Planet Hollywood Costa Rica, Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica, and Hotel Riu Guanacaste welcome families and include the plan. Both Riu resorts record a waterpark. Overall scores set the order.
October 2026 review: 6 open resorts in Costa Rica, all of them open. Secrets Papagayo is the adults-only one. Margaritaville Beach Resort Playa Flamingo sells the meal plan as an add-on. Sampled two-adult From rates ran from $234 to $1,904 a night, median $472. The Westin Reserva Conchal led the overall scores. Hotel Riu Guanacaste sat at $234. Secrets Papagayo sat at $1,904. The table's From price is per person.
Quick facts
Counts and the price span use every resort that qualifies. The table uses the same order as the cards below. A missing price or feature reads Not listed.
- Qualifying resorts
- 6
- In this table
- 6
- Adults only
- 1
- All ages
- 5
- From price
- $117 to $952/night pp
| Rank | Resort | Area | Audience | Score | From | Key feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Westin Reserva Conchal, an All-Inclusive Golf Resort & Spa | Playa Conchal, Costa Rica | All ages | 8.7 | From $512/night pp | Swim-up bar, 2 pools, 5 bars |
| 2 | Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica | Guanacaste, Costa Rica | Adults only | 8.5 | From $952/night pp | Swim-up bar, 2 pools, 5 bars |
| 3 | Margaritaville Beach Resort Playa Flamingo | Playa Flamingo, Costa Rica | All ages | 8.3 | From $213/night pp | Swim-up bar, 1 pool, 2 bars |
| 4 | Planet Hollywood Costa Rica by Royalton, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort | Culebra, Costa Rica | All ages | 8.1 | From $260/night pp | Swim-up bar, 2 pools, 11 bars |
| 5 | Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica | Sardinal, Costa Rica | All ages | 7.9 | From $168/night pp | Swim-up bar, Waterpark, 4 pools |
| 6 | Hotel Riu Guanacaste | Sardinal, Costa Rica | All ages | 7.4 | From $117/night pp | Swim-up bar, Waterpark, 7 bars |
Chains on this list
Loyal to a brand, or curious how the rest of a chain stacks up? Each profile ranks every resort the chain runs.
Plan the trip
Picking the resort is half the work; our Costa Rica travel guide covers the rest: when to go, weather month by month, safety and entry requirements, and how the areas differ.
How this ranking works
Every list on this site uses the same resorts, with the all-inclusive fine print read so you don't have to. The order weighs verified guest ratings, what's genuinely included at the base rate, and how each property performs on the thing this list is about: here, costa rica.
The seal next to a resort is its Palmprint: a 0 to 10 grade for how well it delivers on this list's promise, the same mark you'll find on its full profile. The details of what we weigh, and what disqualifies a resort outright, live in how we score. Lists are re-reviewed as ratings and policies change; this one was last checked October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Which Costa Rica resort is adults-only?
Secrets Papagayo. It includes the meal plan and is about 20 minutes from Liberia (LIR). The Westin Reserva Conchal, Margaritaville Playa Flamingo, Planet Hollywood Costa Rica, Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica, and Hotel Riu Guanacaste welcome families.
Does Margaritaville Playa Flamingo include meals?
No. Margaritaville Beach Resort Playa Flamingo sells the meal plan as an add-on. Its transfer time from Liberia is not listed. The other five open resorts include the plan.
When is the best time to visit Costa Rica?
The sweet spot is December–April, bone-dry in Guanacaste. The rainy season runs May–November ('green season'), with September–October seriously wet. The Pacific resort coast sits outside the Atlantic hurricane belt; fall systems in the Caribbean can still push rain across the country.
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