after several days.
−At 1,041 rooms this is a very large property, and it got larger after 300 rooms were added in 2024. Even with six pools and the expanded dining, peak weeks mean busy buffets and competition for the good loungers.
−Quiet at night by all-inclusive standards. There is a nightclub and the weekly RIU Party and RIU Get Together Party events, but nothing like the nightlife of the Cancun hotel zone.
−Guanacaste's green season runs roughly May through November and brings real rain, which matters more here than at a resort where you would happily spend the day indoors.
−Getting out to the airport can be an adventure on a bad day. One guest's departure transfer was blocked by a fallen tree and the group walked more than 2 km down a dark, steep road at 4:30 in the morning to reach their ride.

The practical experience is pools first, beach second. Splash Water World gives families a real water park, there are seven bars and 24-hour all-inclusive service, and the post-renovation dining runs to separate Asian, Mexican and Italian restaurants, a steakhouse, two buffets with live cooking stations, taco and grill snack stations and an ice cream parlour. Facilities include the Renova Spa, a gym, a nightclub and a tennis court. The honest caveats are that Matapalo Beach is dark Pacific sand rather than a postcard, and that service is where recent guests push back hardest: complaints about disengaged staff and very poor follow-up on problems come up more than anything about the rooms or the grounds.

This works best for families who want slides and kid programming without Riviera Maya prices, and for travelers who want to say they vacationed in Costa Rica and are happy to let the resort be the holiday. The setting is the real differentiator, with monkeys in the trees around the grounds and the Guanacaste landscape beyond. If you want more polish, the neighbouring Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica, which RIU opened in 2012 as its second property in the country, is the step up to price out. If you came for cloud forests, volcanoes and Monteverde, build in tours or stay somewhere closer to them, because Playa Matapalo is a committed beach-resort base about 30 km from Liberia.

Common Questions

How does Riu Guanacaste compare to Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica next door?

The Palace is RIU's step up and it is the one to price out if your budget stretches, with more polished rooms and service. Note the name: the neighbouring property is Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica, RIU's second hotel in the country when it opened in 2012, and there is no resort called Riu Palace Guanacaste even though RIU's own website sometimes labels the tile that way. Riu Guanacaste itself is no longer the obvious poor relation after its October 2025 refurbishment, so compare current rooms and rates rather than assuming a large quality gap.

Is the beach at Riu Guanacaste any good?

It is pleasant and the hotel sits directly on it, but it is not the resort's best feature. This is Pacific-side Guanacaste, so expect darker, coarser volcanic sand rather than the white powder of the Caribbean resorts. The six pools and the water park are where most guests spend their water time. Conditions on this coast vary with surf and season, so check the flags and ask at the desk before swimming rather than assuming it is calm.

Can you actually see wildlife from the resort?

Yes, and it is the thing guests mention most fondly. Monkeys in the trees around the grounds and visible from balconies come up regularly in guest accounts, and the surrounding dry forest landscape makes the stay feel different from a purpose-built resort strip. Do not feed them: Costa Rican authorities discourage feeding wild monkeys, it is bad for the animals, and resort staff will ask you to stop.

Where exactly is the hotel and how long is the transfer?

It is at Playa Matapalo in Sardinal, Guanacaste, in the Playas del Coco and Papagayo area of the province, served by Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia roughly 30 km away. Figure on about 30 to 40 minutes by road. It is not near Tamarindo, which is a good deal further south, so ignore any listing that places it there when you plan day trips. Check-in is 3pm and check-out is noon.

Is it a good choice for families with young children?

It is one of the better options in Costa Rica for it. Splash Water World has slides and attractions, the RIU Land kids area was completely rebuilt in the 2025 renovation, the Fun4All programme runs family entertainment, and six pools give you room to spread out. The two-bedroom Superior Family Room with pool view is built for this. Bring insect repellent for the natural surroundings, and if a swim-up room matters to you, book early because only eight exist.

Restaurants (7)

Type	Restaurants
Buffet	Liberia
Mexican	Agave, Tiki Taco
Italian	Papagayo
Asian	Furama
Steakhouse	Steak House
American & grill	Pepe’s Food

From the resort's own dining pages. Only restaurants the resort lists are shown. All are covered by the all-inclusive rate, per the resort.

What's nearby

Playa Hermosa
40 min drive · 14 mi
Playa Panamá
40 min drive · 15 mi

More things to do (16)

Playas del Coco · beach40 min drive · 13 mi
Diamante Eco Adventure Park · adventure park9 min drive · 1.5 mi
Playa Potrero · beach35 min drive · 9.3 mi
Playa Penca · beach35 min drive · 9.4 mi
Gulf of Papagayo catamaran and snorkel trip · excursion40 min drive · 13 mi
Bat Islands bull shark dive (May to November) · excursion40 min drive · 13 mi
Witch's Rock and Ollie's Point surf boat trip · excursion40 min drive · 13 mi
Playa Pan de Azúcar · beach40 min drive · 11 mi
Playa Calzón de Pobre · beach45 min drive · 14 mi
Playa Danta · beach45 min drive · 12 mi
Playa Flamingo · beach45 min drive · 13 mi
Sunset catamaran sail from Playa Flamingo · excursion45 min drive · 13 mi
Marina Flamingo · marina45 min drive · 13 mi
Catalina Islands dive trip · excursion45 min drive · 13 mi
Sportfishing charter from Marina Flamingo · excursion45 min drive · 13 mi
Playa Brasilito · beach45 min drive · 14 mi

Amenities

Walk-In Dining Available

Water Slides

Waterpark

Nightclub

Tennis

Kids Club

Swim-Up Bar

Free Wi-Fi

Show 5 more amenities

Nightly Entertainment

Buffet Dining

Spa

Gym

Beach

Seaweed & sargassum

Costa Rica gets sargassum, typically worst March through August on the Caribbean coast only; the Pacific coast is clear every month.See the month-by-month guide →

Every all-inclusive in Costa Rica →

Google Reviews★ 4.2 · 9,454 reviews

Reverend R.

2 weeks ago

“We stayed at Rio Guanacaste and loved it. This our third Riu vacation. The hotel was meticulously clean, the food was really good, the beach was amazing and there were also several pools. There was no shortage of loungers for such a big place. They h...”

Vicky R.

3 weeks ago

“Very nice facility and grounds, pools, and beach. Was at capacity, so bar service was quite slow. Good choice of drinks. Nice roomy, clean beach with plenty of lounge chairs spread out. Very isolated, completely by itself. Good buffet meal service on...”