Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica

Very bad experience with restaurant reservations. From the beginning, we inquired at the front desk about how reservations work, and what they indicate is that none of the restaurants work under a reservation system. The nice surprise is coming one day at 6pm to a restaurant and being told that all the reservations are sold out. But didn't they say no at the front desk? I go to another restaurant and they tell me that at 5:45pm all the reservations were given out. The reservation service is terrible regarding the lack of clarity that the front desk and the restaurant manager have. I would like to warn people not to come and spend their money on such a deplorable stay. If you are looking for a vacation, don't come here; you won't find tranquility here. What there will be are many fights, not over reservations as they tell you at the front desk, but over “waiting lists” that are assigned at 5:45 pm. But everyone is quite convinced that they are not reservations, they are waiting lists.

I’ve read reviews over the last 6 months in preparation for the trip and while many things ring true, many things I never encountered. For instance: * Rooms are dated - yes they are. I wouldn’t call the rooms 5-star material and I know they are renovating end of the month and beyond. In any case I came to see Costa Rica and I can live with an outdated room. I didn’t encounter the moldy smells, no broken air conditioner, no broken anything. No bugs, roaches or whatever others encountered * keycard worked fine. Safe worked fine. * I couldn’t hear the night shows at all, I actually slept very well. * Restaurant situation- yes you line up for your chosen restaurant around 5:45pm - 6pm. It wasn’t peak season so we just walked into most of the restaurants, mind there are like 5 which I feel is many to cover the amount of other guests during this time. * We also have access to the next door sister resort RIU Guanacaste which adds additional variety. * Yes they are all buffet style except for the steakhouse. I was spoiled having gone to the Dominican Republic’s Ocean Blue & Sand with about 5 à la carte restaurants that were non buffet(I also know that resort is decades old and has likely seen out dated property but it’s now stellar). So far I’ve only had 1 day of lunch and dinner so to early to judge. * The free waterpark is a very nice feature. Very clean, seems modernized, kiddy area, young children area and finally an adult area. Activities were monitored by lifeguards all very friendly. I’m still staying here currently at the resort and may update my review as my trip unfolds.