Costa Rica’s finest stays come in three kinds: resorts on the Pacific coast of Guanacaste, lodges in private rainforest reserves from Arenal to the Osa Peninsula, and villas and residences for families and parties. Below are some that set the standard; which one suits your journey, and which villa or suite in it, is your advisor’s to recommend.
Updated · Ultra Network
The driest coast, half an hour or so from Liberia airport, where the country’s grandest resorts face the Pacific.
Peninsula Papagayo, Guanacaste
A hilltop resort of 155 rooms above the Pacific, with a golf course, a spa, private residences, and treetop Canopy suites with their own infinity pools. The country’s only Forbes Five-Star hotel, with two MICHELIN Keys.
Peninsula Papagayo, Guanacaste
A clifftop retreat of 107 rooms with a large spa, a funicular down to its beach club, treetop tents, and residences up to the ten-bedroom Villa Guayacán. Three MICHELIN Keys.
Peninsula Papagayo, Guanacaste
Curving buildings by the architect Ronald Zürcher above the bay, with 153 rooms and a spa. One MICHELIN Key.
Punta Cacique, Guanacaste
Opened in April 2025 with 188 ocean-view rooms and suites and a large spa, within a community of cliffside Estate Homes. Ranked first in Guanacaste in Travel + Leisure’s 2026 World’s Best Awards.
Las Catalinas, Guanacaste
For adults only: 21 villas and suites above the sea, each with a private terrace and a saltwater plunge pool. Two MICHELIN Keys.
Surf beaches and smaller, design-led hotels on the peninsula south of Guanacaste.
Santa Teresa
A beachfront hotel of 35 villas, casitas and suites with a spa, beside one of Santa Teresa’s surf breaks. One MICHELIN Key.
Playa Guiones, Nosara
A boutique hotel with a rooftop infinity pool, a surf concierge and nine two-bedroom residences. One MICHELIN Key.
The volcano, its mineral hot springs and the misty forests of Monteverde.
La Fortuna, Arenal
For adults only: 35 villas, each with a private pool fed by the region’s mineral springs. Three MICHELIN Keys and Forbes Four Stars.
La Fortuna, Arenal
Tents on the lower slopes of Arenal Volcano National Park, sharing the spa and restaurants of its sister resorts. First in Central America in Travel + Leisure’s 2026 World’s Best Awards, with two MICHELIN Keys.
Monteverde
A cloud-forest hotel with ten private Artista Villas and, as its flagship, the Nicoya Suite with a 270-degree view. Second in Central America in Travel + Leisure’s 2026 World’s Best Awards.
The wildest part of the country, from Manuel Antonio to the Osa Peninsula.
Osa Peninsula
Sixteen bungalows within a 1,000-acre private rainforest reserve above the Pacific, reached by light aircraft to Puerto Jiménez. One MICHELIN Key.
Uvita
For adults only: eight rooms for up to twenty guests on about 250 acres of forest above the coast, near Marino Ballena National Park. Two MICHELIN Keys.
Manuel Antonio
A beachfront hotel on an eleven-acre private reserve beside Manuel Antonio National Park.
Pérez Zeledón
Fifty casitas on 180 acres in the southern mountains, with a large spa and farm-to-table dining. One MICHELIN Key.
A lodge reached by river, and a classic address in San José.
Pacuare River
Eighteen villas and suites in a 340-hectare rainforest reserve, reached by raft down the Pacuare River or by four-wheel drive. Two MICHELIN Keys.
San José
A small boutique hotel in a restored Victorian-era mansion, convenient for a first or last night in the capital.
Costa Rica pioneered the luxury eco-lodge: a small number of villas or bungalows in a private reserve, with naturalist guides and the forest at the door. The Osa Peninsula, the Pacuare River and the slopes of Arenal are where the finest of them are found.
The large international resorts are on the Pacific coast of Guanacaste, above all on the Papagayo peninsula, with spas, golf and beach clubs. Most journeys combine both: a resort on the coast and a lodge or two in the rainforest.
Several of these hotels keep private residences and villas with their own staff and pools. Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, has four- and five-bedroom residences and Villa Guayacán, a ten-bedroom private residence; the Four Seasons at Peninsula Papagayo has private residences; and the Waldorf Astoria at Punta Cacique sits within a community of cliffside Estate Homes.
The smallest lodges hold so few guests that a party can fill them: Rancho Pacifico, near Uvita, has eight rooms for up to twenty guests. Whether a residence or a whole lodge is free on your dates, and on what terms, is what your advisor finds out.
Guanacaste, in the north-west, is the driest region and the easiest to reach, through Liberia airport. Choose it for beaches, calm swimming in the Gulf of Papagayo and the large resorts. The Nicoya Peninsula, to its south, is quieter, with surf towns such as Santa Teresa and Nosara.
Arenal, in the north, is the volcano and its hot springs. Monteverde is the cloud forest. The southern Pacific and the Osa Peninsula, reached by light aircraft, are the wildest of all, and the place for whales and the most remote rainforest lodges.
Several of the country’s finest stays welcome adults only: Casa Chameleon at Las Catalinas, Nayara Springs at Arenal, and Rancho Pacifico near Uvita. They suit a honeymoon, an anniversary or simply a quieter journey.
Families and larger parties are best served by the Papagayo resorts, with their residences and beach clubs, and by villas with their own staff. A lodge in the rainforest can follow for a few nights, with a private naturalist for the family.
For a group travelling together, a PA or travel manager can ask an advisor to hold adjoining villas or a whole residence, arrange private transfers and charter flights between regions, and keep the party’s names off public channels where the hotel allows.
In the MICHELIN Guide’s 2026 selection, many of the hotels below hold from one to three Keys, its distinction for exceptional stays. The Four Seasons at Peninsula Papagayo is the country’s only Forbes Five-Star hotel, an honour it has held for eleven years.
Advisors’ relationships with hotels bring benefits such as an upgrade on arrival, a hotel credit and early check-in, and villas that never reach public booking sites. Your advisor tells you which apply to your stay, and plans the flights and transfers between regions around it.
The Four Seasons at Peninsula Papagayo is the country’s only Forbes Five-Star hotel, and Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, holds three MICHELIN Keys, as does Nayara Springs at Arenal. The right one depends on the journey: coast, volcano or rainforest.
Guanacaste and the Papagayo peninsula for beaches and resorts; Arenal for the volcano and hot springs; Monteverde for the cloud forest; and the Osa Peninsula for the wildest rainforest. Most journeys combine two or three.
Yes: Casa Chameleon at Las Catalinas, Nayara Springs at Arenal and Rancho Pacifico near Uvita are among them.
Several resorts have private residences and villas, including a ten-bedroom residence at Nekajui, and the smallest lodges hold only a few guests. An advisor finds out what is free on your dates and on what terms.
The rate is usually the same, and an advisor’s relationships with the hotels can add benefits such as upgrades and credits, along with the flights and transfers between regions.
Recommendations chosen for you, an itinerary crafted around them, and every booking managed by an independent Ultra Advisor who works with local specialists in Costa Rica — Osa Peninsula.