RIU Guanacaste – Costa Rica ♦ ♦ ♦

This is Part II of my Try It Tuesday post about RIU Guanacaste – Costa Rica.
Since I am a foodie, I had already decided to dedicate a special post to the food. I thought I was going to be waxing poetically about the yummy delectable bites that haunt my dreams. That did not happen.

I was bummed how lackluster the food was. Plus, decent hot food was not available 24-7. I know they say that food was available in the Sports Bar, but that was not even worth mentioning.

Here was the breakdown of our meals. Let me say, as someone who likes to plan their meals, I did not like the fact that the “fine dining” restaurants did not accept reservations. It was first come/first serve. We had to show up at 6pm to tell the restaurant we were coming at second seating. Ughh!

Breakfast – was the best meal of the day – bacon, fried eggs, omelet station, platanos maduros, donuts, sweet breads, croissants, smoothies

Lunch – stewed chicken or pork with steamed rice and French fries
There was a stewed gravy with chickpeas that was very tasty.

Night 1 – Buffet – grilled chicken, steamed rice
The chicken from the grill was the best part. Delicious!!! There were different salsas to try and some were super-hot. Muy picante! Whenever they are cooking on the grill outside, the food is going to be delicious. Figure out how to take a plate of that cuisine goodness to your room. You will be hungry later and you will wish you had more. This is a fact.

Night 2 – Buffet Fukoma Asian cuisine – eggrolls, chicken on a stick, stir fry pork, fried rice, fruit
The thing about eggrolls is that they need to be eaten HOT and not after sitting on a buffet for a while. Even though it is very popular, I usually do not eat Chinese food off of a buffet. There are few things worse than lukewarm Chinese food. Picture me being annoyed.

Night 3 – Tuscano Gourmet cuisine – ceviche, quinoa, roasted vegetable, rice pudding reimagined, triple chocolate cake dessert
This dinner was an improvement and closer to what I was used to eating at a RIU resort. I loved the ceviche. The quinoa was okay. The rice pudding reimagined was nothing like rice pudding. It was still tasty. And I wish everything else could have been as delicious as the triple chocolate cake. It was pretty awesome.

Night 4 – Ocatel Steakhouse – buffalo wings, shrimp kabob, grilled fish, potato wedges, roasted vegetables, apple turnover, cheesecake
The shrimp kabob was mouth-watering but the grilled fish was not as well seasoned. The potato wedges were standard like what you might get at a chain restaurant. Everything else was good but not outstanding.

****RIU restaurant hack –> I got to-go containers from the Sports bar and filled them with food from the buffet. Kept that food in the refridge in my room. Then reheated the food in the microwave in the Sports Bar when I was ready to eat. Sounds tacky, but at least I did not go to bed hungry!

TOW Final Word: Overall, I was not impressed with the cuisine. I wish they had more local flavor instead of trying to serve what they think Americans want. I don’t like to wonder if there will be decent food available for my next meal, but that is what I had to do, otherwise I would have been hungry. Their snack food offerings were pitiful. Yet another reason to choose Riu Palace. They have 24-hour room service and better food (from what I was told).