It was a no brainer for us once we got engaged that we would have a destination wedding. We decided to travel back to the land we fell in love with Costa Rica. This opportunity to share one of our favorite countries with our closest friends and family, was like a dream come true, but where exactly?
Costa Rica is a multi-terrain country full of so many landscapes from rainforests, cloud jungles, volcanoes, waterfalls, hot springs, mountains, beaches, and city life. And with a guest list that had various levels of travel experience, we wanted to marry a good balance between comfort and experience.
If you follow my blog, you know that we visited the Arenal Volcano region of Costa Rica in 2017. It was our very first trip together. This side of the country is so laid back, beautiful, and lush, truly an adventurers dream. Despite its beauty, the Costa Rican rain forest is not exactly novice-traveler friendly. Thus it was necessary to find a different location for our guests.
We researched the western side of the country, and found a completely different voice of Costa Rica! Beautiful mountain ranges, jetting out from gray and black sand beaches full of high-quality resorts and a laid back coastal town way of life. Due to its abundance of amenities, location, fair prices, and spectacular wedding venue, we decided upon the RIU Palace Guanacaste.
Overview
The RIU Palace is a 538 room, 24-hour all-inclusive resort located in the Guanacaste Region of Costa Rica. The resort has four swimming pools (one with a swim-up bar), a Jacuzzi, gym, sauna, and full-service spa( hair and makeup is available but clientele diversity is low). There are 5 restaurants, 3 bars, and a snack bar. The entire hotel is wifi-enabled.
Location
RIU Palace is located about 40 minutes from Liberia Airport(LIR) on Matapalo Beach. Note: Be prepared for some intense humidity as soon as you enter baggage claim! Transportation roundtrip should not be more than $100 per van. We used LAR Transportes to drive us to and from the airport. Right next door to the Palace is its sister hotel the RIU Guanacaste. This is a lower-tier all-inclusive, and trust me you will want to pay extra money to stay at the Palace. (I will expound on that more in a later blog)
Room
There are 4 tiers of suites at the Palace: Sea View, Garden View, Family Suite, and a Jacuzzi Suite. In the suite, you will find either two double beds or one king-size bed, a pull out sofa in the lounge area, a flat-screen TV, a free minibar(can be restocked at any time at no additional costs) a beverage dispenser, and a coffee maker. See my initial reaction to the room here or below!
We were placed in a sea view room, overlooking the gardens and pool we loved stepping out onto our balcony. The rooms have a modern purple decor to promote the royal vibe promoted by the resort. All rooms have 24-hour room service and come with a minibar that can be restocked at any time. One of the most noticeable features of the rooms are the garden tubs located within the main room. We found the positioning odd, but it ended up being a nice addition and if you need privacy there is a shower with a multi-directional shower head with a door.
Food
There are 5 restaurants in the Palace I got to visit 3, La Fortuna (Italian), Papagayo Steakhouse, and the Arenal Main buffet. We were unable to visit the other restaurants, Crystal, a fusion restaurant and Tokio, the Japanese restaurant because of their popularity and the inability to make reservations prior to 6 pm. And you must arrive on-site to make the reservation and wait first-come-first-served for a table. This was definitely a drawback in my opinion.
The quality of the food we did get to try was so good and flavorful. My biggest fear (besides a wedding day disaster) was that food would be bland to please tourists. To my surprise, it was bursting with Latin flavor and influence. The Breakfast buffet at Arenal was amazing with anything you can think of for breakfast, including the typical dish of Costa Rica, rice, beans, stewed meat, eggs, and plantains. Everything was so fresh! Do not leave RIU Palace without having the lamb chops at La Fortuna. We went to Papagayo for the rehearsal/welcome dinner. The menu here is a bit more upscale than the other restaurants I visited. I ordered the ceviche trio and Lobster tail. The flavor was great, but my lobster was a little overdone. We had a very large group to serve, so this could be the reason why it was a little rubbery.
Telecommute Friendly Rating
4/5 this resort is built with a strong WiFi radius. You can easily swing a work from home day on the premises if you have your own WiFi-capable laptop of device.
Overall Feedback:
I would highly recommend the RIU Palace for your travel or “working” travel needs. The food, location, and room are beyond good. The staff of the hotel is very pleasant and helpful. Many of our guests are still raving about the hotel and plan to visit again. You can get your work done here( I did a huge project for work the day I arrived LOL) or relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery and beach. I would definitely recommend paying extra to stay in the RIU Place over its sister hotel the RIU Guanacaste, but that will be a future blog!
