It’s all the time a delight after we get to return to the perfect luxurious resort in a rustic a few years later and see the way it has progressed. We lately returned to the Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo in Costa Rica, simply earlier than its twentieth birthday, and it was a fantastic expertise throughout. We can’t say it appears model new since, in contrast to at a brand new resort, all of the bushes and vegetation are mature, however after main renovations, the lodge appears shiny and impeccably maintained throughout.
While the renovations have been unfold all throughout the property and extra are on the best way, like a hillside “Wellness Shala” yoga middle with an enormous platform and a view, the 2 key areas to get a revamp have been the swimming pool complicated and the suites. We coated all of these points intimately in our assessment of Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo, so go verify that out if you happen to’re planning on flying into Liberia and reserving a keep.
Even in our longer evaluations, nevertheless, we will’t get to the whole lot. So listed below are a number of points of this standout property that have been particularly spectacular, together with a video tour that gives you a really feel for this high-end Costa Rica luxurious resort.
Three Pools and Two Beaches
If you need a change of surroundings if you’re lounging at this resort, you don’t must go very far. Three swimming swimming pools supply totally different vibes. The largest one on the prime is closest to the primary buildings, with two lunch eating places and most of the resort’s rooms close by.
The one under that’s roped off for adults solely. This one has a number of staffers fetching drinks and meals in an space that’s off-limits to splashing children. It has lounge chairs and shaded cabana daybeds (with a hefty US$600 further charge) and appears out on the seashore and water by means of the bushes.
At the underside is one other pool open to everybody, this infinity pool being simply above the seashore. It’s solely steps away from the open-air beachfront restaurant and bar.
Then with regards to seashores, you can sit at one and watch the dawn, then hit the opposite one on the finish of the day for sundown. That’s as a result of the Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo is just not solely on the massive peninsula it’s named for, but it surely occupies a smaller peninsula that’s a part of the entire, a finger extending out into the Pacific Ocean.
In each spots, the water is calm sufficient that the little ones gained’t get knocked over they usually’re each lengthy sufficient for a stroll. Kayaks and paddleboards are on the prepared, with guided excursions obtainable some days, and sometimes there are actions on the seashore which are included within the price. In the video above you’ll see s’mores night time in motion.
Paradise for Kids in Costa Rica
My daughter is off on her personal now, however when she was little I introduced her to Four Seasons Punta Mita and it spoiled her for years. After the Four Seasons group will get to your kids, you’ll have bother residing as much as that customary in any future stays.
That’s very true on the Four Seasons in Costa Rica as a result of they exit of their approach to verify the youngsters are completely satisfied so the mother and father are completely satisfied, from toddlers up by means of teenagers. There are deliberate actions day by day for the entire household and only for children, to allow them to do one thing lively and academic day by day on this nature-focused nation.
The children membership right here is the best I’ve ever seen, one thing clearly put collectively by a proficient designer who wished to impart a way of place. There are nooks with pillows that appear like rocks, stuffed sloths hanging round, and modular furnishings items that may transfer round. Outside is a playground and shallow pool. For the design they introduced in Athens-based architect Polyanna Paraskeva, identified for creating useful studying areas solely for youngsters
Then after they get to the seashore, the little ones might be delighted with all of the sand toys sitting out ready for them: toy vans, buckets, shovels, sand fort molds, and extra. Every restaurant has a children’ menu and there are all type of enjoyable smoothies, shakes, and mocktails for them.
Teens aren’t overlooked although: they’ve their very own hidden-away membership with a pool desk, video video games with shaking chairs, and an outside basketball and soccer space.
A Dedicated Tasting Room
The final time I skilled a lodge with its personal rum room was within the now-defunct Mukul in beleaguered Nicaragua. There’s one at this Four Seasons although known as La Reserva and it’s an expansive place stuffed with pure mild. Naturally they’ve each model of Centenario Costa Rican rum so that you can attempt, but additionally bottles from all around the area comparable to Ron Zacapa, Botran, Diplomatico, Abuelo, and Flor de Cana.
