Last October we were looking at our Costa Rica must visit list, one we created once we were settled in our home in Costa Rica. We noticed we had yet to visit the Guanacaste region and being we are West Coast natives that grew up a short 10 minute walk from the Pacific Ocean we were definitely longing for some beach time.
After much research we finally decided we would take a small weekend trip to the Guanacaste area and stay at decided on staying at an all inclusive resort as we would only be staying for one night, we were able to find a great deal at the Riu Guanacaste Resort and booked it. We drove out of San Jose area early in the morning and were arriving by noon at our destination.
It was definitely a great decision to stay at the Riu Guanacaste, it is a large property that has the Riu Palace right next door and is a 5 star resort. It is all inclusive, which means all meals and drinks are included with your stay. The property is located on Sardinal-Matapalo Beach, personally I wasn't impressed with the beach which has black sand and at times rip currents. It didn't look like the beach I was definitely looking forward to, perhaps it was due to it being rain season and the sky at times was gloomy. I was looking forward to turquoise blue waters.
The hotel is equipped with a large swimming pool that features a swim up bar, a hot water jacuzzi {due to Costa Rica's tropical weather it is not common to have the jacuzzi water hot, locals prefer to have it run on cool water}. The pool staff has a small pool house with books, boardgames and other pool appropriate gear; you can enjoy all of this and several activities organized by the pool staff. There is also a fully equipped gym, sauna and a spa.
There are 3 restaurants to chose from, one of which is a steakhouse that requires reservation due to its popularity. This is key information, since we arrived at noon when reservations for the steakhouse restaurant closes we were unable to enjoy dinner at this restaurant, so if you plan on staying at an all inclusive resort in Costa Rica it is wise to reserve your dinner as soon as you arrive at the hotel. We enjoyed most of our meals at the buffet style restaurant that featured different cuisines from around the globe, it is also family friendly with indoor and outdoor dining and live music at dinner.
Rooms are spacious and most -if not all of them- feature an ocean view.
As most all inclusive resorts, this one has an entertainment theatre with a nightly family friendly variety show. During our stay we chose to go back up to our room after dinner and play boardgames we had brought along.
This is the perfect resort if you are looking for five star quality accommodations and experience for your family.
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