Peninsula Papagayo is on everyone’s travel list...
The 1,400-acre Papagayo Peninsula is located in the Guanacaste province in Costa Rica’s northwest, where spider monkeys swing overhead and the province’s namesake umbrella-like trees create a lush canopy. There has clearly been no rush to build up Costa Rica’s peninsula on the Pacific, as overdevelopment would go against the grain of this eco-friendly Central American nation.That kind of mindfulness befits the country’s well-publicized identity, where “Pura Vida” (pure life) is not simply a motto, but a way of life that is also used as a hearty greeting, right along with “Buenos días.”
Papagayo Peninsula didn’t register on the tourism radar until the Four Seasons chain opened a resort more than 20 years ago. The upscale Andaz followed in 2013, and in early 2025 the Ritz-Carlton Reserve and the Waldorf Astoria appeared within months of each other, all a fairly short drive from Liberia Airport (aka Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport).
As the major hotel brands were laying out their project plans, freestanding villas of various sizes were springing up along paved roads to accommodate an even more discerning, private clientele. At the top of its class is Villa Avellana, completed in 2023 by Sarco Architects, one of Costa Rica’s leading sustainable architectural firms. (Sarco has completed more than 350 homes in the country.)
Villa Avellana stands alone for the elan of its tropical modern aesthetic. A departure from the cold, whitewashed geometric architecture that marked the Miami Vice era, tropical modernism retains modernism’s clean lines but takes its cues from nature. Deep over-hangs, as well as exteriors and soffits clad in wood (often teak, ipe, or cedar) help a home like Villa Avellana blend into its surroundings. Bladed walls – brise-soleil, which means a surface that breaks the sunlight without totally blocking the outdoors – are utilized for passive sustainability, and they look exquisite. Indirect LED lighting lends the villa’s interiors a tranquil, floaty quality.
Villa Avellana also stands alone in terms of uber-luxury. Its design restraint should not obscure the fact that this expansive villa provides a private beachfront experience fit for celebrities, with 10 ensuite bedrooms that can be shared with up to 23 guests: 18 adults and 5 children. It’s perfect for intergenerational families and groups of friends who crave a (Season 3) White Lotus-style experience. Once inside (or hanging out in its vast outdoor living room, with daybeds for days), the villa’s shapeliness never stops being visually enchanting – even awe-inspiring. To stay at Villa Avellana is to wander its 33,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor spaces, experiencing its seemingly unlimited, stimulating sightlines. And whereas a night at the nearby Ritz Carlton will cost you $1,400 to $1,840, Villa Avellana’s nightly rates are $26,000 during regular season and $32,000 during high season (Nov. 19 to Dec. 19). The week of Christmas or New Year’s climbs to $40,000 nightly.
The staff demonstrates an almost telepathic ability to bring you what you want before you know you want it, like thirst-quenching coconut water still in its coconuts. The hands-on and unfailingly charming general manager Thomas Freitag – a true Swiss Army knife-type – has a culinary background, and the gastronomy is notably flavorful. With a penchant for clean cuisine, the chef makes a seemingly simple bowl of tuna, grilled shrimp, diced avocado and mango feel deliciously new. And then it’s time to put down a fork, coconut, and iPhone and swim for hours, alternating between the ocean view lap pool and the villa’s sandy, salt-and-pepper cove.
Want a change of scene? Villa owners and guests have access to the fanciful Club at Peninsula Papagayo, which features a restaurant that evokes Southeast Asia, a state-of-the-art fitness room (with TechnoGym equipment), and its own beach facilities. You can walk down the shoreline from the villa to get in a workout, and swim in every pool (there’s a beautifully tiled lap pool, as well as a freeform recreation pool divided by a wooden catwalk).
It’s all about the water at Villa Avellana, because in addition to the villa’s lengthy swimming pool, the ample heated whirlpool, the cold plunge (you’ll last around two seconds but love it), and the club’s aqueous attractions, the villa offers a personal yacht for snorkeling expeditions, fishing, and sunset cruises. (It goes without saying that the villa can deliver a totally customized experience, from activities on water or land, to meals and entertainment.)
With Thomas and his expert team guiding the boating expeditions, you can spend your afternoons paddleboarding, jet skiing, or diving off the bow to freestyle to the nearest shoreline.
Being on the yacht will convince you that despite the arrival of new high-profile resorts, the peninsula is maintaining its unspoiled, forested character. You barely see another person, or another boat, though you may spot a bottlenose dolphin or two.
