RIU PALACE COSTA RICA

Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica is closed for renovation. RIU gives April 2027 as the reopening on its own page.

Our systems say the same thing, so we would rather tell you now: this resort cannot be booked for a departure before then. The page stays online because the property is coming back, and because you probably arrived here with a fairly precise trip in mind.

Call 1 866 628-6241. An advisor will tell you what is open in Guanacaste for your dates, and can flag your interest for the reopening. The closest options are set out below.

Riu Guanacaste, on the same beach, has just come through the same renovation

Let us start with the obvious answer, since it fits in one sentence.

Hotel Riu Guanacaste sits on the same Matapalo beach, a few minutes away on foot. It went through exactly the work that now occupies its neighbour, and it reopened in October 2025 with 1,041 fully redesigned rooms. A traveller who had the Riu Palace in mind finds the same 24-hour all-inclusive, the same beach, the same chain, and a hotel coming out of the work rather than going into it.

This is the most direct substitution we have to offer, by a wide margin.

The other all-inclusive addresses in Guanacaste

If you would rather change brands, the coast has several, each with its own character.

Planet Hollywood Beach Resort Costa Rica plays the family card without apology, over at Papagayo. The Westin Reserva Conchal opens onto the shell beach at Conchal and adds a golf course. Dreams Las Mareas sits further north at El Jobo, in a very calm bay.

For an adults-only stay, Occidental Papagayo and Secrets Papagayo share the peninsula. And Villas Sol Beach Resort remains the simplest option at Playa Hermosa, with its villas stepped up the hillside.

What the renovation will change

The work done next door, at Riu Guanacaste, gives the best idea of what awaits the Palace: all 1,041 of the neighbour's rooms were taken back to the walls, and the common areas with them.

The resort keeps what built its reputation at Matapalo, starting with the Splash Water World park, the six pools and the swim-up bar. The 24-hour all-inclusive, the five restaurants, the spa and RIU Land for children are all announced for the return.

Playa Matapalo and Guanacaste are not closing

Matapalo is a long open beach, edged by the tropical dry forest of Guanacaste. Howler monkeys make themselves heard at the end of the day, and iguanas sun themselves on the low walls as you walk past.

Liberia airport is about forty minutes away, which explains this coast's standing with travellers from Quebec. The excursions that define Costa Rica leave from here: the Rincón de la Vieja volcano and its hot springs, the canopy by zip line, the turtle beaches and Papagayo Bay by catamaran.

For the country as a whole, see our page on Costa Rica all-inclusive.

Booking for the April 2027 reopening

A resort reopening after a full renovation fills quickly, and the first weeks often go before the advertising starts. If your trip can wait for spring 2027, say so to your advisor: we follow RIU's inventory releases and can let you know as soon as the dates open.

If your trip cannot wait, the list above covers the same coast, the same formula and often the same budget. A Voyages AquaTerra advisor will take your call at 1 866 628-6241.