You know how loyal Riu guests are. They’ll go anywhere as long as they can stay at a Riu. We’ve been at the Riu Palace in Costa Rica a few days, and what a happy place it is. There is no line-up at the front desk to complain, there’s no moaning at any of the pools, or at the buffet. I actually heard guests discussing how nice it was not to have Timeshare sales people at any Riu.

Reviews are excellent. Oh yes there is the odd one who didn’t like it, but that is because the reviewer bought or was sold the wrong product. “We didn’t know it would be so big! We wanted a beach holiday!” 

We also heard, “ I wanted white sand.” 

Rooms have a European feel, with touches of bright colours. Guests love the in-room liquor dispenser, and the mini-bar. The junior suites have a hydromassage bathtub as well as a big roomy shower.

Melissa Pena has been with the Riu seven years and presently is the reception manager, and she’s doing another degree in tourism.  She hopes to teach others to love tourism the way she does. Her energy is amazing. 

“There are three categories of rooms,” she says, “family suites, outside Jacuzzi suites, and the junior suites.” Ask her what the biggest complaint is and she says “Guests want more bathrooms closer to the pools. 

“Marc Burrell Junior Sub-Director, loves his job from start to finish, usually 11 hours a day. He can be found pouring over spreadsheets, chatting with guests around the pool, or helping the 400 Palace employees with their goals.

This 538 room Palace is 40 minutes from the airport, on the Matapolo beach. Next door is the 700 suites Riu Guanacaste. Palace guests are welcome on the property and can eat breakfast and lunch there but not dinner. 

Many guests wander over to swim, they love the lazy river pool. We loved the four pools at the Palace, there was lots of shade, and lots of room both on the decks, and in the huge pools. It was hard to choose our favourite pool, and we weren’t the only guests checking out all the pools. And I wasn’t the only one doing my running exercises up and down all the pools either.

I couldn’t pick my favourite employee, they were efficient, friendly, and always wore a smile. I would have been shocked if they were any different. Riu is known for their exceptional staff. 

Guanacaste is neither tropical nor humid, it is hot and sunny with no rain at all in February. 

Ask guests what they love about the destination and they say “ the weather.” 

It is beautiful, Brahma bulls graze under the huge branches of the shade trees that gave the province its name. The brilliant yellow blossoms of the corteza amarilla dot the plains in February, and now in March the red blossoms of the carao (carab tree) brighten the landscape. 

The plains and dry forests sometimes remind me of African savanna landscapes, gorgeous shades of gold, beige and brown. Costa Rica is a country that begs to be explored and most guests take one or two excursions. 

For those who just wanted to loaf, a five minute walk along with beach and you’ll see white face monkeys waiting to entertain, and lovely colourful birds in the trees right around the property. Tours are many and varied. Nexus tours offer peaceful rainforest walks, and exciting zipline rides. The Volcanic adventure, with hot springs, mudbaths, and a swim at a waterfall is a big seller. There is a one day trip to Nicaragua, with time for shopping in the busy day. There is a 20 percent discount on certain tours booked with Signature Vacations, and a spa credit that applies to select treatments at the Renova Spa.

There is a casino, and of course a gym. The evening dance shows are some of the best I've seen at any Riu hotel with all the dancers giving it 100 percent. Guests love the buffet. Tom loved the fact that he didn’t have to hunt around for butter and jam while his toast got cold. The Italian restaurant was superb, always had excellent food, and no reservations needed. We had reservations to the steak restaurant, and Tom loved his lobster, while I enjoyed steak. 

Costa Rica is a non-smoking country, but guests can smoke on the beach, or in a very pleasant garden. There’s a kids pool, kids play area, and kids 4-12 can enjoy the supervised Riuland Kids Club activities. Kids 2-12 pay a special price when sharing a room with 2 adults. Next door at the Riu Guanacaste Signature Vacations offers 2 kids 2 to 12 Stay, Play and Eat Free when sharing a room with 2 adults. This may be why lots of kids were at the Guanacaste, and not so many at the Palace.

Yes, WiFi is free and in the rooms as well as the lobby.

These two resorts aren’t last minute choices - they were at 100 percent occupancy while I was there.