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While the renovations had 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 had been the swimming pool advanced and the suites. We lined all of these points intimately in our review of Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo, so go verify that out should you’re planning on flying into Liberia and reserving a keep.
Even in our longer opinions, nevertheless, we are able to’t get to all the things. So listed below are just a few points of this standout property that had 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 whenever you’re lounging at this resort, you don’t need to go very far. Three swimming swimming pools supply completely different vibes. The largest one on the prime is closest to the principle 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 youngsters. It has lounge chairs and shaded cabana daybeds (with a hefty US$600 extra charge) and appears out on the seashore and water by means of the timber.
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 in the case of seashores, you may 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 just isn’t solely on the big peninsula it’s named for, nevertheless it 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 received’t get knocked over and so they’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 can be included within the fee. 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 youngsters, you’ll have bother dwelling as much as that normal 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 comfortable so the mother and father are comfortable, from toddlers up by means of teenagers. There are deliberate actions day-after-day for the entire household and only for youngsters, to allow them to do one thing lively and academic day-after-day on this nature-focused nation.
The youngsters membership right here is the best I’ve ever seen, one thing clearly put collectively by a proficient designer who needed to impart a way of place. There are nooks with pillows that seem like rocks, stuffed sloths hanging round, and modular furnishings models 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 practical studying areas completely for kids
Then once they get to the seashore, the little ones will likely be delighted with all of the sand toys sitting out ready for them: toy vehicles, buckets, shovels, sand fort molds, and extra. Every restaurant has a youngsters’ 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 out of doors 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 gentle. Naturally they’ve each model of Centenario Costa Rican rum so that you can strive, but in addition bottles from all around the area akin to Ron Zacapa, Botran, Diplomatico, Abuelo, and Flor de Cana.
The resort presents often scheduled rum and chocolate tastings, a category on making your individual infused rum, and mixology courses the place you’ll be able to hone your bartending expertise. You can expertise it should you don’t drink alcohol too: there’s additionally a coffee tasting workshop.
A Low-key Relaxing Spa
I’ve discovered through the years 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 focus whereas the inside is minimalist and calm.
The services embrace what you’d anticipate by way of 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 entire 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 treatment options here.
Local Drinks and Ingredients at Four Seasons Costa Rica
One of the primary issues I have a look at once I go close to a lodge bar is whether or not they have any native beer on faucet. Then I have 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 proud of its craft beer from an area brewer that I acquired 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 coffee, the wealth of tropical fruit that’s obtainable all 12 months, 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 objects akin 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 may set up in your cellphone, an app that acknowledges who you might be and which resort you might be in. It was slightly buggy for me once I was on the new Four Seasons Tamarindo in Mexico, nevertheless it labored flawlessly in Costa Rica besides once I was on an tour and acquired out of vary.
The most important public space at this Four Seasons Costa Rica is pretty compact, so it’s not an extended trek to get to the foyer and speak to the concierge, however with this app it’s simple 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 prepare that tour, make dinner reservations, affirm 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 staff in my pocket to type it out as a substitute of making an attempt to take care of a overseas rental automobile firm by myself, 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 achieved: 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 a substitute.
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 most likely purer than what you get in your native grocery store. Bamboo straws, cardboard cups, sunscreen dispensers, and material laundry luggage within the rooms preserve the plastic away from the peninsula.
These are simply probably the most seen variations although. By serving extra dishes that use native substances and placing system adjustments in place, the resort has lowered meals waste by half. Instead of tossing objects which can be 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 dedicated sustainability page.
See extra photographs and our detailed evaluate of this Four Seasons Resort in Costa Rica.
