Riu Guanacaste or Riu Tequila: Which Is Better for a Family?

One we lived in for 14 nights; the other we are planning for 2027. Here is the honest comparison — what we know from a real stay, and what we know from prices and research so far.

The honest starting point

We spent 14 nights at Hotel Riu Tequila in Playacar, Playa del Carmen, as a family of four — two adults and two kids, aged 4 and 12. We have not stayed at Riu Guanacaste yet: it is our planned trip for late October 2027, and everything below about Guanacaste comes from prices checked on riu.com and flight research, not from nights slept there. When we do go, this article gets updated with the real stay. No review here pretends otherwise.

Price, side by side

Tequila, from our actual stay: about C$3,200 for 14 nights, hotel only — roughly C$229 a night for the family.

Guanacaste, from RIU Class quotes for 2 adults + 2 kids, 1 room, taxes included:

• September 12–19, 2027: ~C$3,465 for 7 nights — the cheapest week, but also the rainiest.
• October 23–30, 2027: ~C$3,790 for 7 nights — the cheapest late-October week, Friends & Family Room, free cancellation, 1 kid free.
• May 9–16, 2027: ~C$3,800 for 7 nights — nearly the same price, but much drier weather.
• February 7–14, 2027: ~C$7,400 for 7 nights — peak season, roughly double the green-season price.
• 14 nights, October 23 – November 6, 2027: ~C$8,590.

On per-night math, Tequila wins by a wide margin — but read the fine print of the comparison itself: Tequila's price is a 14-night stay from October 2026, while Guanacaste's are 7-night quotes for 2027, and room types differ. The honest takeaway is not "Tequila is half the price" — it is that Mexico, in our experience, gives a proven family week for far less than a Costa Rica week at quoted rates, and that green season (May, September–October) is where Guanacaste gets close to reasonable.

Getting there

Tequila is the simpler journey. You fly to Cancún, then take a pre-booked transfer to Playacar — book it in advance, because the arrivals hall is full of sellers, and a private transfer costs more than a shared shuttle but saves 30–60 minutes of hotel drop-offs with tired kids. Don't forget the 293 MXN Visitax per person.

Guanacaste takes more planning from Alberta. There are no direct flights from Edmonton to Liberia — the usual route is one stop via Calgary, where WestJet flies direct to Liberia year-round. The airport transfer is not included and runs about $35–60 per vehicle each way for the 40–45 minute drive from Liberia airport to Playa Matapalo.

The place itself

Tequila is a classic mid-size all-inclusive in the gated Playacar community: several pools, a swim-up bar, a kids' pool area, and a calm beach walk, 10 minutes from Playa del Carmen's Fifth Avenue action. The buffet is the workhorse, the themed restaurants break up the routine, and the evening shows — the Mayan-themed night, the live music — were better than expected. The gardens, with coatis wandering through them, gave the kids something to talk about every single day.

Guanacaste sits on Playa Matapalo on Costa Rica's Pacific coast. What we can say from research: the beach and the green-season trade-off — September is cheapest and rainiest, May costs nearly the same and is much drier. What we cannot say yet: the rooms, the food, the shows. Anyone who reviews those without staying there is guessing, so we won't — that part of this comparison is marked "to be updated after the 2027 trip."

With kids

At Tequila, the formula that worked for ages 4 and 12: the kids' pool area by day, the buffet most nights (nobody waits, everybody finds something), and the gardens and evening shows as the daily highlights.

At Guanacaste, the family hook in the quotes is the Friends & Family Room, with 1 kid free on the October week. But "kids stay free" never means quite what it sounds like — age limits, room types, meals, and taxes all sit in the fine print, so check those five lines before you book, whichever resort you pick.

Points and the next trip

Our Tequila booking is also why Guanacaste is next. We had 6,000 RIU Class points at booking, but only 3,500 were deducted — the Pre-Classic redemption cap is 10% — leaving 2,500. We are 6 nights short of Gold, and a 7-night Guanacaste stay would push us past the 30-night Gold threshold, doubling future points and lifting the redemption cap to 100%. In other words: Tequila was the trip that earned the status, Guanacaste is the trip that would unlock it.

Bottom line

Choose Tequila if you want the cheapest proven family week, the simplest journey from Alberta, and Maya excursions (Cobá, Chichén Itzá) on the doorstep. Choose Guanacaste if you want Costa Rica and the Pacific, a new place rather than a repeat, and green-season prices — and you accept the longer journey and the paid transfer. We loved Tequila enough to go back; we are curious about Guanacaste enough to plan a whole trip around it. That, honestly, is the difference.

Which one would your family pick — the proven favourite or the new adventure?

Guanacaste prices checked October 23, 2026 on riu.com, RIU Class rate, taxes included. Tequila's C$3,200 is our actual October 2026 stay, 14 nights, hotel only. Prices change — always check the current rate before booking.