The resort presents often scheduled rum and chocolate tastings, a category on making your personal infused rum, and mixology courses the place you may hone your bartending abilities. You can expertise it if you happen to don’t drink alcohol too: there’s additionally a espresso tasting workshop.
A Low-key Relaxing Spa
I’ve discovered over time that I seldom get good spa pictures as a result of by nature, spas are supposed to chill out you, not distract you with a bunch of showy designs that draw your consideration. The spa right here embraces that philosophy, with an area that lets the character outdoors by means of the home windows be the main target whereas the inside is minimalist and calm.
The amenities embody what you’d anticipate when it comes to steam rooms, saunas, and whirlpools, with a pleasant leisure space for earlier than or after your therapy. I went for a deep tissue therapeutic massage and actually wanted it, with a laptop-work-induced knot in my proper shoulder that I couldn’t appear to shake.
My therapist went to work on my complete physique however with a concentrate on eliminating that knot and he succeeded. He additionally spent a while afterward speaking about some stretching workouts to attempt to these have helped as effectively. See the therapy choices right here.
Local Drinks and Ingredients at Four Seasons Costa Rica
One of the primary issues I take a look at once I move close to a lodge bar is whether or not they have any native beer on faucet. Then I take a look at the liquor choice to see in the event that they’re stocked up on what’s from that nation. This resort made me pleased with its craft beer from an area brewer that I bought to order on faucet and there’s loads of rum from Costa Rica obtainable, not simply within the tasting room.
More importantly, the kitchens supply all that they will from inside driving distance, together with good Costa Rican espresso, the wealth of tropical fruit that’s obtainable all yr, and greens grown on close by farms. I had some scrumptious juices within the morning and a few very fresh-tasting salads that clearly didn’t come from a plastic bag.
The property has its personal natural backyard for a lot of gadgets comparable to herbs and microgreens, mitigating the necessity to transport these from outdoors the gates.
Concierges on Call Through an App
The Four Seasons properties all make use of an app that you could set up in your cellphone, an app that acknowledges who you might be and which resort you might be in. It was just a little buggy for me once I was on the new Four Seasons Tamarindo in Mexico, but it surely labored flawlessly in Costa Rica besides once I was on an tour and bought out of vary.
The principal public space at this Four Seasons Costa Rica is pretty compact, so it’s not a protracted trek to get to the foyer and speak to the concierge, however with this app it’s straightforward to succeed in them and get a response at any time, irrespective of who’s on obligation. I used to be in a position to organize that tour, make dinner reservations, verify a spa appointment, and even hire a automobile then change the pickup time when one thing got here up.
A month later I’m nonetheless coping with an overcharge from National to get a partial credit score again on the automobile, so I’m actually glad I’ve this group in my pocket to kind it out as an alternative of making an attempt to cope with a international rental automobile firm alone, lengthy distance.
The Original Sustainable Luxury Resort
When I first visited the Four Seasons Costa Rica greater than a decade in the past, the resort was doing what many business skeptics mentioned couldn’t be executed: wean luxurious vacationers off of single-use plastic water bottles. It seems that the overwhelming majority of vacationers will do the suitable factor if given the possibility and this resort proved it was no large deal to make use of refillable containers as an alternative.
There are refilling stations all through the resort and on the golf course. Guests are inspired to drink the peerlessly good Costa Rican water that’s in all probability purer than what you get in your native grocery store. Bamboo straws, cardboard cups, sunscreen dispensers, and material laundry luggage within the rooms hold the plastic away from the peninsula.
These are simply essentially the most seen variations although. By serving extra dishes that use native elements and placing system modifications in place, the resort has lowered meals waste by half. Instead of tossing gadgets which are getting changed, there’s a system in place to donate them to regional organizations serving households in want.
Recent renovations to the golf course irrigation system have decreased water use by 20% and elevated the vegetation by 12 acres. The course is without doubt one of the few on this planet to be designated as an Audubon Reserve. See extra on their devoted sustainability web page.
See extra pictures and our detailed assessment of this Four Seasons Resort in Costa Rica.